# Eating those really big catfish



## Yazfish

I eat 2-3 pound farm raised catfish all the time from the store. Does anyone eat the fish from the lakes and rivers? What about these 20-30 pound catfish, what do they taste like?


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## basstardo

There are many reasons not to eat those fish. First and foremost, they're LOADED with pollutants. The bigger and older they get, the more toxins they collect. Second, the meat starts to get mushy as they get bigger. The small 2-5 pound fish taste the best to me, and I let the big ones go. Third, let 'em grow to be a trophy. Take a few of the small ones, but let the fat boys get fatter so we can catch 'em again.


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## JFord56

I favor the smaller ones too. My favorite is a platter full of ones about 6" long - fried. Sweeeet!:beer: The bigger ones are still good cut into fingers and fried. You can also do the grill or bake a big filet or do a catfish stew. The meat is not quite as firm. You have to trim all the big ones like you do a big stripa or blue. Cut all the grey or dark red meat off the filet before you cook. Unless you have state fish advisories out for where you catch them they are still fine to eat. Have to check your local state listings - some places here in SC have a warning not to consume ANY of certain fish species. Cats are always one of the ones listed.


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## toejam

It according to what type of catfish you are talking about and the water source it comes from.... All the blue cats and channel cats generally are worst eating as they grow larger , but the yellow cat is the opposite,,, they are not very good until it reaches a weight of 10 -15 lb, it is then that it starts eating only live bait ..... the bigger the better they taste! 40 50 pounder, it doesn't get any better... skin it and cut out fillets , then cut into strips about the size of "chicken fingers".. bread and fry, run all the cats outta the kitchen and get to it!


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## Yazfish

I never would have guessed about those yellow catfish. Thanks for that info.
This one should be mmmmm-mmmmm good.









http://www.team-swap.com/wordpress/2005/06/30/worlds-largest-catfish-wow


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## NTKG

i dont eat catfish but basically what has already been said is the exact same thing i hear. I hear flatheads are supposed to be ok even when they get larger as they primarily eat live bait as well. don't know the validity of that statement but...


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## basstardo

I've generally always let the flatheads go, but most of the waters I've fished are so bad from pollution, you kind of don't even want to eat the little ones. When I fished the Ohio River I kept absolutely nothing. Wasn't worth it in my opinion, especially since benzene, fertilizer, and other checmical spills are fairly common in that river.


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## Finger_Mullet

*Oh Nooo!!!!*

What about the ones in farm ponds???? I eat a bunch of catfish we catch in local farm ponds. 

We generally catch blue channel. Also hybrid cats well over 20 pounds. We just filet them and slice the meat into fingers then fry them with zatarans 

Please tell me you are talking about fish from rivers. I doubt any chemical spills are happening in local farm ponds in my area. 

Darin


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## Yazfish

If you google "fish consumption" and maybe add your local major river, you see what's been found, and generally it's not all that scary.

What amazes me is when they took fish from the most putrid water I know of around here, the Anacostia River, and ran all the tests, the only contaminant above allowable levels was PCB, and it was just barely too high.

http://www.wvdhhr.org/fish/current.asp

Also, in W.Va. they advise one catfish a week from general waters -- but only one bass per month. This is all about mercury, which builds up in predators.

http://www.wvdhhr.org/fish/current.asp

Anyway, I would have no problem eating any fish from your North Carolina farm pond. Like I say, I buy farm raised catfish all the time from the store. Any fish you don't want, give em to me.


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## jcreamer

basstardo said:


> I've generally always let the flatheads go, but most of the waters I've fished are so bad from pollution, you kind of don't even want to eat the little ones. When I fished the Ohio River I kept absolutely nothing. Wasn't worth it in my opinion, especially since benzene, fertilizer, and other checmical spills are fairly common in that river.


What part of the Ohio. I was raised on that river. Area between Illinois and Kentucky.


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## saltandsand

Stripers go into the river to spawn and swim past all sorts of sewage and contamination in the process. Yet I'm not hearing anybody say anything about not eating striper.

We used to eat catfish when I was a kid, all sizes. Common sense says the toxicity levels are much higher today. We stopped eating them from the flats when we started catching them with three eyes, two tails, large protuberances and an assortment of tumors. 

I personally agree large catfish can be risky business depending on the water they are taken but cats generally like clear water where it's available. I hear the Anacostia has problems, see http://www.fws.gov/contaminants/Issues/bullhead.cfm 

There's 40 or so different types of channel cats. I suppose each has its own risk with consumption. Heck some may be risky even when small, this is something I'd like to know more about.

The warmer the water the hungrier they get and vice versa. Channel cats get to about a pound at three years old. I've heard some say that they are 6 years old at 12 inches and some studies support this. They can live into their 30's. 

I suppose any natural caught fish presents health risk. Just think about all the toxic waste submerged during WWII, that's enough to make you want to eat nothing but farm raised fish. 

Striper has been associated with mycobacteria. Here's what MD-DNR says about it:
"How are humans affected? Infections in human are generally limited to the extremities such as fingertips and feet, but may involve the joints, bones and lymph nodes. Individuals with cuts or scrapes are at higher risk for infection. The most frequent symptom is the formation of a persistent bump or nodule under the skin. Additional symptoms may include the formation of ulcers, swelling of lymph nodes and joint pain. This disease can be treated with antibiotics. A health care provider should be contacted if any of the above symptoms develop following direct skin contact with fresh or salt water or after handling or processing fish. If you have any questions or general concerns, please contact a health care provider.

How can anglers and fish handlers protect themselves? Individuals that handle striped bass should wear heavy gloves (made of leather of heavy cotton) and boots to avoid puncture wounds from fish spines, and wash hands thoroughly after handling or processing striped bass. Open cuts or scrapes on hands and arms should be thoroughly cleansed and bandaged. Again, this disease can be treated with antibiotics, and any persons with questions or concerns should contact a physician." 

Cooked rock fish has not been associated with mycobacteria problems due to consumption. However, MD-DNR does say "Fish with open, reddened lesions on the body or with signs of hemorrhage or darkened patches in the fillets should be discarded."


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## saltandsand

Yazfish said:


> If you google "fish consumption" and maybe add your local major river, you see what's been found, and generally it's not all that scary.
> 
> What amazes me is when they took fish from the most putrid water I know of around here, the Anacostia River, and ran all the tests, the only contaminant above allowable levels was PCB, and it was just barely too high.
> 
> http://www.wvdhhr.org/fish/current.asp
> 
> Also, in W.Va. they advise one catfish a week from general waters -- but only one bass per month. This is all about mercury, which builds up in predators.
> 
> http://www.wvdhhr.org/fish/current.asp
> 
> Anyway, I would have no problem eating any fish from your North Carolina farm pond. Like I say, I buy farm raised catfish all the time from the store. Any fish you don't want, give em to me.


Every particular fish is different. Each one caught from the same hole can be totally different from the another. They don't stay in the same place all the time. I agree with the studies but just because one is tested okay does not mean that the next one will.

Land locked reservoirs and lakes can present issues as well. Contaminants can build up with land locked water. I suppose farm raised fish can present risk too.

Bottom line is Life itself is Risky. Never know what the next moment may bring, so it's best to enjoy fishing when you can!!


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## saltandsand

Yazfish said:


> I never would have guessed about those yellow catfish. Thanks for that info.
> This one should be mmmmm-mmmmm good.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> http://www.team-swap.com/wordpress/2005/06/30/worlds-largest-catfish-wow


NOW THAT'S A TRUE BEAST AND A HALF!


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## basstardo

jcreamer said:


> What part of the Ohio. I was raised on that river. Area between Illinois and Kentucky.


I grew up east of Cincinnati in a little town called New Richmond. I lived about 100 yards from the water, so I spent most of my time there. I used to fish the Meldahl and McAlpine Dams a lot as well. McAlpine would have been closer to you. Carrollton, KY was another place I'd go visit every now and again with family. It's a shame the river is as nasty as it is.


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## basstardo

saltandsand said:


> There's 40 or so different types of channel cats.


While I agree with most everything else you said, I have to disagree with this. Channel catfish are a species unto themselves. There are, however, many different species of both fresh and saltwater catfish. The most common freshwater cats in the US are flatheads, blues, channels, yellow, brown, and black bullheads, and white catfish. We used to used the small yellow bullheads (yellowbellies) for flathead bait in the River. A 10"-12" bullhead with the fins clipped was candy for big flatheads.


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## saltandsand

basstardo said:


> While I agree with most everything else you said, I have to disagree with this. Channel catfish are a species unto themselves. There are, however, many different species of both fresh and saltwater catfish. The most common freshwater cats in the US are flatheads, blues, channels, yellow, brown, and black bullheads, and white catfish. We used to used the small yellow bullheads (yellowbellies) for flathead bait in the River. A 10"-12" bullhead with the fins clipped was candy for big flatheads.



Absolutely, there other cats besides channel cats. Hmmm...any one have a count on the total number of catfish species?


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## basstardo

I tried to look it up, but couldn't get a firm number. I was very curious about that myself.


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## Lip Ripper

There are over 2000 valid species of catfish (out of the 20 000 or so species of fish) in 34 families. This means that about 1 in 4 valid species of freshwater fish, 1 in 10 fish, and 1 in 20 vertebrates, is a catfish. The word Siluriformes is derived from the Latin words silur meaning a kind of fish and forma meaning shape.

thats all i could find


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## mud

hmmm eating one of those large old catfish to me would easily be like eating a large old seagull.....My .02


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## saltandsand

Adding to the count are an incredible number of saltwater cats (some no bigger than a minnow)...are there more cats than any other species of fish?


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## jcreamer

basstardo said:


> I grew up east of Cincinnati in a little town called New Richmond. I lived about 100 yards from the water, so I spent most of my time there. I used to fish the Meldahl and McAlpine Dams a lot as well. McAlpine would have been closer to you. Carrollton, KY was another place I'd go visit every now and again with family. It's a shame the river is as nasty as it is.


I agree I have some good memories of swimming in that river.


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## Yazfish

That Anacostia river advisory link I mentioned above didn't get on there right. If anyone's interested:

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/hac/PHA/anacostia/ana_p1.html


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## TreednNC

saltandsand said:


> Adding to the count are an incredible number of saltwater cats (some no bigger than a minnow)...are there more cats than any other species of fish?



Lotta small species in creeks and streams too small to catch. Common names are generally "_______________ madtom"


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## Fireline20

*Basa Catfish*

I don't eat much catfish, butttttt....one of the best fish I have ever eaten is the Basa Catfish, which comes from Vietnam.

Seems it has been outlawed in Lousianna, Mississippi, and Alabama as it is a threat to the local farm raised cats.

Publix sells it here in SC and it is gooooooooood...


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## OtterPop

Fireline20 said:


> I don't eat much catfish, butttttt....one of the best fish I have ever eaten is the Basa Catfish, which comes from Vietnam.
> 
> Seems it has been outlawed in Lousianna, Mississippi, and Alabama as it is a threat to the local farm raised cats.
> 
> Publix sells it here in SC and it is gooooooooood...


 Yeah that is actually the same fish when you decide to go to many places to eat and get blackened "flounder" or "grouper" . A lot of states are cracking down on this so now your grouper / flounder has a nice * next to it witch explaining what it actually is .

Still tastey but nothing beats right out of the ocean onto a grill.


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## TJSingleton

Yazfish said:


> http://www.team-swap.com/wordpress/2005/06/30/worlds-largest-catfish-wow


I was going to make a joke about how much fun it would have been to reel it in on light tackle, so I checked out the website to see what they used - found this:



> Originally there were plans to release the fish, but it died while in captivity and* was eaten by a village* near where it was caught.


That's one SERIOUS fish fry!


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## dirtyhandslopez

I'm thinking the cat's we got from the beginning of the Pamunki are goint to be just fine. '
Specially now the're frozen and can't escape


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## JFord56

Your state DNR or DHEC will have fish advisories out for "any" fish that poses a health risk. In SC it depends on where you go. In Wateree R all cats are fine but, in lowcountry, the Edisto R, the only safe one is a Blue cat. (mercury levels) Even the panfish in the lowcountry have advisories. If it's not on the list it's fine to eat. The bigger ones are better in a stew or cut into fingers and fried. Smaller are sweeter and better fried whole or filets.


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## NcRon

TreednNC said:


> Lotta small species in creeks and streams too small to catch. Common names are generally "_______________ madtom"


And madtoms are good to eat just takes "ALOT" of them to make a meal 
And yes i've tried it


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## belindajohno

waaahhhhh thats a big fish EEK!


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## keezy

The VA, NC, and MD health departments issue strict guidelines on PCBs for fish caught by anglers. They DO NOT apply these same guidelines to commercial fish, so you won't be seeing an advisory next to the mahi or catfish at the grocery store. I think the food in the grocery store is regulated by the FDA and with the FDA "money talks".

This is what the state health departments are using for PCB limits:
< 50 PPB (parts per billion) = no advisory
50-500 PPB = "eat no more than 2 meals a month"
>500 PPB = do not eat

for a reality check, this chart should give you an idea of how much PCBs are in normal foods:









I don't know about you guys but I eat way more butter and beef than I do rockfish. I've never seen a health advisory on the Land O' Lakes box.


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## sirstreet

Lip Ripper said:


> There are over 2000 valid species of catfish (out of the 20 000 or so species of fish) in 34 families. This means that about 1 in 4 valid species of freshwater fish, 1 in 10 fish, and 1 in 20 vertebrates, is a catfish. The word Siluriformes is derived from the Latin words silur meaning a kind of fish and forma meaning shape.
> 
> thats all i could find


2200plus world wide,42 in the US


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## rplocica

*POTOMAC AND ANACOSTIA RIVER CATFISH - cited report was outdated*

Where Sand and Surf and cited the one report it was old and had used data on fish collected in 1987+1991 -- my how things have changed.

The fish and shellfish advisory is listed here

http://www.mwcog.org/environment/PotomacForum/Papers/Phelps_Biomonitoring_in_Anacostia_Summary.pdf

Where "60% of catfish exhibit tumors" and it is the third most polluted river in the Chesapeake where we have seen the shellfish dying off. It uses data from clams for metals testnig.

Fish studies by Fish and Wildlife Service in recent times of the high rates of intersex fish, with skin lesions and tumors at -
http://www.fws.gov/contaminants/Issues/bullhead.cfm
Fifty percent of the fish collected from the Anacostia River near the CSX Railroad Bridge in the spring and 60% of those collected in the fall had liver tumors. In addition, a record 68% of the fish collected at a location near a combined sewer outfall were found to have liver tumors."These are comparable to the highest reported liver tumor rates in studies conducted in the Great Lakes, where rates above 9% indicate contamination" reports lead author, Fred Pinkney, an Environmental Contaminants biologist with the Service's Chesapeake Bay Field Office.

The survey found that the liver tumor rate in Neabsco Creek, a Virginia tributary of the Potomac located about 25 miles down river from Washington, DC was also high (17%). Neabsco Creek borders the Featherstone National Wildlife Refuge, managed by the Service. 

I think I would avoid fish in the lower Potomac (below Great Falls) adn all of Anacostia.


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## Brook

Not to minimize the problem of contaminents, but many times the standards are based merely on our ability to measure those very small amounts; rather than relating them to experimentally verifiable levels of risk. 

Or, as I like to describe it, the standards are often based on nothing more than that our ability to measure nothing gets better every day. 

Years ago I edited a trade magazine called Package Engineering. Food packaging (and, therefore, FDA, USDA, and other protocols) obviously was important to us.

When I joined that magazine, parts per million were the commonly used standard. Two years later, when I left, parts per billion were generally accepted. Now we blythly talk about parts per trillion.

When we look at the "allowable" levels, however, we rarely find that the amounts used have anything to do with actual danger levels. I've seen standards go from parts per million to parts per trillion with no clinical evidence that the new figures made things any safer. They were established by the TACs for no other reason than they could.

You also have to look at how the contaminents are measured. Typically, a set number of whole fish are ground up, and that slurry is used to determine contaminate levels. Many (perhaps most) contaminents build up in the fatty tissues of fish. So if you discard the belly, and the fat line along the spine, you significantly reduce exposure. But such preperation habits are not considered in the advisories. 

What I'm saying is that, as with so many governmental decrees, you have to balance the advisories with a bit of common sense. Then make the decision whether you will or will not eat a particular fish.


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