Why arent Gaffetops treated like a Fresh Water cat?

S

Sarentack

Seaman
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Jun 29, 2012
Messages
60
I been able to catch a mess of them while trying to hook into huge specs and bull reds, once you get past the danger of being finned by them and the slime, they are quite easy to fillet.

Once fried, they taste quite good, much like the Fresh Water cats, more specifically the farmed raised cats.

It seems out of all people fishing, only about 20% ever keeps gaffetops.
 
carribbean soul

carribbean soul

Petty Officer 2nd Class
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Mar 19, 2012
Messages
176
Re: Why arent Gaffetops treated like a Fresh Water cat?

I know what they eat therefore I wont eat them, plus there are lots of fish out in the water that would be easier to clean and cook
 
M

mpsyamaha

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Jun 8, 2007
Messages
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Re: Why arent Gaffetops treated like a Fresh Water cat?

I have been told they are edible, but I still wont touch them. The slime and the smell that they have is repulsive enough that I try not handle them at all if accidentally caught. I hate when they get their nasty slime on your line, often have to retie to get rid of it. Even their blood has a strange sliminess to it.

When I was a kid I saw a friend go to kick a good size one off the seawall and it stabbed him in the foot pretty bad... dumbass.
 
JB

JB

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Messages
45,907
Re: Why arent Gaffetops treated like a Fresh Water cat?

Prejudice. At least that's why I never kept them, though I enjoy eating channel cat. I don't think it has anything to do with what they eat; I eat pigs and have in the past enjoyed 'possum.
 
K

kahuna123

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703
Re: Why arent Gaffetops treated like a Fresh Water cat?

Every book I have ever seen rates the channel cats as very good to eat. When I was a kid and my Dad fished the tarpon tournaments we would get them by accident and all I remember was the slime hanging off the line 5 ft up and the grunt noise they made. I just can't. There are plenty of Key West grunts here.
 
M

mpsyamaha

Petty Officer 1st Class
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395
Re: Why arent Gaffetops treated like a Fresh Water cat?

channel cats are freshwater, and they are good to eat. the saltwater cats in FL are either gafftopsail or hardhead catfish. And supposedly the gafftops are good to eat. but you wont see me trying them, when i can catch dolphin or snapper or something lol.
 
barrynfla

barrynfla

Petty Officer 3rd Class
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Nov 3, 2012
Messages
81
Re: Why arent Gaffetops treated like a Fresh Water cat?

Gafftops are slimy all right but not as bad as hardheads. They're totally disgusting! I still wouldn't eat a gafftop, though. Probably get barbed trying to clean the thing. :lol:
 
K

kahuna123

Senior Chief Petty Officer
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Jun 2, 2011
Messages
703
Re: Why arent Gaffetops treated like a Fresh Water cat?

I am sure you are right we just always called them channel cats. Some of them pretty big. We had a small baseball bat to calm them down to get the hook out.
 
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