I saw this as the favorite on another thread, what is it about it that is
Good? Is it the white skin part on the belly? On most fish this is the fishy part
Is it not fishy on flatheads for some reason, is it more firm flavorful?
Everytime I have had catfish that was wild it had a muddy taste to it except
One that i cought in a cold river up here in Wisconsin. Does the water mater or
Location of where they live in a river matter? Or maybe you southern folk have
Messed up taste buds? Lol

It has to be from flathead catfish, they don't eat the nasty stuff channel cats eat. It's a mild flaky white meat with an exceptional taste. No matter how big the fish its always the same and always great.

I keep the bellies separate, they are in the 2 gallon tupperware...



They don't get shared so much like the rest of the fish, which is VERY GOOD too!...



Here's a nice one...



They don't all get to come home though...

The steaks off the head of big flatties is right there with the belly meat too!

Flathead is the Cadillac of catfish. The belly meat is the Rolls Royce.

People often think flatheads are like channels and blues. They are not. They are a predator. I've caught a few on worms and one on a big crawdad. Rest on jigs or live fish like green eared sunfish, bull heads, or big gold fish.

They remain inactive like snakes for a long time. Not using up much energy. When its time to eat though they all eat. Can go days with little activity on your lines then run them and have a boatful of fish.

Jigs bounced in cover can get them mad and they will bite. Need some heavy tackle to do this. They get big. Need to be able to horse them around some to keep from getting tangled.

Flathead are good top to bottom l I'm as been said there predators, as for fishy tasting channels there pretty good no fishy taste if you trim the crap out of them the lateral line and yellow fat has to go for me! Can't speak for blues don't have them is this s rddvtion of river, but flathead are king in my book!
Live bait is best we catch a lot on super freash cut bait too and night crawlers!I caught one once on a snake about 6" long I killed it skint it and put it on a hook as soon as it hit bottom still scwarming a 3 pound flathead hit it! They like it live!
Colt

We make fish sandwiches out of the bellies best fish sandwich in the world and yes Blues are good to. The bigger the better but clean up every inch of the red meat off the sides. You throw away nearly half if you clean them up properly

What I always did during the summer months is to tie them up in a spring fed stock tank for a week before butchering. Get away from the yellow fat that they all get in the summer. No need to do this first thing in the spring, but when the water starts getting warm, it really makes a difference in the fat in them.

The jaw meat on them big cats are good also.

[quote=~ADC~]It has to be from flathead catfish, they don't eat the nasty stuff channel cats eat. It's a mild flaky white meat with an exceptional taste. No matter how big the fish its always the same and always great.

Not sure this is a true statement. Flatheads are a bottom feeder and the research shows they eat basically what a channel cat would eat. Not trying to create a fight but facts aren't totally true. LOL

"Young flathead catfish feed mostly on invertebrates such as worms, insects and crayfish. When 10 inches or larger, their diet consists entirely of fish: shad, carp, suckers, sunfish, largemouth bass and other catfish (including their own kind)."

https://www.google.com/search?q=flathead...me&ie=UTF-8

All catfish will eat what you have listed. A flathead is an opportunist will eat what ever it can and is a bottom feeder also. The difference is where they live (type of waters) and what kind of food is present that makes the difference. A flathead will live and eat the same thing a channel will if that is what is available.

"Channel catfish are omnivorous and feed mostly at night on snails, insects, crawfish, algae, and plants."

"Their diet consists of aquatic insects, worms, clams, crayfish, snails, and fish, all of which could be dead or alive."

https://www.google.com/search?q=channel+...me&ie=UTF-8

See the difference. There are always exceptions to the rule but for the most part, Flatheads eat live bait they hunt down, while channel cats eat the moss off the bottom of the lake and whatever is in it.

Come to KS snowy. Ill take you to some water with channels blues and flats all three. You can show me what your claiming. Especially the bottom feeding thing

Flatheads hunt like killer whales. Ambushing stuff from underneath it, by swimming up. Their eyes are on top their head for looking up.

They taste so good because A flathead eats predominately live bait. I enjoy the filets same as the belly meat, all good! They Will eat winter killed fish in the spring until their metabolism gets going from the empty stomach all winter. The younger < 20 inch flatheads will feed mostly on Crawfish and FRESH dead bait. Once over 20 inches they become Fierce predator fish. They love Green ear sunfish and bluegills, but I've caught flatheads that had digested channel cats and bass in their belly's.
I also put them in a stock tank and let them purge for several days like Lee suggested above.
There's a small tributary and a small lake not far from here that have Giant flatheads in it, love fishing for them and eatting them.
Nothing better then fighting a 40 or 50 lb flathead on rod and reel.

Thanks for all the info guys, I will have to see if the river by me has flatheads or channel
Cats. Not much for catfish this far north but I have cought a few that I think we're flatheads!

No mistaking a flat. Especially compared to a channel or blue

you guys are making me hungry. Ive never had flathead belly. The rivers here are polluted and i believe the belly meat holds the most toxins. We have big flats in ohio but in those rivers high toxin levels. I want to try them now!!!

Good luck.

Don't mistake the breeding male channel cat for a flathead or blue cat. I have seen folks around here do both. They will have a big puffy looking head and blue colored tint around the head and mouth.

If you'll put me on some good Northern Pike waters in your area, I'll steer you to the big flatheads near here. lol

Flathead, AKA Bass breath!
Dennis

Grilled Flathead belly meat is the closest thing I know of to lobster. It seldom sees the grease at my house.

I occasionally will catch flathead drifting rip-rap banks with fresh cut shad. So to say the will not eat dead bait is false. However, it's likely that in those circumstances the drifting bait in the current could easily mimic that of a live baitfish.

As far as the eye steaks go, I'm always curious when I hear people talk so highly of them. In my opinion, they are the worst cut on the fish. I still cut them out however.

ol'dad

cmon guys..more about belly meat...

I got to much of it. Whoa maybe that ani"t meat.

the pic of the belly meat looks like yellow bullhead meat here out of river,,to me its like veal

Speaking of yellow bullhead, those are really hard to beat.

The quality of Bullheads very much depends on the water quality. Those fish are survivors, plain and simple. They will live anywhere, in some very marginal conditions. If you're taking them from a small creek where the fish spends more time in the mud than the water, they can taste terrible. I've pulled some not far from where a decent sized creek flows into a navigable river, and they are fantastic.

true,,get them from clear clean water and they are awesome!!

ADC and ol' dad, when's the fish fry?
The taste and texture of flathead belly meat can't hardly be beat. Need to set some lines.

when i was still working adc for state of south dakota we had one in the state aquarium that was 6 pounds...what a chunker

I agree they are my very first choice,,,, for flathead bait.

I have several per year, let me know when you'll be in the neighborhood.

Yep, what Don said!!

Yep its excellent, and don't forget about those nuggets in the head of the bigguns!