How to Clean Catfish

1. Step 1

   The first thing you want to do is locate the Adipose Fin on your catfish. This fin is located on top of the catfish, at the back of the fish, near where the tail begins. There are only two fins on top of the catfish, so as long as it’s not the one by the head, then you probably have the correct fin.

2. Step 2

   Using your fillet knife, begin an incision behind the Adipose Fin, and continue to cut one long, continuous strip that goes under the Adipose Fin and along the back towards the head of the fish. Just continue one long cut until you are under the dorsal fin. This is the other fin on top of the catfish, being just behind the catfish's head.

3. Step 3

   Once your fillet knife is positioned under the dorsal fin, change the angle of your cut to begin slicing downward. You want to cut deep into the fish, just behind the head. Continue cutting all the way down to the backbone, then slide your fillet knife out of the catfish.

4. Step 4

   Holding the body of the catfish with one hand, grab the head of the fish with the other hand and bend the head down so that the backbone of the catfish breaks. Be careful to not apply so much force that you rip the head completely off. The idea here is to just break the backbone so that it will not be in your way.

5. Step 5

   Using the hand the is holding the body of the fish, insert your index finger into the fish. You should be able to reach right over the end of the backbone, getting your finger firmly into the rib cage so that you have a very firm grip on the body of the catfish.

6. Step 6

   With your grip on the body of the fish strengthened, use your other hand to pull the head of the fish towards the tail. The skin, still firmly attached to the head, will pull behind it, pulling away from the meat of the fish. It is almost like peeling a banana. If you peel slowly and carefully, you should be able to remove all of the skin with one even pull.

7. Step 7

   Lay the fish on it's side and make a fillet cut to separate the meet on that side of the catfish from the bone. You basically just want to lay your fillet knife almost flat against the point where you will begin the cut. Just raise the blade to give it a slight angle, and begin slicing into the catfish flesh. When you get to the bone, level off your cut and slice straight across, to hopefully end up with one big piece of boneless catfish meat.

8. Step 8

   Flip the catfish over and make another fillet cut on the other side of the fish. Afterwards, be sure to inspect both pieces very carefully for bones. Catfish bones are very thin and very pointy, and are something you do not want to find it's way into an unsuspecting mouth.

9. Step 9

   Everything except the two fillets is waste and should be disposed of. If you have cleaned your catfish while you are still fishing, then you can throw the remains into the water for other fish to feed on.