Let me give you our version of cleaning catfish (as usual it'll be the long version):

We usually keep the catfish in a live bag for fresh cleaning in mass. If anyone is interested in how to build a live bag to hang in the water from the pier, say so, and I'll describe it.

Take fish out of bag. Hold fish belly down, dorsal fin up (grab its back and make sure he doesn't fin you. I usually hold with dorsal fin between index and middle finger) on the pier and hit it in head with a hammer. This is easier than skinning while squirming. The women generally don't like this part. Throw into 5-gallon bucket until hammer work is finished.

Next you need skinning pliers, sharp knife, and hanger. We used an old hook we bought to catch sharks in the bay. Works great! Just remember to hammer the barb flat then nail it through the eye of hook into your pier post at about your eye level. The hook we used had a 4in shank and the bell was about 1 3/4in.

Hang the fish from the lower jaw. Take knife and make two light cuts where shoulders meet the head. These cuts should angle half way down side of fish just outside of gills. This is a half cut, so just halfway. Don't cut all the way around. Also, the cut should only slice the skin. Avoid cutting into the meat. Looking at the cut should look something like an upside down V or like this ^ . Take your skinning pliers and grab the skin at the cut as it crosses the spine and pull down and off. With luck, all will come off except for the belly skin. Take fish of the hook, grab belly skin and pull back towards head.

Once skin is off, cut head off. Do this by cutting meat to the spine all the way around. Then cut into the spin partially from top. Then pull head straight back. It should break off nicely. Most of intrails should come out when you pull head off. Then make a v-cut taking the anus out, followed by a center belly cut exposing the inside ribcage. Pull all remaining disposables out.

I generally use the fillet knife at this point and go to boneless fillets. If you like cooking whole, use the skinning pliers to remove unwanted belly meat, fins, etc.

Once I'm down to my desired skinned meat, I go to the sink and wash filets. I then cut fillets to serving size if necessary. Finally, I soak in fish in a bowl of Milk in the fridge for several hours before cooking. This reduces the fishy flavor some.

I'll post the recipe if anyone wants to see it. Always use peanut oil.