The catfish from HELL

[jerryjerry05]

Was fishing with a friend and she caught a small catfish.
She tried to take it off the hook.
The fish started jerking and jumping and a side fin sticks her in the palm and breaks off.
She acting like she's gonna DIE!!!I'm thinking she's WAY overreacting.
She's whining and about an hour later says she's better and can fish.
She eventually had to have surgery to remove the barb.

2 weeks later fishing the same area.I catch a small cat.
I reach for it and it starts jumping and jerking.
It manages to stick me in the back of the hand with the top fin.

INSTANT EXCRUCIATING PAIN!!!It went all the way up my arm and through my scapula.
It must have hit a nerve!!!
I was instantly sick,gonna puke and pass out!!!
It hurt so bad it was the worst thing I'd ever had happen.
Horrible pain.
After an hour it finally subsided.Never did quit fishing.
Now I use a de-hooker on everything!!
The pics are from a dead cat washed up on shore.The barbs are BAD!!!

View attachment 135055

 

[River_Lizard]

Re: The catfish from HELL

I was pulling a small cat out of my gill net while getting bait and it dropped out of my hand and fell straight down to my foot (I was wearing sandals) and the side barb stuck at the base of my foot between two toes. Hurt? Heck yes but I pulled the cat out and kept pulling the shad out of the gill net. While I was doing that I noticed that while walking over to the cooler to put a shad in it, it felt like my sandal was soaked (like I had been in the water) I looked down and the whole top of my sandel was pooled with blood and it was coming up between all my toes!!! That barb must have hit a main vein in my foot and I didn't realize it. I had blood everywhere, freaked me out for a few minutes until I washed it off and saw that it had stopped bleeding. Oh.....yes it still hurt the rest of the day like a wasp had stung me.
It's one good thing about the large cats...they pretty much lose the sharpness of the barbs when they get older.

 

[River_Lizard]

Re: The catfish from HELL

Jerry,

Was the catfish a saltwater species? If so, they're even worse than the freshwater ones for toxins.

 

[R Socey]

Re: The catfish from HELL

While fishing the Gaveston jetties TX, I caught one of those little salt water bastards. He got me good right between the thumb and fore finger on my right hand. I had to drive back to Houston sitting on my hand shifting a 5, speed with my left. Every time my heart beat , there was a deep throb - I couldn't eat even though I had nothing all day. I took 1200 mg of ibuprofen, and finally fell a sleep - he kicked my butt!

 

[coastalrichard]

Re: The catfish from HELL

Won't even bring one in the boat any more. A friend once refused to use the de-hooker and got barbed in his thumb joint. Cost him thousands in medical bills to save the thumb.

 

[robert graham]

Re: The catfish from HELL

The small saltwater catfish are the worse for this...I carry a small wooden club or bat in the boat and smack that cat on the head to slow him down before trying to unhook him. Then some needle nose pliers get hold of his lower lip and break the 3 barbs off! These devils can ruin your hole day very easily! Ever notice a Pelican won't even eat a Cat Fish....they know better! A bottle of peroxide in the boat is real handy for fish sticks and scratches, etc. Good Luck!

 

[kfa4303]

Re: The catfish from HELL

Yeah these are the saltwater variety. They're nasty, grunting little #$@#$. I always either just cut the line, or use a dehooker to get the hook out. Of course, they have very soft, fleshy mouths that makes getting the hook out a PITA. Not worth the time, effort or risk to even mess with 'em in my opinion. ICK!

 

[robert graham]

Re: The catfish from HELL

Yep, you get stuck just once and you won't want to do it again!...My little wooden billy club settles them suckers down real quick!

 

[cribber]

Re: The catfish from HELL

1st time I took my wife out fishing in Canaveral Inlet we started hooking those catfish. She freaked out when I started bashing the first one I caught over the head with a heavy pair of pliers that I always take with me fishing. She's screaming why are you doing that to the fish. When explained that those three barbs will send you to the hospital if you get get stuck... she had no problem and whacked a few that she hooked on the line.

 

[robert graham]

Re: The catfish from HELL

1st time I took my wife out fishing in Canaveral Inlet we started hooking those catfish. She freaked out when I started bashing the first one I caught over the head with a heavy pair of pliers that I always take with me fishing. She's screaming why are you doing that to the fish. When explained that those three barbs will send you to the hospital if you get get stuck... she had no problem and whacked a few that she hooked on the line.

Yep, get stuck just once and lose all your sympathy for the little @#$%!

 

[powell0819]

Re: The catfish from HELL

All this time with the smaller ones I've been grabbing them with the top fin over my thumb/forefinger area and I hold the other fins out with my forefinger and thumb. Screw my method. I knew they could hurt you but never knew a hospital visit could be necessary. Ill just bash them up real good first

 

[scrat]

Re: The catfish from HELL

I used to fish out of Galveston a lot. Caught bunches of these little catfish.. Dad used to call the 'hard heads'. They always looked to me like small channel cats so I thought one day I'd skin one out and see what the flesh looked like. It was yellow... Seriously, yellow. Needless to say I sure didn't try eating it and when I tossed it to a pelican that bird gave me a distinctive 'go to .ell' look.

 

[Jungleboat]

Re: The catfish from HELL

Well I'm on the island of Borneo so can't say if they're the same thing or not - but the local saltwater river catfish around here are indeed poisonous. I carry some stainless steel pruning sheers for cutting the spikes off.

However the locals consider them to be tasty, so we catch quite a few of them. To me they taste like watery mud but each to their own...



JB

 

[bassman284]

Re: The catfish from HELL

To me they taste like watery mud

Yep, same thing.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: The catfish from HELL

Yup a salty.
They also have slime that has lots of toxins.
I don't believe in hurting them cause they are hungry.I just make sure that I'm well away from the barbs.
Used to fish in the Deleware Bay and caught a lot of skates.
Everyone(but me) would poke them full of holes with a knife,all the time cussing them for doing what everyone wanted.
Catching something!!!


Oh yea catfish taste NASTY!!!
Went into a nice restaurant around the corner from the house.Place called Squidlips.
They were advertising a fish special.I got that and asked the girl what it was.
She said it's a Vietnamese fish called a Swai..Another name for catfish.
I took one bite and sent it back YUKKKKKK.
They aren't even good for bait.The crabs eat them last!!

 

[mk4713]

Re: The catfish from HELL

My father was cleaning a 20lb catfish and threw the head and spine to the side. What he did'nt know was my older brother was sitting directly in the path of the flying cat. I hear a scream and look over and see the catfish head stuck into my brothers foot. It was a funny moment but my brother did'nt think so. That guy has no sense of humor, or it was painful....lol

 

[robert graham]

Re: The catfish from HELL

No real shortage of these saltwater catfish, so if you bash one and throw him back in the water, the crabs just eat him... nature's recycle program!...nothing gets wasted!....no guilt here!

 

[jeeperman]

Re: The catfish from HELL

The saltwater versions will make you cuss like never before.
I have landed a few that sqwirted the venom five feet thru the air.
From an 8" little demon.
Just imagine that much venom injected into your foot, etc.
The cure is to place wounded area in a bucket of the hotest water you can take.
I do know first hand (and foot) that doing so is unbelievably comforting.

 

[R Socey]

Re: The catfish from HELL

The saltwater versions will make you cuss like never before.
I have landed a few that sqwirted the venom five feet thru the air.
From an 8" little demon.
Just imagine that much venom injected into your foot, etc.
The cure is to place wounded area in a bucket of the hotest water you can take.
I do know first hand (and foot) that doing so is unbelievably comforting.

I was told the day after my encounter by a local that I should have rubbed some of the slime into the wound - that it would have soothed it. I wouldn't of touched that thing again with a 10' pole.

 

[jigngrub]

Re: The catfish from HELL

Reading this thread, I get a visual of a bunch of grown men screeching, screaming like little girls, and jumping around because they got gigged by a little ol' catfish.

If y'all had been gigged as many times as I have you'd probably poop your pants and faint the next time you caught a catfish.:facepalm:

I bought one of these for my wife to handle finny and toothy fish with:

... but I guess if a man was really scared of a little ol' catfish he could wear one too.