How to fillet a catfish with a fillet knife

Catfish is one of the most common game fish you will find and according to research; there are about 3000 species in it. Most of the species of catfish live in fresh water. Only a few are considered as salt water types. Many people love the taste of catfish and anglers prefer to catch catfish which comes in various sizes from small to very huge ones. Anglers prefer this type of fish over other types because they experience more challenge in getting them.

Whether you are an angler who is lucky to catch a huge catfish or a housewife who has bought one catfish from the market, you will need to wash it and maybe fillet it before preparing it for a meal. Here is how you can get rid of the tough skin on the catfish and fillet it using a good fillet knife.

1. The first step is to gather all the tools that you will need to use while filleting a catfish. You need to have a very good fillet knife, a big knife that you will use to cut the tail and ribs off and some rope that you will need to hang the catfish on a wall or a tree to make the process of filleting easier.
2. Skinning the catfish when alive is not humane and at the same time doing so can also expose you to injuries, especially if you are filleting a very huge catfish. Put the catfish on a flat surface and then using the big knife, cut off the tail in order to bleed the fish to death.
3. Once you are sure that the fish is dead, the next step is to cut the skin that is around the body right behind the gills and then remove all the fins. This process can be made easier by using some pliers to hold the fins as you do the cutting.
4. The process does not end with getting rid of the fins and the tail. The next step is to make an incision at the back of the catfish. Right at the center of the back, from the top part of the fish  to the tail. You can hang the fish on a wall using a rope to make the work easier. At this stage use the fillet knife to remove the skin starting from one half then the next half.
5. After removing the skin, you can now fillet the fish and here is what you do. Cut next to the spinal column, until you get to the ribs, and then cut from the top part moving to the tail. Don’t forget the area beside the spine. Repeat the same process on the other side of the fillet.

This can be a challenging process if you are in it for the first time, but with some experience it gets easier. With the fillets ready, it is time for a cooking adventure. You can go ahead and make any type of recipes that you can think of from different parts of the world.