how do you handle a catfish without getting poked?
05-31-2007, 09:07 AM
#2
Dominant Buck
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: Central Florida
Posts: 25,116
RE: how do you handle a catfish without getting poked?
I handle alot of catfish..by accident though .I would only catfish if I was starving..They taste strong from our lakes. I always barehand them and have not been stuck in years. When the fish has it's 2 barbs sticking straight out..I slowly firmly put the thumb and middle finger of my left hand snug right up against and behind those side barbs. At the same time I hook my left index finger around the in the front of the left barb..
You basically just need to keep away from the points on the end of the barbs. The U part of your left hand is snuggly against the top barb which is standing staight up. Most catfish are difficult to unhook because the mouth are thick gummpy tissue. The hooks dig in but difficult to pull out backwards..there fore; keep a pair of needlenose handy.. Grab the hook close to the bend and pull out backwards. now..Either put him on a stringer or quickly push him toward the lake opening up all 5 fingers at once. I haven't been stuck in years.
Remember ..the barbs are hinged and can only move 45 degrees.one way. You are simply using your hand to lock those barbs firmly as far as they will go while you unhook him.
You basically just need to keep away from the points on the end of the barbs. The U part of your left hand is snuggly against the top barb which is standing staight up. Most catfish are difficult to unhook because the mouth are thick gummpy tissue. The hooks dig in but difficult to pull out backwards..there fore; keep a pair of needlenose handy.. Grab the hook close to the bend and pull out backwards. now..Either put him on a stringer or quickly push him toward the lake opening up all 5 fingers at once. I haven't been stuck in years.
Remember ..the barbs are hinged and can only move 45 degrees.one way. You are simply using your hand to lock those barbs firmly as far as they will go while you unhook him.
05-31-2007, 02:25 PM
#4
Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 568
RE: how do you handle a catfish without getting poked?
A friend and I were cleaning catfish about 1 am one spring morning. We had been running a trotline on a local river and catching channels and flatheads on crawdads. He had a hold of about a 2 pound channel when it flipped and drove a barbed fin all the way through his finger. We could not back the fin out because of the barbs. After a little thinking I took a pair of side cut pliers and cut the fin off the fish. Then took a regular pair of pliers and pulled the fin on through his finger. Then he went in the house and cleaned it up good. It was sore but no infection.
I always held them just like Chuck said. Also one trick is that if you do get bit by a barb fin, it will sting. Rub the spot you got bit on the catfish's belly. That will make it feel better.
I always held them just like Chuck said. Also one trick is that if you do get bit by a barb fin, it will sting. Rub the spot you got bit on the catfish's belly. That will make it feel better.
05-31-2007, 02:34 PM
#5
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Jacksonville, IL/ Huntington, WV
Posts: 1,573
RE: how do you handle a catfish without getting poked?
ORIGINAL: chiefks
Also one trick is that if you do get bit by a barb fin, it will sting. Rub the spot you got bit on the catfish's belly. That will make it feel better.
Also one trick is that if you do get bit by a barb fin, it will sting. Rub the spot you got bit on the catfish's belly. That will make it feel better.
05-31-2007, 03:13 PM
#6
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Martinsburg, WV
Posts: 3,215
RE: how do you handle a catfish without getting poked?
if i can see the hook, and its under 10 lbs, i grab it by the lower lip just like a bass. they will clamp down sometimes, but its better than getting stuck.
05-31-2007, 07:43 PM
#8
Fork Horn
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: South Carolina
Posts: 389
RE: how do you handle a catfish without getting poked?
ORIGINAL: goherd1111
ORIGINAL: chiefks
Also one trick is that if you do get bit by a barb fin, it will sting. Rub the spot you got bit on the catfish's belly. That will make it feel better.
Also one trick is that if you do get bit by a barb fin, it will sting. Rub the spot you got bit on the catfish's belly. That will make it feel better.
