What you need:
1. Filet knife, Electric or Sharp Blade
2. Coat Hangar
3. 1 Trashbag
4. Clean bowl with cold clean water
5. Needle Nose Pliers or Catfish Skinner Pliers
Step 1
Make sure you have everything together that you need before you start. Remember that you are starting with a LIVE catfish so be prepared and watch those spines! Before you start, straighten the coat hangar and go halfway up the head between the eyes and the main spines. Take the tip of your knife and you will feel a small groove on the head of the catfish, press down hard and fast and make a puncturing motion. This is the fastest and most humane way to kill the fish, severing its spinal cord and brain.
Step 2
Begin step 2 by making a small cut around the base of the head; this will be where you cut later to remove the head, but for now leave the head on to give you a better grip on the fish. This will give you an edge from which to start skinning . Now, with your Needle Nose Pliers (or Catfish Pliers) grab the skin where you made the cut and pull it down toward the tail. If it rips that is ok just start where you left off. Repeat this on both sides of the fish until the skin is completely removed from the fish.
Step 3
After you have cleaned all the skin off of the fish and discarded it into the plastic bag, we will begin to filet the fish. I find it a lot easier to use a electric filet knife, but if you are in the woods then a regular sharp filet knife will work just fine. Now turn the catfish on one side with the tail pointed to your right (if you are right handed, if you are left haded then simply reverse) start to cut downward right behind the head of the fish until you hit the spine. DO NOT CUT THROUGH the spine if you do it will prove very difficult to complete the next steps. Now aim the blade of your knife down the length of the fish and begin cutting, your goal is to just skim over the spine all the way down to the tail until you cut all the way through. Once this is done then you will flip the fish over and repeat.
Step 4
Now that you have 2 filets, discard the fish guts in all in your trash bag. This should have made it a lot easier for you so far as you would not have to had gut the fish and still be able to retain 80% of all the meat. Take one of your filets and get ready to cut out the ribs, to do this start with the outside of the filet face down and the inside facing you. Take your knife and gently cut underneath the ribs and all the way down staying as close to the bones as possible so that you save as much meat as you can. When you are done repeat for the second filet and then place both in the cold water. Remember to clean up your mess and discard your trash bag. Now simply wash your filets in cold water removing any blood that there may be and cook them with your favorite recipe!
