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.
John 21:3
Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We are going with you also." They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing.
And we act like this Nightstalking thing is new.
For some excitment, read the next verse. A special guest arrived, they filled their coolers and had a fish fry on the beach...in the morning. My kind of people.- Bowfin
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.
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
John 21:3
Simon Peter said to them, "I am going fishing." They said to him, "We are going with you also." They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing.
And we act like this Nightstalking thing is new.
For some excitment, read the next verse. A special guest arrived, they filled their coolers and had a fish fry on the beach...in the morning. My kind of people.- Bowfin
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.
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
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.:D
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Takeum Jigs
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...
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