Holding Catfish Without Getting Spiked 2024
Topwater_Popper reply :
I love to fish for catfish. After catching a few, I have a few questions. Question one: why do catfish make that croaking sound when you haul them out of the water? Question two: what is the proper way to hold a catfish ( specifically channel catfish) without getting spiked. I would appreciate some help.
Tenka reply :
The smaller ones i alway brought my hand along the back from the tail and use the Dorsal Spike as a slip restraignt.
The bigger ones, (i've only caught one to big for the first method) i just suck it up and lip it, but i use the full hand grip not just fingers. The back of your hand can get roughed up ths way but it will hold the fish.
I know some of these guys are way more experianced than me.
FutureClassicChamp reply :
smaller ones you can grab around the belly with your thumb behind one pectoral fin, your index finger in front of the other pectoral fin and the rest of your fingers behind that fin.
bigger ones, gill plate or in the mouth
nwgabassmaster reply :
The reason that they make that drumming sound is because catfish are part of the drum family. In my experience, anything under about 5 lbs. will do it. I have hardly heard anything larger than that do it.
As for me, it doesn't matter the size, I will lip them. With blues and channels, you really have to watch out for their jaws. They have extreme clamping pressure, and can make you say a few choice words, and will cause you to bleed, and to lose skin.
If you do happen to get stuck by one, do not resort to going home to medicate the wound. Take some of the smile from the catfish, and wipe it over the wound. It's an ole wive's tale, but, the truth about it, it really works.
If you are squimish about picking up ole Mr. Whiskers, you can get a variety of grabblers, which can assist you in handling the fish. If that's not an option, why not get a Boga Grip? That way, you can lip them with it, and also get a very accurate and IGFA official weight on the fish.
Topwater_Popper reply :
Thanks for the help. This information will help when I am out on the water. I did not know that the slime theory really worked.
Siebert Outdoors reply :
on the small ones I use the the fins as support to hold them, others I just grab them in the mouth or gill plate, If you grab them in the mouth be prepaired for cuts if you dont have a good set of gloves
nwgabassmaster reply :
Catfish cuts aka "Glory Wounds"!!!!! You aren't a true fisherman until you questioned a channel cat's genetic make up, and raising questions about his father's where-abouts. 
I have had more catfish tear up my hands. The best thing that you can do, as soon as you get home, is to either hit the alcohol (rubbing and/or drinking) or either get some anti-bacterial hand soap and rub. You might say a few choice words, but in the end, you will prevent infections.
Yea, I did not really think that the whole slime thing worked. Then, by chance, when I was a young lad, I happened to get a decent puncture wound from a channel cat. My father reminded me of it, admist my gritted teeth and questions about the fish's biological make up, and sure enough it worked! No more pain.
The only problem is that when I got home, I had to re-open the wound. It really stung but I flushed the wound out with alcohol.
Topwater_Popper reply :
I have never been spiked by a catfish yet, but I am dreading the moment of graduation. Too bad you can't just lip them without worrying about getting wounded like you can with a bass. 
SavannahFisher reply :
I use a chefs glove with the intergrated steel mesh. I have a nasty "wussy reflex" that I have never been able to get rid of. The glove alows me to handle catfish without dropping them like a girl. It was $8 at Wally World.
Chris reply :
CHANNEL CATFISH
(Ictalurus punctatus)
Common Names - spotted cat, blue channel cat, river catfish
Description - Channel catfish closely resemble blue catfish. Both have deeply forked tails. However, channels have a rounded anal fin with 24-29 rays and scattered black spots along their back and sides. They have a small, narrow head. The back is blue-gray with light blue to silvery-gray sides and a white belly. Larger channels lose the black spots and also take on a blue-black coloration on the back which shades to white on the belly. Males also become very dark during spawning season and develop a thickened pad on their head.
Subspecies - There are no recognized subspecies. However, on rare occasions, they hybridize with blue and flathead catfish. Aquaculturists recognize numerous hatchery stocks and create a variety of hybrids to improve their culture characteristics.
Freshwater Drum
Aplodinotus grunniens
Length: up to about 14 inches, although it may become quite large in rivers
Weight: 5-15 pounds, world record is 54 1/2 pounds
Coloring: Gray or silvery in turbid waters, bronze-colored in clearer waters. The head is somewhat darker than the rest of the body; the ventral portion of the fish is white. The pectoral and pelvic fins are white, but the rest of the fins are dusky.
Common Names: sheepshead, croaker, thunder pumper, lake drum, grunt, bubbler, grinder
Found in Lakes: all Great Lakes
The freshwater drum is the only member of its family that lives entirely in freshwater habitats, and it has the largest native range of any sport fish in the region. Drum are an important commercial crop on the Mississippi River but constitute only a small portion of the commercial perch catch in Lake Michigan.
The drum earned part of its Latin name, "grunniens" (meaning "grunting"), by its odd grunting noises, which are produced by a special set of muscles located in the body cavity that vibrates against the swim bladder. The purpose of the noise is unknown, but only mature males develop the structure (by the time they reach three years of age), suggesting that it is most likely related to spawning. Drums also may croak like bullfrogs when removed from the water, and scientists still don't know if the croaking noise is generated in the same way.
Identification of this fish is fairly easy. Drum have two dorsal fins that are joined by a narrow membrane. The anterior fin is spiny, and the posterior fin has soft rays. The are the only fish found in Wisconsin with a lateral line that extends through the caudal fin.
Chris reply :
QuoteThe reason that they make that drumming sound is because catfish are part of the drum family.
This is incorrect a catfish makes that noise by moving it's fins and is not part of the drum family.
roadwarrior reply :
Thank you Chris!
Well class, any questions?
SavannahFisher reply :
Hey Chris, I think you were suppose to put a period after the word "incorrect"........lol
nwgabassmaster reply :
QuoteQuoteThe reason that they make that drumming sound is because catfish are part of the drum family.This is incorrect a catfish makes that noise by moving it's fins and is not part of the drum family.
common name applied to members of the freshwater fish families constituting the suborder Nematognathi. The catfish is related to the sucker and the minnow, and like them has a complex set of bones forming a sensitive hearing apparatus. Catfish are named for the barbels ( "whiskers" ) around their mouths and have scaleless skins, fleshy, rayless posterior fins, and sharp defensive spines in the shoulder and dorsal fins. They are able to use the swim bladder to produce sounds. Some species, such as the stone and tadpole catfishes and the madtom, can inflict stings by means of poison glands in the pectoral spines. Catfish are usually dull-colored, though the madtoms of E North American streams are brightly patterned. Members of most madtom species are no more than 5 in. (12.7 cm) long; some are less than 2 in. (5 cm) long. Danube catfish called wels, or sheatfish, reach a length of 13 ft (4 m) and a weight of 400 lb (180 kg), while the Mekong giant catfish can reach 10 ft (3 m) and 550 lb (250 kg). Catfish are omnivorous feeders and are valuable scavengers.
Chris reply :
nematognathi
<zoology> An order of fishes having barbels on the jaws. It includes the catfishes, or siluroids. See Siluroid.
Origin: NL. See nemato-, and Gnathic.
siluroid
<zoology> Belonging to the Siluroidei, or Nematognathi, an order of fishes including numerous species, among which are the American catfishes and numerous allied fresh water species of the Old World, as the sheatfish (Silurus glanis) of Europe.
A siluroid fish.
Origin: Silurus.
How do fish produce sounds?
Fishes produce a variety of sounds using different mechanisms and for different reasons. Sounds are produced as warnings to predators or competitors, to attract mates, or as a fright response. These intentionally produced sounds are generally referred to as vocalizations. More than 800 species of fishes are known vocalize. Other sounds are produced unintentionally such as those made as a by-product of feeding or swimming. The three main ways fishes produce sound are by rubbing together skeletal components (stridulation); using muscles on or near their swim bladder known as sonic muscles (drumming); and by quickly changing speed and direction (hydrodynamics) while swimming.
The sounds that fishes produce range in frequency from about 50 to 8,000 Hz. Sounds made by drumming are lower in frequency, varying from 50 to almost 500 Hz, with higher frequency harmonics often present to about 1.6 kHz. Sounds made by stridulation are usually concentrated at the higher end of the spectrum, from approximately 1,000 to 8,000 Hz. Hydrodynamic sounds produced by fishes are below 500Hz (and usually below 100Hz) and are nonharmonic.
Stridulation occurs when a fish rubs skeletal parts together to produce sound (similar to the method used by crickets to make sound). These sounds can be generated by pharyngeal teeth, jaw teeth, fin spines, or other skeletal components. Stridulatory sounds can be classified into two general categories, those which are independent of the swim bladder and those in which the swim bladder plays a part in determining the quality of the sound by amplification. Sounds that are produced independent of the swim bladder usually have frequencies that are greater than 1,000Hz. Sounds produced where the swim bladder is involved generally have frequencies less than 1,000 Hz. In either case, stridulation sounds may be produced intentionally or unintentionally.
Some fish, such as the sand seatrout (Cynoscion arenarius), produce sound by using muscles on or near their swim bladder (also called gas bladder). Image courtesy of Grant Gilmore, Estuarine, Coastal and Ocean Science, Inc.
Some fish such as the sea catfish (Galeichthys/Arius felis) have specialized pectoral fin spines that make a stridulatory squeaking sound. The base of the pectoral fin spine is modified in these catfish. A part of the base, known as the dorsal process, looks like a ridged potato chip. Sound is created when the dorsal process is rubbed against the pectoral girdle. This type of sound production is commonly observed by anglers who catch the sea catfish. These catfish stridulation sounds range in frequency from 100 - 8,000 Hz, although most sounds are within 1,000 - 4,000 Hz.
Low_Budget_Hooker reply :
This is easy. A catfish is only a drum if you beat it rythmically with 2 sticks.
hendrix190 reply :
so whats the deal here, we got conflicting information??? anyways, i just lip catfish like u do a bass, and the really big catfish, their fins arent as sharp as teh small cats, so the small cats are actually more likely to stab u with its fin.
Tenka reply :
Quoteso whats the deal here, we got conflicting information??? anyways, i just lip catfish like u do a bass, and the really big catfish, their fins arent as sharp as teh small cats, so the small cats are actually more likely to stab u with its fin.
Buy fishing gloves if all you want is to "lip" them. The bigger spikes are just as sharp but easier to avoid. There is a whole mess of people on the Mississippi who fish for Cats with bare hands. No rods, reels or bait. So a glove is not required, but it will save your "SKIN"
hendrix190 reply :
QuoteQuoteso whats the deal here, we got conflicting information??? anyways, i just lip catfish like u do a bass, and the really big catfish, their fins arent as sharp as teh small cats, so the small cats are actually more likely to stab u with its fin.Buy fishing gloves if all you want is to "lip" them. The bigger spikes are just as sharp but easier to avoid. There is a whole mess of people on the Mississippi who fish for Cats with bare hands. No rods, reels or bait. So a glove is not required, but it will save your "SKIN"
well if u want to wear gloves thats cool it really wouldnt hurt to try to protect ur hand, i dont think i really need them though, ive had catfishing trips where ive lipped over a hundred of them without doing too much damage to my thumb or hand. and in my experince with larger catfish is their fins are more dull than the smaller ones, but maybe thats cause its a different species then a channel cat, i mainly catch blues, and flatheads, and some channels...
j-bass reply :
Many times when fishing off the coast down here for reds, trout, or flounder, it not uncommon to battle hardheads and gafftops taking your bait all day. For this I always carry a pair of needlnose plies in my back pocket. Some of the other, less fish-freindly, locals can usually be seen doing what we call the catfish flop. Basically this involves swinging the hardhead around, still on the hook, and smacking it on the ground to stun it for hook removal. They don't call 'em hardheads for nothing.........these things will actually swim off after a beating like that.
langs15 reply :
I ahte fishing for catfish, love catching em' but horrible when you have to hold em' as I am afriad to get spiked/stund by em'. I hold em' by the grill when I catch them though.
Tom Bass reply :
When "lipping" a cat just make sure to reach for the lip from under the fish outside their vision and grab the lower lip firmly. Reaching for the lip with your thumb / fingers to close to the upper lip and in the fish's sight might just give you a lesson in the speed of a cats reflexes and the strength of their jaws, not to mention the skin cutting ability of the little teeth they have.
Been there, Done that.
Little cats fin barbs are sharper and the "venom" is more painful than older bigger cats. The bigger cats barbs aren't as sharp but they are a heck of a lot stronger.
The only times I have been "stung" by a catfish was when I was grabbing it and it flipped around on the line while I was dangling it.
Brndcwby reply :
QuoteI ahte fishing for catfish, love catching em' but horrible when you have to hold em' as I am afriad to get spiked/stund by em'. I hold em' by the grill when I catch them though.
Look at that catfishes grill, WOW. ;D ;D Shiny!
Valascus reply :
I like fishing for catfish, but despise handling them. Y'all can call me a sissy. I have been "finned", "stung", or whatever you wanna call it one time by about a 19 lb channel cat...and that was about enough for me...hurt like hell. So when I catfish I use a pair of fish grippers now.
Troutfisher reply :
QuoteCatfish cuts aka "Glory Wounds"!!!!! .
Amen! I still have the scratches on my hands from one.
RoLo reply :
With small bullheads and catfish, instead of trying to avoid the spines, I intentionally grab them
right on top of spines so that the dorsal spine and one pectoral spine are trapped between my fingers.
With big cats...well, I just cut the line.
Roger
FL_fisher reply :
Do different kinds of cat fish have different jaw power ? I ask because the cat fish that I have caught in central florida have finger crushing power and I dont see how you could pick them up by the mouth.
Here is a link to the catfish that I have caught but it is a little different. The ones I catch are black and white not black and brown.
http://www.capmel.com/fish_species_freshwater.htm
mckinney08 reply :
ahh lord i'm 17 and i catfish about everyday oh no a catfish! that cracks me up i've caught 2 20lb+ this week i've grabbed them by the mouth every time harder u squeze the less there going to naw on ur hand, i've never been stuck heard it hurts hrm lucky me , now just wait i'll get one tommarow night for saying this and below is a pic of one of the many in the nice size cat category.
FivePoundBluegill reply :
Just buy a landing net. Its the best thing for landing any fish without haveing to worry about getting spiked, bit, or loseing the fish.
fish-fighting-illini reply :
There are a lot of serious catfisherman in my part of the country. The ones that seem to realy know what they are doing cary a big towel or rag. I holds down the fins and makes them not so slippery to hang on to.
PS I hate the sob's they are always getting in the way of my bass fishing
C.K reply :
Bigger ones like this:
Smaller ones like this:
I love fishin' for some cats. 8-)
Blue_Skies reply :
Well, i took a boy fishing and he caught a little salt water catfish no longer than 10 inches....the boy started poking its stomach!the fish flopped out of his hands and into my upper arm about an inch and a half deep...it peirced my muscle i couldnt even move my fingers i can now... boy it hurt!
the captain reply :
I've oly caught a few catfish and they were all small so I just picked them up with my thumb and pointer finger behind the spines so I don't get it and also so the fish don't slip but if I ever catch a bigger one I would probably "lip"it backwards I would put my fingers and hand in the mouth and keep pressure down and keep my thumb outside to keep a hold. I have never been bit or spined but it can only hurt for a little while so I ain't too worried about it.
related Other Fish Species topic
previous topic
© 2024 - fishing.qciss.net. All Rights Reserved.