This will be a long and skinny knife that is easily ran along the sides of the fish. Be extremely careful not to cut yourself when removing the skin.

Cleaning Your Catch
Once you have the fish prepared, it's time to clean it up for storage or cooking. Running the catfish under cold water is the quickest way to get most of the gunk off. Use a sprayer or your finger to clean off all the excess dirt from the fish. Make sure to run your fingers with the scales and not against them as this may cause the fish meat to fall apart. Be gentle with the fish while cleaning it and you'll have a much more enjoyable fish.

Food safety is a major priority when it comes to cleaning your catfish. Bacteria can settle anywhere that raw meat has been placed. Keeping your hands clean and your cutting surface clean will help to reduce this greatly. Wearing gloves and removing them inside out will help keeping the spread of bacteria to a minimum.

Use a cutting board of some sort if at all possible and clean up the area you prepare the fish on with anti-bacterial soap.

Now that you have the fish cleaned, all that is left is to either store the fish or cook it up. If you're going to store the fish, wrap it in plastic wrap or in a plastic zip-lock bag. Place the fish in the freezer if you intend to cook it after three or more days. If you are going to eat the fish right away you can place it in the refrigerator. Storing the fish in the freezer will keep it good for longer periods of time while the fridge will only keep it good for a few days.

Following these simple tips when cleaning and preparing your catfish will give it a much nicer taste. The thrill of the catch is only one part of the fishing experience. Learning to prepare and store fish is something that every angler should learn even if they never intend on actually doing it.

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