Thread: What is this

i have heard call a lot of things but bowfin was not one of them . my daddy use to hate catching them catfishing , i have caught some as big as 15 pounds or better . the old river sloughs are full of them . heard them called Cyprus bass . mean critters . can't believe EZ didn't know what it was . lol

One word of advice for anyone wanting to clean and cook one. Do not soak the meat in water if you do it will swell up and fall apart. You have to fillet them and wipe them down with a clean cloth. We always did this and sliced them into small thin pieces and deep fried. The meat is not flakey like bass or crappie, it has a very fine grain..

Good to bleed em as well, hang him up and cut it at the tail. Known a good many folks that eat em but have never tried it myself. Catch and release.

Originally Posted by feeshrman

They are tough creatures for sure, once you get them in the boat the fight is just starting. They thrash around and bounce and tear up everything. Ditto on their mouth being a meat grinder. I hear the Cajuns are using the grinnel roe as a caviar.

When the TV show Dirty Jobs with Mike Rowe was still on, they were actually gill netting them down in Louisianna and getting the roe out of them for caviar, stuff was selling for 45 bucks an ounce in some high end eateries in New Awlins.

Well that just shows what them folks will eat . My daddy said lay them on a board and cuthem into steak with an axe or hatchet . Then you can peal the skin and scales off like a ring . And never let water touch the meat before you cook them . And eat them while there hot .

You guys are grossing me out. Whenever I catch one down here, I cut the line on them. Don't want them in the boat. Nasty fish.