Maggie, I always fry fish in cornmeal, but I'm not sure what makes the coating stick. Maybe the fish has to be cold before you dredge in cornmeal. We always soak the fish in cold salt water in the fridge before frying. Also, the grease has to be hot, and it helps to have a well-seasoned iron skillet (I lost one in a bonfire while burning the crud off) or a non-stick one. Whenever I fried fish (in the past, I try to cook healthy now) I had to change the oil often. Did you know that lighting a candle in the kitchen helps get rid of the fish odor? A friend of mine who fries catfish often, uses the cornmeal coating and a deep fat fryer. She also buys (dare I say the word Jiffy) a hushpuppy mix that has jalepenos in it, and is simply to die for. (I always had to fry hushpuppies in a deep fat fryer because they would flatten out too much in the skillet.)

Yes, I had to make cornbread last weekend after reading this thread! We had a local mill in our county that made Kentucky Kernal cornmeal. Their recipe was the best. Since they went out of business, I'm not sure what recipe to use now. I probably put too much oil in mine last time, but it sure was good. My friend who fries catfish, and breaks bread, etc. says that she adds 1/2 package of yellow Jiffy to her white self-rising recipe. She used to make cornbread in a large skillet, but then started using the little cast iron corn-shaped utensil when she started cooking for fewer people.