↓
 

The Most Misunderstood Delicious Fish in America – Epi-175 – TSP Rewind

The Survival Podcast Posted on by

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:23:48 — 19.2MB)

Today is an episode of TSP Rewind, commercial free versions of past podcast episodes.

Today’s episode was originally Episode-2780- The Most Misunderstood Delicious Fish in America and was originally published on November 24th 2020.

This series of rewinds running from Oct. 19th – 29th will be a skill set based rewind series.

All episodes will be dedicated to improving skill sets and knowledge base.

The following are the original show notes from that episode.

Today I was gonna do a show about living free in an age of digital tyranny.  I thought about it though as tomorrow is the Thanksgiving Special Show, and then I am out until Monday.  It just seems like a good day for an informative, useful and yet totally light hearted show.

Well just so happens I was moving stuff around in the freezer today and found a few packs of bullhead catfish which were recently “shucked” and set aside for eating on a cold winter day.  I thought “hey you know I have talked about these guys in various ways over the years but never did anything really dedicated to them”.

I do consider this a survival topic, consider the range of bullheads in the US. is almost anywhere in the Continental US with water and into many areas of Canada.  This means 90% of more people have this edible, easy to catch fish near them.  A source of food you almost can’t over fish that works in back yard systems as well.

Today I will destroy every single objection made in regard to these guys and tell you why the littlest catfish is a great resource and fantastic eating.

Join Me Today to Discuss…

    • There are three species, black, brown and yellow but unless you have a record class fish it don’t matter
    • The biggest objections and myths about these fish as food fish (tune in for my response to them)
      • They are too small
      • They are had to clean – not if you shuck them (video 1 and video 2)
      • They taste like mud/mush/etc
      • They eat their own poop, live on poop, etc.
      • You can only keep them during cold weather if you want them to taste good
      • If you freeze them they get mushy
    • Finding them
      • They are almost everywhere but
        • They like small bodies of water
        • They like cover like culverts, bank cut outs, holes, etc.
        • Slow moving areas in creeks and small rivers
        • Park ponds and such are generally over populated with them
        • If bluegill are present in general so are bulheads
    • Catching them
      • Bottom rigs are the way to go
      • Almost any cut or live bait works but some good options are
        • Worms
        • Hot Dog
        • Cut Shiners (golden shiner)
        • Shad or cut shad (fresh)
        • Corn or Bacon (some places either works excellent in others they don’t touch either one)
        • Shrimp and shrimp flavored “fish bites“
        • Local minnows
        • Small goldfish
      • Ultra Light to Medium Action Spinning Rods
      • Bobbers set to about 1 inch above the bottom work great in some situations
      • If you are not getting bites, switch bait and/move
      • Chumming is a great idea if legal (dog kibble or blood meal, tune in for how, use a cricket puck)
    • The good and bad for back yard systems (aquaculture, aquaponics, etc)
      • The Good
        • Easy to pellet train, when they get hungry they will eat
        • Can be fed minnows you self propagate, fresh water shrimp, etc
        • Grow to size relatively fast if well fed
        • Survive in water others won’t
        • Will breed under the right conditions (space and hides)
      • The Bad (with mitigation suggestions)
        • Produce a lot of waste
        • Will attack and eat each other (if not managed right)
        • Can hurt you with those barbed fins
        • Subject to Ich as all “skin fish” are
    • Favorite ways to cook them (I only shuck at this point)
      • Fried whole in redfish magic seasoning (brush with butter then season)
      • Grilled whole also with redfish magic
      • Smoked (pellet tube) just lightly then grilled
      • Breaded and pan fried (Everglades when cheating, keto mix when not)
      • My wife is picky on fish and she LOVES all these options
    • Final Thoughts – Is this one of the ultimate survival forage options, I say yes
      • Most places they are not game fish, no limits, etc.
      • No one cares if you take them
      • Very little competitive pressure
      • Fast to clean if you know how
      • The waste is fertilizer for the garden
      • Found almost anywhere
      • Kids love them because they are easy to catch
      • Teach you all you need to know to get started fishing
      • Once you dial in a location they can be caught almost year round

 

Resources for today’s show…

 

Remember to comment, chime in and tell us your thoughts, this podcast is one man’s opinion, not a lecture or sermon.

Want Every Episode of TSP Ever Produced?

Remember in addition to discounts to over 40 vendors who supply stuff you are likely buying anyway, tons of free ebooks and video content, MSB Members also get every edition of The Survival Podcast ever produced in convenient zip files in blocks of 24. More info on the MSB can be found here.

Comments are closed.

↑