Catfish question

[JohnF]

As a kid catching little dark catfish in Devil's Lake I was told to be careful when we caught 'em because their whiskers were poisonous. Hence we weren't real kind to the poor little fellers. Now I find myself catching the odd one here at the river and I'm still wary of them. I've done a bit of reading and apparently certain ones have mildly toxic spines in some fins but not the whiskers. Anyone care to deliver a primer on Catfish Handling For Newbies so we can safely and gently get the little fellers back to the water unharmed.

 

TIA

JF

[Andrew]

I don't think that the spines are actually toxic, however they are very sharp. It seems the smaller the fish the sharper the spines. Maybe they are saying they are toxic because if you get a gash from one, i'm sure you could get an infection fairly easily.

 

As for the handling, all I've ever really caught are bullheads so they aren't that big. I usually put a couple of my fingers underneath there spines on their sides, so that the spines will come down against my fingers, but they can't jab me. The palm of my hand usually rests just before the spine on the top. I've yet to be gashed by one. (knocking on wood) Perhaps there is a more ideal way of handling them, but this is what has worked for me.

 

Andrew.

[wuchikubo]

I don't know of any catfish in Ontario to have any toxins in their whiskers or spines (I may be corrected should there be any). The protective slime that covers catfish is more likely to have may bacteria that can cause easy infections if one of the spiny fins cuts or punctures the skin.

 

As Andrew said it very well,

 

For smaller fish, hold the catfish such that the hand is behind their spines. (thumb behind one of the side fin's spine, dorsal spine resting between the thumb and index finger, then in the index finger or the third finger behind the other side's fin/spine.)

 

For bigger fish, I'd recommend getting a lip-gripper as there would be no way to do the above.

[LeXXington]

Very carefully, thoese spines hurt and go through most gloves.

 

If I go for cat fish only, get a pair of the mesh filet gloves they work great if you get barbed.

[wallyboss]

Those spines hurt and they hurt for a long time, as long as a couple of days.. Last year I had a small bottle of hand sanitizer in my tackle box, One of the catsfish that I caught got me real good between two fingers. It was hurting like hell and just before leaving to go back home i washed my hands with my hand sanitizer, the pain was immediately gone!!! I always keep one of those in my tackle box now.

 

The way I grab them is upside down so my thumb is over one spine and my fore finger is over the other one. Buit it is usually when you toss it back in that they get you.

[MJL]

I usually just shake the bullheads off the hook with a pair of pliars without touching them. With the bigger fish, I grab them on their belly and slide my thumb and fingers behind their pecs.

[ccmtcanada]

I do the same as MJL for Bullheads...just use the pliers....hold them over the water and shake!!!

[Steve]

Here's Theresa demonstrating how to hold a nice channel cat, taken yesterday morning during the Bills Bait Bass Derby.

 

No gloves or the like.

 

[JohnF]

Okay. I get the picture. I've got a lip gripper and several sizes of pliers. With a little care and the right tools I should be able to get the little guys back in the water safe and sound - me and them. My pride just won't let me squeal and poke away at the poor fish hoping the hook pops out.

 

Thanks for the advice. If my hand falls off from catfish poisoning yer all gonna be sued.

 

JF

[aplumma]

the slime on the catfish will start a nasty infection. The whiskers are harmless but it is the fins that do the damage. They are ridgid and have barbs that really get the wound hurting. If you get stuck you can put some meat tenderizer that you use in the ktchen on the sting. You can then give it a good scrubbing with an anti bacterial soap to get the bad stuff out of the wound.

 

As far as unhooking them you can use a lip grabber if it is over 5 lbs to hold them as you remove the hook. If you can control the fish with your hands then you will slide your hand up from below with your palm on his belly sliding the ridgid side fins between the thumb and pointer finger and the other between the pinky and the ring finger. Run your hand up till it has the fins touching the web of your fingers. Then with your thumb on one side of the head and the other 4 fingers on the other side of the head close your hand and grip the fish.

 

If you would like take a picture of one of the bigger fish and need to hold them use a lip grabber or a pair of gloves to hold the fish by the lip and support the belly with your arms. Sliding your hand into the gill plate is almost a death sentence for the fish.Another way to hold the fish is a vertical hold and is ok for a photo if it is not held to long.

 

If you let them go healthy you will catch them over and over for years to come.

 

 

Art

[ecxstriper]

I usally just lip the bigger cats like you do with bass and the smaller ones I use the "apluma method"

[007]

It is true that the small bullhead catfish (less than a pound in weight) have razor like spines on their pectoral fins. On the bigger ones they don't seem as sharp. Either way I use gloves now after a few nasty cuts. I either unhook them with the MJL method with pliers or I grab them on the top of the head/body with my glove hand and pin their pectoral fins down against their body with my thumb and fingers.

 

Hope this helps. Not sure how to hold Channel Cats as I haven't hooked any.

 

007

[Rich]

Use a heavy glove and lip them like a bass. Once your thumb is in there they will clamp down.

 

Edited September 25, 2007 by Rich

[Danubian]

I've got my fingers punctured so many times while handling small catfish and -thanks God!- I never got any infection. (I remember the deepest wound I got while fishing Lake Aquitaine, which is not the cleanest lake, either...)

I do agree that the spines are very sharp and eager to sting your fingers/palms, and for sure one could get an infection if the bony thing breaks while inside the wound, leaving a fragment there. Not sure about the slime, though. That helps the fish itself to not get some infections, and we're not that different from a fish, on that matters...

 

Always carry some very basic first aid kit with you, like antibiotic ointment, kleenexes and band aids. Wash the wound with clean water, press a folded kleenex on it until the bleeding stops, then add a thin film of ointment on the wound -or on the inner side of the band aid- and then apply the band aid.

 

Preferably have someone else dressing your wound, and yes, that person must de-sanitize her hands.

Edited September 25, 2007 by Danubian