easyer way to clean bullheads

[acsacmboy]

 this may be confusing but it helps alot. they fish end up whole. no filets.

another way to clean the bullheads and hornpout is:
if you are right handed place one in your left(visa versa) hand(top of head on your palm. take your middle finger and pointer finger and hook them around the horns or spikes w/e u wanna call them(one finger on the fish's left and one on its right horns). the tail should be out passed your hand/fist(just like how you hold it im pretty sure)

take a knife and slit its back skin to the bone and down its sides about half way to its horns. take plyers and rip off the skin. make sure you have a good hold of the fish so you dont rip it out of your hands. keep on holding the fish and take the knife and push it through the cavity just behind and above the horns(almost to where the back bone is). slice through the cavity and all the meat(going from its back to its stomach straight down). cut off all fins exept the tail. twist its head off and clean it under the sink. takes about 30 seconds at most. real easy. theres about 2 or 3 less cuts and it stays in your hand so you are in control if he flops about. try this and you will be amazed how fast you can go.

you have to watch out for those horns. phew. ive gotten stung once bad and a few times lighter. if you do, get down to the water and wash off your hand of blood. squeeze out the blood so the "poison" (even though its not poison theres a chemical) doesnt get in farther. shake your hand and try to get out as much as possible under water. this helps 30 fold. an oldtimer told me this.

it saves alot of time. one of the best methods there is.

[SuperX2]

It's that nasty Bacteria not poison. They live on the bottom with all the muck and such. Hurts like poison though.

[acsacmboy]

it hurt alot. all i know. ive gotten minorly stung hundreds of times but majorly twice. one reeeeal bad. the not as bad, bad one was at night and just a normal flick and got me. the real bad time was middle of the day. sunny and everything. got him on and brung him up. ya know the norm, wigglin around and i wait till he stops. ok he stopped. grab him quick. BAM. right in my wrist into a vein. not an artery. blood everywhere.  . OUCH.

[susquayuga fisher]

Ya ever get stung by a stonecat? Those little Bas**rds have quite a sting! One of the  best walleye and bass baits in the Susquahanna River.  Handle with caution!!

[seaweed01]

Susquayuga,
Many times and it seen that the smaller they are, the
more it hurts. I agree with you they are the best bait,
bar none, on the Susky for bass and walleyes. Do you catch your own or buy them?

[perchslayer25]

i disagree with that cleaning method...i have a better way.......hold on to his head....one finger around 1 spike the other around the other spike...take ur knive...and cut at an angle all the way to the backbone just behind the spike on his back...then from that cut...make a slit just through the skin all the way down to his tail.....bend the fish until you hear it pop...then you you grab hold of it with your pointer and index on your right hand...you will feel like its made for your fingers...then pull...the meat will be in 1 hand and the guts in the other..i will try to get pictures of how to do it to make it easier for you

[reelcharacter]

Perchslayer,

Thanks, the photos would be most helpful.

-Reelcharacter

[reelcharacter]

Found several  pictures with instructions on the NY State DEC Website at:

http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/reg1/Panfish2.pdf

-Reelcharacter

[bigdave1018]

i hold the bullhead between my hand with my index finger around 1 spine and my thumb around the other and then make a cut from spine to spine. next, get your pliers and pull the skin off. then i break the backbone and pull down wards,leaving the guts in 1 hand and the meat in the other. i usually only eat the meat from the end of the ribs to the tail. the meat near the ribs will have all the pcbs and other contaminents in it. i do this way with catfish to. i hope this helps, big dave

[reelcharacter]

Check out the new Bullhead section just set up in the Species area fo MyFishFinder:

New Bullhead  area:
http://www.myfishfinder.com/fishing_forum/index.php?board=184.0


-reelcharacter

[fishon]

I saw a real different way to clean them from my sister-in-law a number of years back.  She is Vietnamese and said this was the way they did it over there.  She took the fish and rubbed ashes from the barbeque grill all over the fish, working it like sandpaper.  When she washed it off, the skin was shiney silver and very thin.
She left that right on the fish and just cut the head off and gutted it.  She fried it up and it tasted great.  The skin was not tough as you would think.
Good luck.
Norm

[reelcharacter]

Fishon,

Gotta admit it, that sure is a different way. Kind of a twist on scaling a fish I guess.

-Reelcharacter

[cenobite07]

I have to toss my 2 cents in here.

The best way I have found is with a cleaning board.

I use an old cutting board with a 16 penny nail driven through it from the bottom at about a 45 degree angle. I take the fish and drive the nail through his chin so he can't move, cut around just behind his head and skin him with pliers. Then break his spine and twist off the head and guts. Skinning pliers are great for clipping off fins.

The great part about the board is that they can't flop away and you can get great leverage in skinning even the big ones.

[madbomber]

I know this guy who can clean a bullhead in under 5 seconds and thats no bull. one small slit from one horn to the other and I swear he turns the little bugger inside out.one of these times I have a little less beer in me I might be able to learn it....

[hosscletuslulu]

Yes I can verify that seen him do it was with madbomber its almost like a magic trick same thing need to see it done earlier in the night when I can still see straight to be able to duplicate