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Gafftop eating-Just asking...

16K views 48 replies 39 participants last post by  SaltwaterTom  
#1 ·
Like everyone else here who throws live or dead bait, I've caught some big Gafftops. I caught one yesterday and came really close in taking it home. I just didn't have a bag to put him in and didn't want to dirty up my cooler.

I like eating fried or grilled catfish. Does anyone here eat gafftop? And if so, how close do they taste to freshwater catfish?

On a side note, I try to eat only American farm raised catfish or catfish from American waters. I am sure I have eaten foreign catfish from here or there, but try to stay away from overseas processed fish and shrimp.
 
#2 ·
not sure if our salt cats are the same as you guy's cats but here in salt we have 2 !! one we call a hard head the other we call a sail cat due to the long fins , i have personally had those fried several times over the years but i must say the lady's that did the cooking could cut up the trailer tire & bread it slap it in the fry pan with all the god only knows what breading they had & hush puppy's along with some cold beer & when i was done it was nap time ,answer ya they was dang good as best i remember but like my wife say's ""ralphie will eat anything ""lol
stix
 
#3 ·
Like everyone else here who throws live or dead bait, I've caught some big Gafftops. I caught one yesterday and came really close in taking it home. I just didn't have a bag to put him in and didn't want to dirty up my cooler.

I like eating fried or grilled catfish. Does anyone here eat gafftop? And if so, how close do they taste to freshwater catfish?

On a side note, I try to eat only American farm raised catfish or catfish from American waters. I am sure I have eaten foreign catfish from here or there, but try to stay away from overseas processed fish and shrimp.
Gaftop to me taste like fresh water cats. I think they r good. But that’s me. I have eaten a few. Try one and see what you think.
 
#6 ·
Gafftop are live bait eaters and not scavengers like a hard head. The problem is their slime. Super cold ice water takes it off if you want to keep them. Years ago my dad had a fish fry. As a joke they threw in gafftop and gar with the other fish. The other fish being trout, redfish, and drum. The gafftop and gar were the first to go! This was before my time and people were probably not as picky as now. He has always found it funny though.
 
#12 ·
We fish for em if were havin a big fry comn up just like freshwater cat as far as texture but not greasy like freshwater cat at all, just bleed em and after you fillet them out tha fillets in a good ice bath to firm them up and u can cut tha blood line out easy, we never let em touch tha boat they go straight in a old shrimp lug, lots of ways to fish for em caught alot of nice ones around tha wells in bolivar on cut green eels or drifting tha bay with pogies hell we've mowed em down on topwaters
 
#14 ·
Get all that nasty fish slime in your cooler once and that'll be the last time you ever keep them. As a kid I used to fish seawolf park a lot and one of the resident locals would keep them and fry them up for us all and it was delicious. I remember he would bleed them, throw them in an oyster sack, and then in the cooler and ice them down really good. He would filet them up and cut out all the blood line and they were some very nice filets but they were small in proportion to the fish.
I catch them on occasion but don't keep them. If I would keep them make sure it's not the small ones since the rib cage is big and you lose a lot of meat. Good luck!
 
#17 ·
Yes, Gafftop Sail Catfish are good to eat. Remove any bloody meat before frying. I've also added a bit of curry powder and fresh ginger to the wet fillets before cooking.
As for the slime, if you catch them from the surf, roll them around the dry sand and rinse them off before putting in your cooler, otherwise wipe them down with some burlap.
 
#19 ·
Since this a gafftop eating thread, I'm curious if the advisories put out by the state give anyone else second thoughts? The vast majority of them, as I read them, give trout and reds a pass but caution against catfish (gafftops I presume). Not sure why they would be anymore susceptible to dioxin than the other predators but has made me reconsider throwing them in the cooler - even though I do find them fine eating.