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I’ve grown up eating saltwater cats and sail cats. I never knew they were considered trash fish. They are delicious

I feel 95% of "trash fish" is trash because the people making it can't cook.

Many years back my wife and I were camping on the causeway of the Sunshine Skyway. I caught a Gafftop Sail, it was probably 6 or 8 pounds. Once I got him dehooked and ready for release the guy next to us came over hollering to not let it go. He was saying how good they were. Now being the fish snob I am I wanted nothing to do with this slime coated monstrosity. He said if I would give home the fish he would fillet it and cook it up for us. Week he was homeless living out of a 70’s circa Chevy C100 pick up. I have in and let him have the fish. The only oil we had to fry it in was about 3 days worth of bacon grease. That was one of the best meals I’ve had in my life. We let the homeless guy have the leftovers. He was very grateful and so were we.

Growing up in Florida, people always said the hardheads were trash but in my experience if they're prepared and cooked right they are just as good as any other catfish. Just goes to show just because a lot of people tell you it's trash doesn't make it so.

Thank you for making these videos brother. I really enjoy seeing somebody take the time to share their knowledge and experience with people, especially in regards to something as positive as not being wasteful or snooty. I have no idea why, but I find your videos so soothing. Again, thank you, and keep up the great work.

This is so country, I love it. Camo shirt, camo visor, Merica shorts, fried catfish appetizer, fried catfish main dish. God bless

EVERYTHING tastes good after enough beers! LOL

I love this trash or treasure series!! I've always been curious about trying fish that are typically thrown back!

They call it a trash fish cause they're too damn lazy to clean it. Pure and simple.

That was great video lad. Really enjoyed it. Worth a sub

Just caught and released two of these tonight. I did not even know what they were. Looked them up and found this video. Learn something every day. Thanks

This is good to know! Growing up fishing off the Texas gulf coast, we ALWAYS tossed gaff tops and hard heads back into the water. Hundreds and hundred of them. Sounds like we missed out on some good eating! I do remember that the whole reason we would release them, was the difficulty cleaning them.

Authentic and real. Love it!! Keep'm coming.

Awesome man, thanks for doing all these trash or treasures for us! Looks like Ima be eating almost anything I catch!

Great video! I saw a similar video a few weeks back about bluefish. That one ended pretty much the same as this. Cooked and cleaned properly, it tasted far better than expected.

Takes bite then look at the camera "I'll have another bite of that"....this guy is 😎....I love it

I just subscribed! This was my first video of yours that I watched. Love it!

I've always wondered this myself...thanks for the info!

Love the trash fish or treasure series!!!! Good job these videos are great

Excellent! Learning from start to end. From catch to cooked on plate.

Keep on bringing more videos. Enjoying each episode!

Had some random people pull up by our camp on the beach in their RV, they saw we were catching Gafftops and told us to keep them and they'd cook em up for us. They made a gumbo style fish stew with it, just gutted it, chopped it up and threw it in, head and all... I'm not a fish stew person, but it was excellent!!!

Thanks for the doing this video. I grew up on the Texas coast and have heard the same things about hardheads and gafftop. I've been wondering if everyone was right. I might try a sailcat next time I catch one. I'm going to check out that jackfish video. That's another fish I've been curious about.

Good to see Mrs Backwoods. Ya'll hunker down this week!

I really appreciate your videos. We throw HHs and sailcats back all the time. Never knew they were that good to eat. Thank you!

You have a new sub from Scotland...found you by accident and stayed for the great content

Man u answered a question I've been wondering about for years. Thanks.

Man you are not old, you emanate a youthful spirit. Second this is third video I saw and it also was a treasure; picking random videos and them being all treasure leads me to believe I should start playing the lottery. Lastly thanks for this video. When I used to fish with my late aunt she and her husband always told me to throw away those fish they weren't worth cooking. I wish she was here and I could catch a fish and cook it for her.

I live in SW florida and both of those cats are great to eat...Keep'em coming

Native Floridian and gulf coast lover. I've caught and enjoyed many saltwater catfish. In cleaning, I've always just filet them from the get go. Thanks for your vids! Dave

Thanks for all your video's!

I'll never throw one back again when camping. Thanks for sharing, loving your channel!

Glad you made this video. Here along the TX gulf coast hardheads are considered trash fish, but you'll see a few folks saying gafftop are good. I tried my first hardhead many years ago and I say they are better tasting than blue, channel, and gafftop. Gafftop are too slimy to keep : ) They'll muck up the cooler real good and just aren't worth the mess, imo.

Thanks for the nice video… We hammered the Gaff Tops in Grand Isle this weekend… basically all we caught… and a few sting rays! We thru them all back which made me curious as to if, in fact, anyone eats the dreaded Sail Cat! In short, happy to find your video. Appreciate you!

Very cool video, awesome presentation, my dad is in Ft. Lauderdale fishing right now and he caught 3 and his friend on the our boat said, no sir, we’re keeping those lol, me personally, never ever knew of a saltwater catfish lol, now you have made me want to catch some lol

I liked your video,makes me want catfish now.lol......going fishing this week,going to use your batter recipe...never had Seminole swamp seasoning...looking forward to it.! Thanks

Man I know this is old video but I wanted to try this myself mainly because I couldn't see these fish being any worse than freshwater catfish. There are alot of different species of fish I have never eaten, like gar, or carp, but I always thought when my Dad told me these were trash that he was just repeating what everyone told him. I really appreciate the effort you put in this video, gives me confidence to try some time!

Nice tutorial, and the Cold Can of "Natty" gave me a good feeling about your style, keep up the good work.

great videos dude!

Thanks for this knowledge

Love these trash or treasure vids keep em coming

It is great to see that you have a open mind I was taught to try everything once If you like it have more if not you can say that at least you tried Thanks as always EDWARD

BG I am a subcriber from México living in the Yucatan close to Mérida. These HH catfish are plentiful here and I fry them up about the same as you. The Mexicans use them to make a catfish soup with vegetables. Plentiful natural resource. Very tasty. Nice to see you do a catch & cook. I agree with some of the comments below...most don't know how to clean and fry them up to where they taste a damn. Cheers man cool video.

Great idea of a series and great vids...

I've been throwing these back my whole life. I can catch 20-30 sail cats in a hour or 2 where im at if I wanted to. Will definitely try them out now!☺️

Awesome video. Two of my favorite fish - catfish and fried. The sail cat sounds great - I'd like to try it.

Great channel, I'm a new subscriber! Same thing happened to me, I lived in Oak Hill, Florida right on the river and had a canal on the right side of me, every other cast with live bait I was pulling up cats! I've probably caught hundreds right off the dock and every person I've talked to says throw them back. I finally tried one about two years ago and honestly couldn't taste a difference between those and freshwater cats! Love your videos, keep em coming!

I've learned more about fish (from you) than any class I've taken in the past. Keep up the great work and keep on enjoying those nattys. Wanted to add that I tried your batter mix with a hotdog and that tasted amazing! I think you're batter is the reason all the trash fish taste great lol.

We catch sailcats at the inlet in St. Auggie running 4-5 lbs on average. It's one of the best tasting fish in these waters.

Thanks for info!

I have maintained that most fish, properly cleaned and fried, will eat just fine. Mullet was once considered a trash fish, but now is one of the most popular on the gulf coast. When I was a teenager and didn't 'know better', I ate Ladyfish, Pinfish, Grunts... all were pretty good. The best part is many of these 'trash fish' are plentiful and fairly easy to catch.

Mr Backwoods I just subscribed. Us brown folk down here in México use these particular catfish called "Bagre" in soups "Caldo de pescado" from the Mexican state of Michoacán. Very delicous. Greetings from Cancun

Fried catfish rocks!!!! I’m going to try this when I’m Florida next month.

Damit. I been throwing them back. I just threw 2 big ones back. I ask other fisherman every time I go to the coast. I'll never throw one away again. I was already contemplating on trying it for my dam self. Thanks for the video.

Man I grew up in south central Florida, and just as you said, always herd can't eat salt water cats. But when you grow up in a house with six other brother and sisters, you learn to eat what ever is put on the table. So yes I've not only eaten, but also enjoyed salt water cat fish. Thanks for putting the word out there.

Good job, great commentary

I rented a House boat around Cabbage Keys for a week and caught many Hard Heads and Sails. I wasn't familiar with these cats but, cleaned and cooked them anyway. They tasted great to me. I didn't realize they were considered trash fish at the time.

Went fishing in port bolivar and caught a good soze gaff topsail cat fish. I would say 3 to 4 pounder, i 2wnted to keep it but was discouraged to throw it back, because of the trash fish rumor as well. Thanks for the vid

I like informative videos. From my experience (sixty years of fishing the gulf coast) I've cooked hard heads on occasion and I have to say being half head I wouldn't bother with any less than around three pounds to be worth the effort. As to the gaftop they often get 8 or more pounds and the larger ones need to be bled or the red meat along the lateral line should be removed for best taste. Besides frying they also smoke well on the grill.

I caught a second saltwater hardhead today. This one was big enough to be worth the trouble of cleaning. Your video was inspiring. That fish is going into my belly. Favorite breakfast: fried catfish and scrambled eggs.

I caught one of those like you have in your right hand there down off the State Park Pier in Gulf Shores, AL. Was looking forward to catching some cool salt water fish and I catch a friggin catfish. Oh well. :)

I wish you'd make more I absolutely love these

Now I’m bummed. I’m over 60 yrs old and never ate saltwater catfish but gotta try it after watching this video.

I loved this video! subscribed!

i love salt cats. more so than freshwater cats. i was just for an easier way to clean. i did it the same way minus the nail trick. that was exactly what i needed to see. thank you for this video

Cleaned nice 39 and cooked some Gaftopsail catfish last week. Love it. Tried cleaning hardhead before but seemed to be a mess. I might try again with some large ones. I see a few videos where it might make them better.

Great Video! Never had a hard head but Sails are plentiful in the canal in my back yard and I'll verity there as good as fresh water cats, which I love! Catfish are the only fish my wife will let me cook in the house cause THEY DON'T SMELL like fish. BTW, I grind oatmeal in a coffee grinder for my flower and fry them in 100% olive oil (not extra virgin as it smokes at too low a temp). That way they're extra healthy.

Good video. I can catch as many hardheads as I want off my dock on Pensacola Bay. Think I'll give them a try.

Nice fish fingers looking really beautiful never had cat fish great presentation !!

Every time I see one of these trash fish videos, they have always liked the saltwater cats. When ever I run across someone that says they taste like crap, I ask them, have you ever eaten one? They always say, no. LOL

Great video, thanks for sharing. I may have to try some saltwater catfish myself!

I am very happy that I subscribed....you have great presentations. It's very odd how people can have snobby attitudes about their fish choices. Living here in Wisconsin I see it all the time. Sometimes people judge the taste of fish based on the appearance or the maybe on the difficulty of cleaning them irregardless of their flavor....please tell Mrs.Backwoods to speak up, I would like to hear her opinion....keep up the great work.

Love your videos! Informative, entertaining, and calming,,, btw can I eat pest freshwater Carp and snake head fish? Will it taste muddy?

I have always through those back. I always catch gaftop when I'm salt water fishing but was always told that's crap fish throw that back lol. I'm gunna have to try it next time I catch them. Great Video!

great vid. one tidbit though. I live here in fl off the Indian river. eat sailcat weekly. when u clean them cut through skin around head except the top, snap his head back, spine sticks out,grab spine with pliers and pull head down along his back. comes off like a sock. oh make sure to cut fins off

you are absolutely correct. The only way to eat catfish is fried. Looks great.

I've been living in Fort Myers FL. for over 20 years and love fishing. I was always told, throw them back. not edible. thanks to your video I will never throw another one of our Southern Comfort Delicacies back. another thing, "Fried is the only way to cook Fish" my opinion of course. thank you,and keep cooking.

As a Louisiana kid, I used to camp on the beach in Pensacola and catch both kinds of these cats for dinner! Yummy!

I've never eaten Hard head...Gafftop, yes. This video has changed my thinking of trash fish that I call Hard Heads. Great video.

Thanks for sharing. Now i just have to find a place to catch them. No boat and the nearest dock / bridge is about 45 mins away. Hello Tampa, FL. haha.

just ate sand shark for the first time a couple weeks ago AKA trash fish. it's actually one of my favorite fish now.

We grew up in Florida eating blow fish. They are delicious. People tell me you can’t eat those they are poisonous but we ate them all the time. I guess the adults knew how to clean them. I’d love to see you do a video on them.

Do you salvage the peanut oil for further uses? How do you filter/clean it? Good vid!

man i dont even go fishing but i like this channel

Awesome vid bro thx from satx

down in galveston all i can catch with shrimp are salt water catfish. got a flounder once. once! They just eat the live bait up so quick

Subbed BECAUSE of the beer choice. Would love to see a catch and cook snake episode. 🐍

Hi I'm a commercial fisherman in Texas and we sell galftop to market and a little tip if you cut the tail off and bleed them the meat will be whiter and better tasting

Back when young and dumb I didn't know that these were trash, I'd always eaten fresh water cats, didn't see any difference because they lived in salt or brackish water. What I have discovered is where they are caught and what they're eating prior can greatly effect the taste. On your bigger fillets if you take the time to cut out most of the really red meat along the lateral line before slightly saline water soaking in the fridge (too salty water will make your fish salty), you can cut down greatly on the heavy taste you get sometimes.

Threw 2 hard heads back Sunday cuz everyone was hollering they are trash. Now I'm bummed I listened.

Good info.

You nailed it with the PITA to clean. It's all about the prep. Sooooo what I think I got from this is you will be bringing more of them home.! Off subject I purchased another Spider today at an estate sale for $25. It will need an extended stay in the electrolysis spa but it's going to be a great pan....

Good to hear !;-) Thankyou

Looks amazing!

AMAZING!!!! Just subscribed about to binge watch all your episodes so happy I found your channel. P.S. The only way to eat fish is FRIED!!!

I have been eating hard heads all my life and i love them!

Wow. Are you a chef? That was awesome haute cuisine Southern American style! Never heard of saltwater catfish though I always thought of shark and ray as the catfish of the sea. Florida is so beautiful abounding in tons of fishing holes of several varieties and lots of the bounty to go around. Wish I could up and go falling into the job and house making a soft landing. :)

I like to fry every freshwater fish and saltwater catfish. On the other hand I like to make most saltwater fish on the stove marinated with olive oil and seasoning. But I sometimes fry saltwater fish and it's usually better then grilled lol

yesterday I caught 10-12 hardhead catfish in Tampa but released most of them but I kept 2 bigger one just to try it