# who here has been stung by a sea catfish?



## stevesmi (Mar 15, 2012)

i was catching a ton of them on the surf and people either tell me "i didn't know there were catfish out here" 

or they always want to pick it up and throw it back when i leave them to catch the next wave and swim away. i yelled at a woman and her 2 daughters the other day who were getting close to one that i had caught and told her to stay away it will sting you! she told me "a catfish??!!" 

just wondering who has gotten stung on here before? seems like these tourists are in for a treat since they do not know that sea cats sting.


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## TheRoguePirate (Nov 3, 2011)

I have a few weeks ago. was in my yak, got it unhooked and when droping it over the side it arched back and got me. i was tired and it was late at night 0100 and i was not being carefull. hurt like hell until i got home and ran it under a hot tap to neutrilize the toxin. damn hand swelled like a balloon for a week.


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## Linkovich (Oct 24, 2007)

I've been stung by them a few times. Hurts like hell, even if it's just a little prick. 

On another note I always throw them back in the water. To easy to forget about them if you just leave them on the beach, someone could end up stepping on one


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## OP-FOR (Jan 23, 2010)

*Who Hasn't?*

I would bet over 99% of us have been hit. My worst one was in the knee cap. I was in pain from the hip to the foot for two days. The wormy (10" or less) cats are always the worst! To add to it, I only had a six pack of Busch Light on board as a pain killer.


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## tips n tails (Mar 2, 2011)

I got stung one time and it's been the last, I personally kill them or will toss them to a heron if ones close by. Thought my foot was going to fall off, I've stepped on them trying to dehook them and have had their top spine come up into my shoe different puncture the skin but it was a wake up call


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## TheRoguePirate (Nov 3, 2011)

water as hot as you can tolerate will neutrilize the toxin on their spines incase anyone runs into this problem again


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## stevesmi (Mar 15, 2012)

i read if the stinger gets left in your body it can cause major issues. even amputation.


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## stevesmi (Mar 15, 2012)

tips n tails said:


> I got stung one time and it's been the last, I personally kill them or will toss them to a heron if ones close by. Thought my foot was going to fall off, I've stepped on them trying to dehook them and have had their top spine come up into my shoe different puncture the skin but it was a wake up call


the heron will choke on them, i wouldn't do that. 

even though we hate them still toss them back, they do have a job in mother nature to clean up the bottoms. leaving them on the beach to die is not sportmen behavior and is also illegal.


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## 20simmons sea skiff (Aug 20, 2010)

they dont have a stinger, just bacteria on spines like a stingray, ive been had by a stingray, and when i was in navy my friend stepped on a sailcat while running down beach. He went to hospital, and they sent him back to barracks, next morning his leg was red from foot to hip, he got blood poisoning during the night.


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## aroundthehorn (Aug 29, 2010)

So, "sea catfish" = "sailcat" (the ones I catch in the Pass, etc.)? I'll have to be more careful when handling them.


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## Five Prongs Of Fury (Apr 15, 2008)

I got hit in the index finger on my left hand while trying to retrieve my jig from a Hardhead on our last major fishing excursion. I was even being careful using a Boga and needle nose. The pain is excrutiating!!! Ran it under water as hot as I could stand and it helped a great deal but the pain was still terrible for at least 3 hours.:furious:


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## stevesmi (Mar 15, 2012)

do you all think I was out of line yelling at those tourists who were getting close to the cat and attempting to help it back in the water? they must have thought I was an asshole cause they have no idea those things will prick you.

i feel bad for scaring those tourists. but had i not said anything they were gonna pick it up


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## MathGeek (Mar 31, 2012)

Been hit. It hurts. A lot.


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## PCfisher66 (Oct 13, 2010)

Still have a scar on my finger from one 20yrs ago.


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## aroundthehorn (Aug 29, 2010)

stevesmi said:


> do you all think I was out of line yelling at those tourists who were getting close to the cat and attempting to help it back in the water? they must have thought I was an asshole cause they have no idea those things will prick you.
> 
> i feel bad for scaring those tourists. but had i not said anything they were gonna pick it up


Better than one of them winding up in the hospital....


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## prgault (May 25, 2008)

Got stuck in the meat of my hand below my thumb, then broke the fish off. I was in my kayak @ 200 yards out and had to paddle in with the spine still in. Wife helped me get it out but ended up in the emergency room. 2nd worst pain I have ever felt. 

I bought a lipper just because of that and now they don't get anywhere near me. Wife laughs at how long it takes me to get one off the line.

By the way, in my years as a wildlife rehabber I saw a few herons that had been fed or picked up catfish from a pier or dock and the spines had poked through their throats, not pretty. Osprey don't seem to have a problem with them...Just throw them back...

P_


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## TheRoguePirate (Nov 3, 2011)

"do you all think I was out of line yelling at those tourists who were getting close to the cat and attempting to help it back in the water? they must have thought I was an asshole cause they have no idea those things will prick you.

i feel bad for scaring those tourists. but had i not said anything they were gonna pick it up"



my grand daddy was a steadfast believer in the art of learning the hard way. but on his accord, i usually only did things wrong one time.


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## Dragsmoker (Aug 15, 2011)

I got stung last year. I was releasing em and he whip back and got me in between the thumb and index finger. Burned like fire till I poured water on it


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## chicon monster (Mar 7, 2012)

I stepped on one and it hurt like hell.rubbing the stomach of the catfish in the wound helps alot too.i guess it kind of works like a neutralizer because it stopped hurting after a minute.

Ive seen some bad stuff happen to catfish.ive seen people cut the tail off and then throw it back,slam it against the side if a jon boat, throw it onto bob sikes to get ran over, and knife to the head.


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## ctgalloway21 (Jun 25, 2012)

you guys talking about a gafftop catfish?


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## hammerhead611 (May 13, 2012)

ctgalloway21 said:


> you guys talking about a gafftop catfish?


I think most are talking about the hardhead catfish...the little bastards that aren't as big as your hand, yet fight like a 20# catfish. 

But, gaftops also have the poisonous barbed fins.

I got finned by a small hardhead one time, right between my thumb and forefinger. Hurt isn't the word for the pain that I was in. My whole hand swole up and turned blood red.


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## guam_bomb80 (Nov 17, 2010)

I was on a charter boat once and tried to dehook a hardhead and it fell fin first on my foot. The captain grabbed a bottle of bleach and poured it over my foot for a few secconds and the pain stopped after the initial sting of the bleach. Fished the whole day no issues and no swelling. I keep some bleach with me when I fish inshore now


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## wackydaddy (Jul 24, 2009)

I don't say this as a joke, but i've heard you can urinate on the stung area if you have no other alternatives...


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## 20simmons sea skiff (Aug 20, 2010)

the sail cats are good to eat. fresh water catfish will hurt you also. there is a lot of different saltwater cats. they have fish kills, and a lot of people step on them at night, or buried in sand


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## nextstep (Jun 27, 2008)

i had about a 4 lb hardhead pectoral stuck in my hand fishing on the 3 mile back in the 80's. he was stuck in so good i had to strain to pull him off with the other hand. good thing i had already had a few buds. passed out in the lawn chair, woke up the next morning blood was everywhere (which was good, it cleaned the wound) whole arm was swollen twice its normal size and hurt like hell. stopped at the bridge tenders booth (bridge tender was a guy named catfish) ask him what to do. he said he would go to the hospital. ask him if he had ever been stuck. he said why do you think they call me catfish. i didnt go to the hospital, young, dumb and broke. swelling went down in about 3 days and i was fine.:thumbsup:


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

prgault said:


> Got stuck in the meat of my hand below my thumb, then broke the fish off. I was in my kayak @ 200 yards out and had to paddle in with the spine still in. Wife helped me get it out but ended up in the emergency room. 2nd worst pain I have ever felt.
> 
> P_


I was about 2 miles out on Biloxi on my kayak and caught one that was about 4-5lbs. Biggest one I had ever seen. My dumb butt brought him over the side to dehook. About that time he fell off. Sideways right onto my foot! The side barb went all the way in, in between the bones on the big joint on my big toe. and he stuck there... flopping!!! I grabbed him and snatched him out. Big spurt of gore squirted out. I IMMEDIATLY called my wife to come get me from the dock. She was shopping. I was screaming in pain, but she thought that I was laughting. Finally she got it! I started paddling and was fighting an outgoing tide. About halfway in I started to pass out so I dropped anchor and leaned forward in a ball, So I couldn't fall out. When I came to, I pulled anchor and paddled some more. Started passing out again, so repeated process. I think I went throught that 5 or 6 times. Finally, I was about 200yards out, but couldn't paddle any more. My wife was on shore, but couldn't figure out what i was doing. She called my cell, but I was incoherent. She got some guys loading their boat to come get me. I threw them a rope and "skied' behind them back to the dock. They threw me in her sisters car and rushed my to the ER. My wife and her son stayed and loaded my kayak back on the trailer and drove my truck. After the ER, I slept for about a day and a half.

That was over a year ago and my foot is still tender. Any cut or any sort of pain on that toe is amplified to this day. The pain was incredible and really strange. My foot didn't hurt, or my leg even. It was like every pain receptor in my body was going off. 

As for the no venom, comments. That was thought to be true for many years. But they have now found that Hardheads and stingrays do in fact have venom. It is a neurotoxin that attacks pain receptors and also causes necrosis of the tissue sounding the wound.


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## xxxxxxkidsoncoffee (Apr 30, 2008)

x2 on the bleach. I've cut my foot wide open on barnicles, soaked it in pure bleach for about 20 minutes, and I was good to go. Cut my foot a previous time on barnicles without knowing the bleach trick and wound up at the hospital from poisioning. I also know several commercial guys that use bleach when they're barbed by snapper and cats. The stuff works wonders, but you gotta use it as quick as possible.


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## MULLET HUNTER (Oct 3, 2007)

wackydaddy said:


> I don't say this as a joke, but i've heard you can urinate on the stung area if you have no other alternatives...


I'd be more than happy to piss on you and a few others around here.... Let me know when you step on one.....:whistling:


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## robbiewoodcutter (Jun 30, 2011)

i was told as a child when stung by a catfish to squeeze the crap out of its belly,yes its poop, and rub it on the sting. its always worked for me.try it im sure youve all had worse on your hands.and as far as the tourist theres catfish just about everywhere in the united states if you havent heard they will get you then your in for a lesson.and ive never been stung by a gafftop sailcat but ive ate a lot of them.


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## PompChaser315 (Feb 18, 2011)

A couple years back i was doing some kayak fishing down in Cedar Key. After a couple hours of slow fishing catching nothing but cats, i decided to stretch my legs for a bit on an oyster bed.. i was wearing a pair of knee high rubber boots because it was muddy as hell where I was fishing.. Well i decided I was gonna throw out a few timez from the oyster bed.. after my third catfish in a row i started getting frustrated.. Like a dumbass i went to kick the cat back in the water, and one of his side spikes went through my boot and broke off.. Half the spike was in my boot and the other half was in my foot, so i couldnt even take my boot off.. Was one of the most painful things I have experienced and had to cut my boot off in order to get it out. I was miserable.

I also know of a guy who was drunk fishing on the beach and went to kick in a catfish while he was barefoot.. the spike went under his big toenail and broke off, he instantly passed out from the pain.. I thought mine was bad but i couldnt imagine that..


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## Chris L (Jun 9, 2012)

I was releasing a little guy with pliers a few years ago. Picked him up by the hook to let him fall off. He swung sideways and barbed me in the meat of my thumb. 10 minutes went by and I had to stop fishing and drive home. Sweating my balls off and chained smoked the 25 min drive back. Went out the next day and bought 14" needle nose pliers.


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## Smarty (Nov 23, 2008)

I had one nail the side of my thumb about 35yrs ago on the bank of Bayou Chico. It went straight to the bone. That was the last fish I ever picked up by hand. I've used fish tongs since then to get a hold of everything including little pinfish and even for live shrimp :laughing: Might look chicken shit using tongs for everything but haven't been nailed since then. That crap hurt!!! :no:


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## inshorecatch (Oct 1, 2007)

If when you get hit you rub the slim into the wound it will neutralize the toxin. I have been hit several times and have never had any problems after rubbing slim into wound.


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## mitchell master (May 23, 2012)

stevesmi said:


> i read if the stinger gets left in your body it can cause major issues. even amputation.


i went to move a gaftsail/blue catfish with my shoe its spine broke off in the joint of my big toe.buddy you want to know pain.was in the hospital for surgery had to stay a week.


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## stevesmi (Mar 15, 2012)

okay so some of you are saying freshwater catfish can do the same damage as sea cats? i dunno about that. I've read the sea cats have actual poison and have stronger spikers than their freshwater cousins. what about those guys that stick their hands in those tubs and pull out huge catfish in freshwater? forgot what thats called but they do it with their bare hands and they never get pricked. 

am i wrong?


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## Tightline (Oct 4, 2007)

inshorecatch said:


> If when you get hit you rub the slim into the wound it will neutralize the toxin. I have been hit several times and have never had any problems after rubbing slim into wound.


 
I'm supprised this answer hasn't came up sooner. I heard about this years ago. When the time came to try it, I was hesitant, but the pain was so bad that I didn't care any more. rubbed that slime all over the wound, and was pain free in just a few minutes. What you got to lose ?


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## GASeminole (Aug 15, 2011)

I was walking on that island across from AJs in May of 2011 and stepped on the pectoral spine of a sailcat that someone had buried out of sight, just under the sand. It had been dead for some time and was rotten and dried up. When I stepped on it and then instinctively yanked my foot off the ground, the carcass came out of the sand and was hanging from my foot. I hopped around on one foot for a second with it hanging there while I processed what had just happened and then yanked it out and threw it as far as I could into the water. Walked it off and laughed about it because I had consumed a few beers that day and wasn't feeling much pain, but the next day when I woke up it definitely hurt and was pretty sore for a few days. 

It took awhile to heal and I still have a reddish mark from the puncture wound over a year later whereas most other scars I have are white.


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## grey ghost (Jul 24, 2011)

stevesmi said:


> okay so some of you are saying freshwater catfish can do the same damage as sea cats? i dunno about that. I've read the sea cats have actual poison and have stronger spikers than their freshwater cousins. what about those guys that stick their hands in those tubs and pull out huge catfish in freshwater? forgot what thats called but they do it with their bare hands and they never get pricked.
> 
> am i wrong?


 Alot of PFF are calling it stung, i have always called it "GETTING FINNED" anyway freshwater cats hurt, BUT not like salt cats, they do have barbed poision fins. I have never tried the bleach trick, but have slimed my finned wounds many times!! LOL:thumbup:


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## lcruiser (Sep 15, 2010)

LOL..... when I was about 6 one went all the way through my foot in Daytona on the pier.....Whaaaaaaaaaa..... the cure all....put tobacco on it and suck it up boy.... LOL


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## JoeyWelch (Sep 25, 2009)

What the hell is a sea catfish????


And they have stingers????:blink:


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## marmidor (Mar 15, 2008)

jlw1972 said:


> What the hell is a sea catfish????
> 
> And they have stingers????:blink:


Bawhahaha I don't care who you are,that is some funny stuff!!!


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## driver (Sep 24, 2009)

i have been finned several times, now i just cut them off the line, i know how to hold them but why take the chance?arent they called hardheads?


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## want2yak (Oct 23, 2007)

Have always rubbed the slime from the belly on the cut when it happens. However when I was young we were setting out drop lines on the creek bank we woould go out at night to check them. I was the one carrying the stringer of fish back and tripped. I put my hand out to stop my fall and the dorsell fin went thru the palm of my hand it took two people holding the fish for me to pull it off. Went back and finished the camp out but it was two weeks before I could ride my motor cycle after that. I don't think any amount of slim helps when it is that deep


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## SHO-NUFF (May 30, 2011)

I never bring them in the boat. Cut the line and let them go. 
The cost of a new hook far out ways the pain from being finned!


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## PaulandBethB (Apr 19, 2012)

I had landed on a channel cat when I was little. I was trying to get it off the hook in a canoe that I had half of the canoe up on shore and other in the water thus causing boat to be rocky fell right on the Damn fish running the dorsel in the shin. That day my grandpa asked me if I had been hanging around an old sailor. He never herd those kid of words come from a young man mouth since 1940. Lol.


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## SHunter (Jun 19, 2009)

I would be especially concerned for someone with heart problems. I read that it causes the heart rate to change rapidly.


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## ctgalloway21 (Jun 25, 2012)

funny after reading this thread, I got stung this weekend. Caught a little 5 incher and it fell off the hook onto the dock. I went to kick it back in and it flipped right into my pinky toe. Hurt like hell for 2 hours. Caught another and rubbed its belly on the wound and it made it burn even more. Hurt 10x worse than a wasp sting.


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## axotls (Jul 21, 2014)

*Catfish Pain*

I have been "finned", "stuck" or "stung" by many hardhead catfish here in the south. 

The worst pain I have ever felt came from yellow belly catfish or yellow bullhead. These are freshwater catfish that we catch in Ohio. They swallow the hook every time and have short side fins that will get you every time.


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## jim t (Sep 30, 2007)

There are two distinct Catfish caught in local saltwater.

1. Gafftopsail Catfish

2. Hardhead Catfish

BOTH will sting the hell out of you if you get a SMALL prick or worse from their pectoral or dorsal fins.

TRULY painful. Lasts about a half hour. Longer if you are "allergic"

Hardheads are more common, especially in shallow water. Gaffs are caught in deeper waters in the bay channels or off the beach.

I've eaten a hardhead, prepared by a professional Chef... fried, it was soft, mushy and fishy tasting. I could eat it in a pinch, I wouldn't eat it again, given a choice.

I've been told a Gaff Cat is worth eating. I haven't tried one though.

Jim


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## axotls (Jul 21, 2014)

*Sail cat fish*

We have caught way too many hardhead catfish, a few nice sized sail cats and a lot of little ones. 

Sail cats fight different than hardheads and put up a good fight fer sure. I have heard they are good to eat but have not ventured to clean one yet. They are kinda neat too with their long fins.


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## a (Oct 2, 2007)

SHO-NUFF said:


> I never bring them in the boat. Cut the line and let them go.
> The cost of a new hook far out ways the pain from being finned!


:notworthy:Ive never been stung either....i was waiting for this solution to get mentioned.


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## Mark Collins (Dec 27, 2012)

stevesmi said:


> okay so some of you are saying freshwater catfish can do the same damage as sea cats? i dunno about that. I've read the sea cats have actual poison and have stronger spikers than their freshwater cousins. what about those guys that stick their hands in those tubs and pull out huge catfish in freshwater? forgot what thats called but they do it with their bare hands and they never get pricked.
> 
> am i wrong?


Freshwater cats are bad also, especially in the summer months, lots of bacteria on them.
I have had Staff from them before !


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## Mark Collins (Dec 27, 2012)

rubbing the slime on the wound might help for the pain, but my doc said that was what probably caused the Staff infection.
Rubbing the slime in the wound, Not me Never Again !


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## WAReilly (Jun 2, 2014)

I got stung between my fingers a couple weeks ago.


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## Snoozer (Apr 14, 2014)

I did not know any of this. I caught 2 hardtails on saturday. Took them off the hook as usual, held them with a microfiber towel. One did swallow the hook.
I shall be mo careful in da future!


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## ncmanguy (Jan 1, 2013)

Had a hardhead stick its spine slap through the meat in between my thumb and index finger!!! It was bad...... Damn cat fish..lol


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## 29gallk (Dec 5, 2013)

I took a spine in the top of my hand. Swelling and pain was instant. Several days of antibiotics and threatened to remove my small finger. It started to heal. Left a nasty scar and was sore for a long time. I don't even try to remove them anymore. I just cut the line. Not worth the pain or time to heal.


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## Geffellz18 (Apr 20, 2014)

Been pricked a time or two. Main reason I wear gloves and use a good set of pliers the majority of the time. They hurt pretty bad.


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## badonskybuccaneers (Aug 19, 2013)

I used to work on my uncles shrimp boat (dare I say, "back inthe day"), and you could imagine my horror anytime we brought the net on board and dumped it with a "gazillion" little hardhead cats pouring all over the deck!
Several years ago I got a barb broken off in my toe- ended up in the hospital!








Catfish barb leads to surgery


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## JVT (Jun 5, 2009)

When I was a kid we pulled up alongside a shrimper pulling nets in Mobile Bay to buy some shrimp and the tobacco chewing woman driving the boat had a fairly large hardhead completely through her the palm of her hand. 

She was holding it in her hand and my dad asked her if she was going to remove it. She replied, "as soon as the tobacco juice sets in". My hand still hurts thinking about it.


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## NoMoSurf (Oct 2, 2007)

20simmons sea skiff said:


> they dont have a stinger, just bacteria on spines like a stingray, ive been had by a stingray, and when i was in navy my friend stepped on a sailcat while running down beach. He went to hospital, and they sent him back to barracks, next morning his leg was red from foot to hip, he got blood poisoning during the night.


Not true.. They have a highly complex cocktail of toxins. The whole hot water remedy works for minor wounds, but a full puncture needs a trip to the ER.


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## HAG 90 10 (Nov 24, 2007)

*Careful around others catching catfish*

Years ago fishing Okaloosa pier a young angler was having a blast catching hardheads. He hooked one next to me reeled it all the way to the tip. The rod was completely bent over and started swinging back and forth. The young man couldn't control it and speared me in the back between my shoulder blades. At this point I can't reach the fish so the kid starts jerking the rod in an attempt to remove it. I start howling as the pain exponentially increases. Finally a fellow angler grabs the catfish and pulls it straight out. I pressed as much of the poison out as possible (rubbed against the corner of the bathroom building), fortunately it didn't get infected. That's my best/worst catfish story.


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## rr4611 (Aug 8, 2014)

Had the dorsal spine go through one finger and halfway into the next when working party boats back in the 70s. Hand swelled and hurt like hell and made me sick. Glad we were near the end of the day. Went to the hospital when I got in. Was better but it was rough. 10 years later I had an abcess form in the one finger it stopped in. Guess scar tissue grew around a tiny piece of the spine that broke off in my finger because the abcess was in the exact spot.


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