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Hi,
New poster here thought I would share. Last night I went out to willard bay on my pontoon boat and caught a couple nice cats one went 19" and the other was 18", had a nice walleye at the boat that broke me off and several other fish that gave me the long line release. Me and my cousin will be out there tonight to go after them again. I seen that you said you were smoking your cats and was wondering how you brine the fillets and what wood chunks to use, time, temp any info would be appreciated. Oh by the way the midges where horribly thick they kept sticking to my sun screen on my arms and neck, had to kept giving myself the Willard Wash Down.
Matt
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[cool][#0000ff]Welcome aboard. Glad you scored some kitty flesh for the smoker. I just finished a batch.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I am attaching a PDF file I put together on the way I smoke kitties. If you have thin fillets...like from the fish at Willard...you can just put them on the rack, shake on some salt and sugar...let them sit a couple of hours...season and smoke. No overnight brining necessary.[/#0000ff]
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just like to say thank you to Tube Dude. You always are willing to give up valuable info, share a positive thought, and give help and support to your fellow angler. Thank You.
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[cool][#0000ff]Thanks.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I appreciate your appreciation.[/#0000ff]
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[font "Comic Sans MS"][#0000ff]Ditto Dude... thanks for the information sharing. I am a better fisherman today thankz 2 U[/#0000ff][/font]
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TubeDude is an all fishermen's man. A tribute to the craft. Stud. (Oh, thanks for the jigs, Pat)
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Awsome Thank You very much, Ditto what 4TheKids said coulnt have said it any better. My cousin and I did pretty well last night out on the bay again total of 6 cats and one wiper. I also lost about about 5 lbs due to the slimming effect the flippers can give ya after about 4 hours of kicking, I wont say anything about the waking up from a dead sleep and grabbing my calfs and hamstrings though [crazy] . I will add pics later today. Thanks again TubeDude.
Matt
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Thank you TD, been catching a ton (well maybe not quite a ton) of cats at Utah Lake grilling a lot of them, and giving away some to appreciating neighbors. I somoke a lot of trout, but have wanted to try the cat fish [sly] Just a FYI we did Lincoln Beach Thursday, three of us limited on cats at the rock pile, fun day. got them on shrimp and worm combo, or minnow combo. Heard about the cleaning station and the beer cans [:/] (pretty  .) The cleaner is not operating, but water is on. You can clean your fish there, but carcasses need to be bagged and hauled to the dumpster. I was told, believe there is a sign there stating that " Not to put catfish into grinder" or something to that affect. Mud lake was good to us earlier in the year, but with water levels dropping ,,scary to lanch out of Hobble Creek, and water looks like pea soup.. Thank you again for the smokin catfish pdf.
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[cool][#0000ff]Bryce has told me that you have been molesting the cats something fierce. Good on ya. Not much chance of hurting the lake by harvesting plenty of kitties. Lots to go around for everybody. Too bad the carp aren't good for much more than kitty bait. They could stand a whole lot of harvesting.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Yeah, I think I got Bryce hooked on the smoked catfish. Don't know if he has sampled you on it but it usually turns out great. The key is to smoke it long enough to remove most of the oils and moisture. Get it almost to the jerky stage. Different than trout. But, if you know your way around a smoker I am sure you can work it out.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Keep on keepin' on.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Thinking about making a trip to Huntington for some tigers soon. Any recent info you can pass along?[/#0000ff]
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I haven't heard from Bryce lately, guess he's been pretty busy, new job, gonna be a daddy soon and all, got to get him out give him a brake. ha.
We've hit Huntington a couple of times from shore this year, and lots of Tigers but very small. None of my fishing buddies have tubes, and only 10 horse or smaller OB's are allowed on the lake, so my group are limited to shore tanglin. We have in passed years got some very nice tigers trolling but that's a thing of the past I guess now[unimpressed] . I've seen numerous tubers lunching, and sure a guy on a tube could do well. We've always caught best along the damn, or the north side. Red siders I would guess may be the ticket. Here's a couple of Huntington pictures from past years. Good luck to you, you might want to try Cleveland too, lots of planters, but there's always a chance. [sly]
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Just letting these bad boys marinate as per TubeDudes recipe. Note the custom fillet board [  ]
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Nice stringer of fish SmokerDog.
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Tube dude, have you tried smoking carp? I don't have a clue how my grandfather did it but it was very good. I'm pretty sure he used cherry wood but other than that I'm at a loss. Thanks for the cat smoking recipe, my brother in law hooked me bad into smoking meat. I am going to try trout next. Do you have a killer pdf of how you smoke trout? Thanks for all the help as always.
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very nice mess o cats to Matt.. guess Willard?
I've got frozen kitty fillets in the freezer, but am going up tomorrow to get some fresh to smoke..[sly]
Is that wishful thinking or what? [crazy]
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[quote submoa]Tube dude, have you tried smoking carp? I don't have a clue how my grandfather did it but it was very good. I'm pretty sure he used cherry wood but other than that I'm at a loss. Thanks for the cat smoking recipe, my brother in law hooked me bad into smoking meat. I am going to try trout next. Do you have a killer pdf of how you smoke trout? Thanks for all the help as always.[/quote]
[cool][#0000ff]Carp are Rodney Dangerfield fish...both as game fish and food fish. If you get them from clean waters and remove the skin and the red flesh from the sides they have beautiful flesh that cooks up so white and nice you can't tell it from bass...except for the bones. You need to learn the anatomy and learn to either deal with the bones after cooking or to slice them out before cooking. Trout and pike also have flesh bones that require skilled knife work. As members of the minnow family, carp have more bones, but they can be felt with your finger tips after slicing off the fillets and you can make cuts on each side and remove the strips of bones.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Carp make a great smoked fish. I used to substitute it for the smoked salmon and steelhead in my refrigerator when I lived in Sacramento and my buddies come over to watch football...and raid my stash of smoked fish. They pronounced the smoked carp to be the "best smoked salmon" I had ever turned out.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Sorry. No PDF on smoking trout. But, here are some pics anyway. I smoke trout with the skin left on...skinside down. That helps hold the pieces together and reduces sticking to the grill. Comes off easy at munching time. [/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]I don't use any exotic recipe or brine soaks. I have no quarrel with those who do. They turn out some delicious fishes. But I learned the EZ2 (easy to) quick smoking system from the late Al Kutzkey, a famous fishing guide on the Smith and Klamath Rivers in California...a long time ago. His philosophy is that if you start with good fish you should only try to make it better and not turn it into salty cardboard.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]So, when smoking trout I lay the pieces on the oiled racks, salt and sugar them lightly and then let them form a glaze for a couple of hours at room temperature. Then I add seasonings and pop them in the smoker. Lots of variables...like thickness of the fish, temperature inside and outside the smoker and length of time necessary to get them just the way you like them.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Hope that helps.[/#0000ff]
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Thanks SmokerDog, Ya those were at willard last night I cant take all the credit for all of them as my cousin donated two of them to me " Thanks Tater, Sign up and get on would ya " As we speak the smoker has been on for about two hours now inbetween 170-180 and I cant wait.
Thanks to all that have responded.
Matt
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Once again TD - great post, great story, fun photos.
I wonder if the wallys would go for a shtuck of Venison on one of your jigs! I've heard of "doubles" - but two on one line - that's something! And what a greedy bugger - to swaller both jigs in one go!
Reminds me of our Perch Poles we used to line with lots of little golden hooks. Often pulled up several hits at once (those were ocean perch in Florida - hell they'd even hit just the shiny hooks, sans bait).
Yours sounds like a bass-story I just read. One fella got hit big, and broke off. The next pulls in this 5 pound bass - and what's stuck in his gizzard, but the other fellas lizard.
The Big Bad Brownie made me laugh. At Newton we spotted a dead Muskie by the launch, and my son wanted to net it, but said it wouldn't fit in the net (or he wasn't strong enough to lift it). Guess it's good we didn't connect with any live ones. (Spotted a bunch. Talk about Beasts!)
Needed a little assurance boost - so stopped by Skylar's Pond on the way home - tiny community pond in Logan, by Willow Park. Stocked with little rainbows, albinos, cats, and gills. A feller said he saw some big blue carp too (I didn't see them - have to check next time).
Tossed a few spinners and jigs and managed to hook up a dinky albino, a pretty fat b-gill, and decent foot-long bow. Good variety out of a very weedy puddle. . . and only having artificials and gulps on hand. Little guys like their worms!
Funny how quickly a couple hours can pass on "just a couple casts".
Gonna go hunt for cats, walleyes, and smallies in the Bear on Sat, then onto Willard to seek out some Wiper Boils Sunday. Hope to avoid the skunky jinx!
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Oh Man I cant begin to describe how these smoked cats taste. I just sampled a wee bit out of the smoker and Ill be honest this has smoked trout beat hands down. Great Recipe TD, I followed it to a tee did half the batch with your recipe and my wife bought some Weber's N'Orleans Cajun
Seasoning which is also very tasty. As TD stated in his recipe be careful with the seasoning as it get real spicy the more you use.
Matt
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OH YA YUMMMMMMMMM .................... ><> ><> Smoked Kittys
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[cool][#0000ff]Nice work. Now all ya need is some cheese slices, some good bread or crackers and something appropriate to wash it all down.[/#0000ff]
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[#0000ff]Another suggestion: Zing a piece in the blender to shred it up and mix it in some cream cheese for a killer dip. Also good as a salad mixer.[/#0000ff]
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