Questions about catfish

[stilldontlikeyou]

Hey everyone,

 I guess I'm out of the "Rookie" range of bass fishing.  Now, I got a large man made pond/canal that is about a mile long, maybe 50 yards wide, and about 20-30 feet deep.  I've seen catfish swimming around from this walking bridge on it.  

I've only been cat fishing once and almost caught something.  I know the techniques used as far as bait goes, but my question is about handling the fish.  I heard somewhere that they have poisonous spine or fins on their back?  And not to "lip" them because they have small teeth??

If I catch something today, how the heck do I handle this thing??  ;D  What can I touch and not touch?  I'll be wearing gloves regardless because the fish slime makes my hands itch for hours. Thanks for the help!  

[roadwarrior]

They are not poisonous, but the fins can jab you and they HURT!

Catfish don't have teeth either. So, just be careful and you'll be fine.

If you leave the fish in the net, you can remove your hook with pliers

and you will not have to even touch the fish. If you keep the catfish,

whack it on the head with a bat and kill it before you skin the fish.

[John J.]

Their dorsal fins are not poisonous, instead it is a spinal bone that is razor sharp and it can cut you well, they have small teeth much like bass, but a catfish's bite is pure power (it will crush your fingers if it is a big cat).

The way I handle them is to slide the tissue between my thumb and my pointer finger up under the dorsal fin, the sharp point is on top, and wrap my fingers around the cat's belly. If it is a big cat, then use either gloves or a net!

[plnoldrick]

catfish are where the money for a bogagrip payoff. and pike, an musky, and walleye.

or you can go hardcore and be a noodler. i think i stick with the grip myself.

[Boett43]

nothing on a catfish can hurt you that bad..the way i do it is just get a pair of gloves and grad the catfish right behind the 2 side fins at the back of its head ive done this with cats up to 10 pounds

[RobbyZ5001]

Catfish arnt poisonous if they stick you good though you will go numb. Just grab their lower jaw and support them under their belly. The 20 lb ones bite hard...

[LCpointerKILLA]

If you get poked by one of the fin barbs it may cause a bad infection, happened to my uncle. He was handling a little one and stupidly put his bare foot on top of him to unhook him and badly poked the bottom of his foot. That was a saltwater cat (which are not good to eat) and I don't know much of anything about the freshwater cats, except the basics. I think they're the same where the fins each have a sharp barb.

[MattStrykul]

Speaking of saltwater cats....When I was on a trip to florida we went on a guided redfish trip and caught some cats as well. Our guide told us that some teenagers would try to catch the catfish just to lick their backs because it makes you halucinate!!!!!

[Sam]

Rule #1 when catfishing:  Be mindful of the three fins.

Rule #2 when catfishing:  Take your time removing the hook.

Rule #3 when catfishing:  Use pliers to remove hook while catfish is in net or you have the animal under control.

The catfish will stop jumping around soon after it is out of the water.  It usually becomes docile and you can handle the fish with no problem.

With small cats, I take my left hand and place the thumb and little finger under the two side fins.  I then push the dorsal fin upwards with my hand, securing the fish so he cannot squirm away.

If you have never handled a catfish, remember that they do not have teeth but they do have sandpaper like areas in their mouths. And they will clamp down on your hand or finger if you put them in their mouths.

Best bet is to lay the catfish on the ground, either in the net or out of the net, take a pliers and remove the hook, and gently place the fish back in the water.

Do not kick the catfish.  Just lift him up by his stomach and put him back in the water.

A catfish fin has barbs so it can do some damage when you pull it out.

And unlike bass fishing, you do not have to kiss the catfish before returning him to the water, although it would be a nice gesture.

[John J.]

Speaking of saltwater cats....When I was on a trip to florida we went on a guided redfish trip and caught some cats as well. Our guide told us that some teenagers would try to catch the catfish just to lick their backs because it makes you halucinate!!!!!

I've never heard of that...but I have heard of people licking poison dart frogs to get the same reaction. Poison dart frogs secrete a toxin out of their skin to prevent predators from eating them.

The only thing I think that you will get when you lick a catfish would be a mouthfull of badly tasting catfish slime. But I guess some catfish secrete the same toxins...JMO

[cpvenom]

Saltwater catfish have venom in their barbs that can hurt a lot. A solution is to rub the slime of the fish onto the wound, which makes it hurt less. I can vouch for that solution, it really does work. Freshwater catfish do not have venom in their spines, but they can give you a good puncture. They have powerful jaws so i dont advise lipping them (I do lip them, but im also stupid). Just be careful and you will be fine.

[LCpointerKILLA]

Speaking of saltwater cats....When I was on a trip to florida we went on a guided redfish trip and caught some cats as well. Our guide told us that some teenagers would try to catch the catfish just to lick their backs because it makes you halucinate!!!!!

I would not be happy with a guide who thought it was OK to be catching cats. That is like the most avoided thing when using live bait. And if your using cutbait inshore and not sight fishing, you will be catching cats all day!

[jimmy8778]

i love catfishing, next to catching a bass its my favorite catch, they look wicked sweet too

[GatorBK]

Large catfish spines get dull . You can lip them like a bass but they will bite down . You can also get them under their gills like I am holding this one . The one in this picture clamped down on my hand and bruised my knuckles a bit but its worth it if its a biggun

[Popeye]

BK:  now THAT'S a CATFISH!!  How much did that monster weigh?? Where'd ya catch it and what bait?? DANG NICE cat!!

[GatorBK]

64 lbs and 56 inches long I caught him in Lake Marion SC on live bream. I thought he was a big one too so I took him into the bait shop to weigh him . They didnt even look twice they said they catch them like that all the time there. He was an old cat If you look at his back he was all scarred up .

[Korea_Bassin]

Speaking of saltwater cats....When I was on a trip to florida we went on a guided redfish trip and caught some cats as well. Our guide told us that some teenagers would try to catch the catfish just to lick their backs because it makes you halucinate!!!!!

I've never heard of that...but I have heard of people licking poison dart frogs to get the same reaction. Poison dart frogs secrete a toxin out of their skin to prevent predators from eating them.

The only thing I think that you will get when you lick a catfish would be a mouthfull of badly tasting catfish slime. But I guess some catfish secrete the same toxins...JMO

You ever wonder who discovers some of these things???