I was surprised when I pulled him in saturday as i was fishing for suspended catfish with crawlers on a big circle hook.
Any tips on cleaning them? Seem to be a lot of bones in them. Had a booger of a time getting the fillets off.
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I was surprised when I pulled him in saturday as i was fishing for suspended catfish with crawlers on a big circle hook.
Any tips on cleaning them? Seem to be a lot of bones in them. Had a booger of a time getting the fillets off.
Looks like a redear/shellcracker to me. The are pretty easy to fillet, to me they seem to have a more elongated ribcage to cut out of the fillets. I have a little problem with them the first of the season, their bones seem soft and easy to cut through causing me problems until I get some practice under my belt.
Good luck catching more, they are fun and tasty.
My catfish filleted out nice, but I had a hard time sawing through the ribcage on the redear. I'll have to catch some more to get more practice :D
Thats a nice redear. I will agree with their bones being easier to slice through but they have good filets and that one will have nice ones. You should go back to where you caught it and look for his siblings. Should be several in there close. Be careful when using an electric knife to not cut all the way through them.
Yes sir that's what we call Redears or Shell Crackers. I use a manual fillet knife and do not cut through rib bones. Those are fun to catch when they're bedding.:DQuote:
Originally Posted by Bowfin
I do the normal cleaning, then I cut beside the top and bottom fin on both sides and with a pair of pliers pull from the tail to the head and both fins come right out. Fry them up, split apart and the backbone comes right out and enjoy...
Gerald K4NHN
Cayce, SC
Cut the slabs off, Skin them(My Choice)
Put the slabs in cold water awhile and the meat will firm up. Now it's easier to remove the rib bones.
Yep, that is a shellcracker. Here are a couple of pics of some that I caught at Clarks Hill. Notice the date on pic....full moon, prime time for bedding fish. Great tasting fish. Second pic shows them in a 5-gal bucket
Jr. B
Nice shellcracker Bowfin!
You too Jr Branham. Welcome aboard!
Nice shellcracka' dude. Use a good old manual fillet knife or you'll make a mess of it.Da rib bones can be a pain.
When cleaning gills I like to use my electric knife and cut right through the bones then after you have the fillets take your regular cleaning knife and cut out the rib section. Very easy to do and not messy at all.