How are u supposed to hold a catfish....i was told not to hold it bye the gills or the lip?

Question

how am i supposed to hold?

Answer 1

I like Sonny H's answer....

if i just go out to catch catfish, bring along a pair of plyers and a pairs of side cutters, grap the fish in the mouth and use your cutters to cut the 3spikes of fins off, one on top and on each side of its head, ,then you can keep the fish alive and will not have to worrey about reaching your hand in the bucket to retrive them.., and go salt and pepper them and shake thin in plain flower and put in some oil, oh baby,, beats kfc chicken!!!

Best advice is fish with an experience fisherman who fishes for cats and watch him - repeat the process with another experienced fisherman - watch how they both do it...  it's a technique that you have to develop on your own....

Just watch out for the three fins with spike the top one and two side ones below the gills....

You need to develop your own technique - don't be afraid of them just respect them...

Now get out there and go fishing....

Answer 2

where gloves and cradle it u dont have to use fishing gloves though but if u want to get some gloves to walmart go to the fishing section and ask for fishing gloves or go to baspro.com to get some fishing gloves

Answer 3

Grab the catfish by its tail hold it tight and put your hand below his mouth and further down than the whiskers like this... http://www.imperialcatfish.com/FrontBigC... type that in and it will show you a picture how!!!!

Answer 4

well i don't know about everybody else but i grab them from the lips they don't have teeth it feels more like a coarse file and sometimes i just grab them,with the palm of my hand  resting on their belly and their fins sticking out between my fingers and sometimes i grab them with the palm of my hand resting on their backs with their spines between my fingers.either way if you fish for cats your going to get your fair share of stings i'm immune to them now don't hardly feel them. but a tip to help get that hook out tickle the fish's stomach,he will hold still long enough for you to get the hook out.if you do happen to get stung,wipe some the slime from the same catfish that stung you and the pain will go away immediatly.

Answer 5

if i just go out to catch catfish, bring along a pair of plyers and a pairs of side cutters, grap the fish in the mouth and use your cutters to cut the 3spikes of fins off, one on top and on each side of its head, ,then you can keep the fish alive and will not have to worrey about reaching your hand in the bucket to retrive them.., and go salt and pepper them and shake thin in plain flower and put in some oil, oh baby,, beats kfc chicken!!!

Answer 6

dont hold it by the lip!!!!it will bite!!!!and the gills r really sharp 2!!!!!!y dont u just fish 4 sumthin else srry if this doesnt help :(

Answer 7

Just grab it by the lower lip. He can't sting you with his whiskers, they are bones, not stingers, they will cut if you handle it wrong, but all you have to do then is sanitize the spot, and it'll be fine. It cannot manipulate these on it's own, so unless you shove it into your own hand by mistake, you don't have to worry.

An antivenom spot on his stomach?...how rediculous. Don't listen to that idiot.

You do have to be careful with them, they have three barbs one in each of three of his fins than can really cut you up bad, but if you hold it by the bottom lip, you should be perfectly fine. If you are worried, then get you some fishing gloves and you should be able to handle it a lot easier if you stay away from his fins and barbs.

Good luck. I hope this helps.

Answer 8

Thumb behind side spine

Pointer finger on head

Middle finger behind top spine

Ring finger behind other side spine

Keep hold of head and grab the tail if it starts wigglin' around to much.

Answer 9

What I do is just lift up the fins with spines on them then grab the belly and rest them on my hand this way the spines are visible at all times and you don't have to worry about the fish slipping out of your hand. then use a pair of needle nose pliers to remove the hook. hope I helped!!

Answer 10

Don't risk it. The fins have venom on them, so it could whip out of your hands and sting you. Don't try to fish for them, if you find one on the line cut it loose.

Answer 11

if its a saltwater catfish you dont want to touch it and use a dehooker to get the hook out

Answer 12

If you hold it by the lip it will bite down on your finger. They have strong bites. The whiskers can't poke you and there is no antivenom on the belly, just more bacteria.

I don't remember if their gills are knives like perch, but they have spines on the first three sets of fins iirc.

For a small cat I slide my hand over it's head, 'petting' the first set of fins and the first top fin down and grip it thus.

I prefer not to handle them at all. Grab the shank of the hook with pliers close to the lip and twist, flip the fish back into the water or into your livewell or container. If it has swallowed the hook, just cut the leader.

I used to kind of squat-straddle the bigger fish and use both hands like in my first explanation, and have someone else take the hook out. Dangerous business :p