Best way to humanly kill catfish? But keep them fresh?

[Novicaine]

I usually just fish for panfish, where I bring a bucket of water and bring them home live and wack 'em on the head with a hammer before cleaning.
I tried bringing a cooler of ice so I could kill the fish in the boat, and put them on ice, but I caught a catfish and I couldn't figure out how to humanly kill it and get it in the ice. Would a hammer wack on the head work? They seem to have tough skulls compared to pan fish.

Anyway, any suggestions would be appreciated. I tried googling, but got too many overly sensative people's (peta-like) advice. I'd like some real advice from people who actually fish on the standard accepted ways to deal with catches.

Thanks!!

 

[DrNip]

When I was a kid my grandpa used to take a hammer and nail. I know of some people that I believe cut the tail fin off or slit it and let them bleed out in the livewell.

 

[RiverBottomOutdoors]

Fish bat.

 

[RiverBottomOutdoors]

Catfish are easier to clean if you keep the live right up until you are about to clean them.

 

[Novicaine]

RiverBottomOutdoors » 59 minutes ago[/url]"]Fish bat.

Hmm, interesting... I should get one of these.
So you just wack 'em? Does that work for catfish?

 

[Novicaine]

RiverBottomOutdoors » 59 minutes ago[/url]"]Catfish are easier to clean if you keep the live right up until you are about to clean them.

I really need to fix my larger boat that has a live well...
Thanks!

 

[RiverBottomOutdoors]

Novicaine » 1 minute ago[/url]"]

RiverBottomOutdoors » 59 minutes ago[/url]"]Fish bat.

Hmm, interesting... I should get one of these.
So you just wack 'em? Does that work for catfish?

Yep. Whack 'em in the head. The bat goes ping...the fish goes limp. Search Amazon.com for "fish bat". It's just a really small aluminum baseball bat.

 

[JoshKeller]

ive been known to use my front mount navigation light. Has the right amount of heft, and has held up pretty good so far, and always in the boat.

 

[onthewater102]

A hammer will inflict far more trauma to the skull than a bat - stick with the hammer and save the $5 for a celebratory beer with a friend after getting a monster.

 

[RiverBottomOutdoors]

onthewater102 » 33 minutes ago[/url]"]A hammer will inflict far more trauma to the skull than a bat - stick with the hammer and save the $5 for a celebratory beer with a friend after getting a monster.

That's why whenever you see saltwater guys killing 200lb fish they always use a hammer..... He's killing fish...not people.

 

[stevesecotec02]

whenever I am going after eater size catfish I always clean and filet them on the boat. I use my large cooler as a cleaning table and use a kabar potbelly knife to chop off their heads then filet them. Once filleted i place filets in a zip lock bag then into the cooler. They stay in cooler untill the next day after coming home and getting some sleep then i take them into kitchen and clean up and skin the filets. A cheap walmart machete or meat clever would work just as well as the kabar but i keep the knife on the boat for other uses as well.

 

[DrNip]

Thinking back on it my grandpa might have just only used a hammer.

 

[Irish87]

Why kill them? I just keep them alive until I clean them....which kills them

 

[Novicaine]

Irish87 » Yesterday, 20:49[/url]"]Why kill them? I just keep them alive until I clean them....which kills them

I'm just debating options...

I generally keep them alive in a bucket of water until I get them home and clean them, but I think a cooler of frozen/dead fish would be easier to handle than a bucket of live ones during the trip home.

 

[BassAddict]

Instructions on how to humanly euthanize fish at 25s

https://m.liveleak.com/view?i=63d_1401517377&comments=1

 

[Captain Ahab]

BassAddict » Sat Jul 26, 2014 8:18 pm[/url]"]Instructions on how to humanly euthanize fish at 25s

https://m.liveleak.com/view?i=63d_1401517377&comments=1

I a taking note!

 

[bcbouy]

when i dispatch salmon, i hold it up by the tail,grab hold of the gills and yank.they bleed out quick and stay fresh longer.

 

[ccm]

Fish generally 25 + lbs. I like to keep alive to cut the tail & bleed out ( the fish will taste better if you do this ). Any thing under I toss in a large cooler with ice. If you don't like them thrashing around in the cooler you can knock them in the head with a small club or hammer. For catfish unless you have gotten really proficient with a regular/electric fillet knife purchase a good pair of skinning pliers. Live fish are easier to clean just using a fillet knife but once they are put on ice 99% of the time you have to use a pair of skinning pliers. Large fish are easier to skin when hung up ( larger fish need to be skinned ) for smaller fish I use a board with a large nail driven though it to hold the fish while it is skinned. A cooler with ice will keep fish fresh just fine. Use plenty of ice & pack fish & ice in layers. They will stay fresh for 5 days or more if packed & kept iced properly but it is always best to clean the fish ASAP. If keeping a large fish to bleed out, but no livewell or the fish is to big, carry an old towel ( keep the fish alive on a stringer while fishing ) & when you go to go home wet the towel & wrap the fish in it, the fish will stay alive & not dry out ( this generally works good if your trip from the lake is less than 30 minutes ).

 

[earl60446]

On lake Erie we would bring along a 5 gal bucket, put maybe 5 inches water in it, a keeper walleye would get its gills cut and placed head first into the bucket to bleed out. Have a towel to cover the bucket. Then transfer to ice cooler. Made a huge difference as opposed to just throwing them on ice. No blood at the filet table at all, nice clean meat. Used a garden shears to cut the gills. Safer than having a knife loose on board.
Tim

 

[Captain Ahab]

earl60446 » Mon Jul 28, 2014 10:23 am[/url]"]On lake Erie we would bring along a 5 gal bucket, put maybe 5 inches water in it, a keeper walleye would get its gills cut and placed head first into the bucket to bleed out. Have a towel to cover the bucket. Then transfer to ice cooler. Made a huge difference as opposed to just throwing them on ice. No blood at the filet table at all, nice clean meat. Used a garden shears to cut the gills. Safer than having a knife loose on board.
Tim

X2


Cattys everyone just keeps alive until cleaning time