Cleaning Bullhead the easy way
Your tip on cleaning bullhead is absolutely right-on. As a kid growing up in the upper
Midwest,
bullhead were (and are) abundant and eager to bite on just about anything offered, as long as
it was dusk or later. It wasn't uncommon to return home with one or two (or three)
dozen fish. The chore began when you started cleaning
them.
Common wisdom at the time involved a board with a nail, pliers, a couple of sharp knives, etc., etc.
An
"old-timer" in the neighborhood watched us spending way too
much time cleaning our catch, and demonstrated your
method for cleaning bullhead. From then on, we didn't
dread arriving home with a sack full of catfish. Twenty
minutes later, two (or three) dozen bullhead were in the
fridge, fully cleaned, and ready for the fry.
Thirty-some years later, I was cleaning a mess of pan fish in a
well equipped fish house in Ontario, when a couple of
guys (older guys) brought in a bucketful of bullhead.
They began the time consuming ritual of nailing,
cutting, gripping, peeling, etc..
Not wanting to appear
as a "know-it-all", I simply asked, "Can I show you
guys how I clean bullhead"? Reluctantly, they handed me
one of their catch.
10 seconds later, I handed them a
bullhead ready for frying with my right hand, and dropped
the head, entrails and skin into the gut bucket with
my left hand.
Though they were obviously impressed,
fish house protocol demanded that they remain neutral.
Sensing that I had committed a generational faux pas, I offered, "Well,
you do loose some of the belly meat when
you clean these guys this way"!
As if anyone in their
right mind would eat bullhead belly meat, the old-timers
latched on to to the "way out" and exclaimed, "Yeah, see?
You wasted all of that belly meat"!
The lesson? Clean
bullhead with this technique, but be careful when sharing will be offended.
Have you got a similar story to tell about cleaning your bullhead or catfish?
If so, why not
share your catfish or bullhead cleaning story
with us all.
MORE about Bullhead and Catfish
 Information about Catfish & Bullhead
Is is a Bullhead or Catfish? Identifying Bullhead & Catfish. The Bullhead Catfish is the most common member of the catfish family.
Cleaning Catfish
& Bullhead
Fish Cleaning Techniques - Make cleaning your catfish or bullheads an easy fish cleaning chore.
Where to Catch Bullheads
Bullhead are plentiful in many of our U.P. inland lakes and fishing for them can be loads of fun and oftentimes can produce some unsuspecting surprises.
Additional Fish Cleaning Information & Resources
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