# wiskers or dorsal fin



## big fish (Oct 9, 2005)

ok i have heard plenty of diffrent things about this. what is the one that stings you the dorsal fin or the wiskers?


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## Smallmouth Crazy (Apr 4, 2006)

Dorsal fin on the top and the two fins on the side...I havent had that pleasure yet knock on wood...I have heard that the smaller ones are the ones that sting the most?? dont know how true that is though.


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## jason454ci (Dec 27, 2005)

As Smallmouth said the one on top and two on the sides. Yes the smaller ones are the worst. They are alot sharper then the bigger ones. It is not really a sting it is a poke. Had one or two flip around and get stuck in a leg before. Hurts like crazy I tell ya. On the bigger ones especially flatheads the skin comes out past the horns most of the time. So you really don't have to worry too much about them.


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## bimhoff07 (Mar 9, 2006)

Yep, they're right. The whiskers are used for feeling around and sensing things (e.g. your bait ). It's the fins that'll getcha!


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## H2O Mellon (Apr 5, 2004)

This was brought up years ago on GFO. Anyone remeber how that turned out? If I am not mistaken that was the entorudction of the famous "Catfish Mafia" 

I will openly admit that until 10 years ago (or so) that I too thought it was the whiskers that you had to watch out for.


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## liquidsoap (Oct 22, 2005)

Until I got into fishing really heavily I believed it was the wiskers, but its the top and side fines. I droped a smaller channel cat (12") on my foot when I was holding him. I was wearing sandals, can you say OUCH!


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## H2O Mellon (Apr 5, 2004)

The bigger the cat, the less you have to worry about this. I get stuck every now & then when messing w/ bullheads and madtoms that we catch from our creek. Madtoms..... man, those little suckers can get ya!


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## Audio_1 (Jul 30, 2005)

another thing to be careful of is that, atleast on the side fins, they are barbed or seraded. i found this out the hard way, i was cleaning a cat and i had 2 fingers aroun a fin and i pulled away and the cat came with me. the rear side of the fin was touching the webbing where the fingers meet the hand, it was like a saw, man did that hurt.


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## River Dweller20 (May 24, 2005)

Yeah, the little ones are worse. I can tell you by exerience. They flop so quick too, which makes it easier to get you. Ouch!


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## Whaler (Nov 16, 2004)

The dorsal fin and pectoral fins have a venom in them and that is why they sting.


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## Dougerus (May 26, 2004)

In the United States, June 25 is National Catfish Day.  

Catfish get their name from their whiskers, which are actually taste organs called barbells.(http://www.susanscott.net/OceanWatch2000/jul03-00.html)

What Web MD says:
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/wilderness_catfish_sting/article_em.htm

More then you ever wanted or needed to know:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catfish

Hmm I am learning a bit I could have swore there was no venom in channel cats. I thought only some cats had the venomous stingers. I know some of the salt water type do from 1st hand experience hurt for weeks after, red and swollen infected ouch!


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## Smallmouth Crazy (Apr 4, 2006)

Here is a short and funny little story...back maybe 15yrs ago when the Ohio State Fair would end the ODNR would take the catfish that were left in the kiddy pond and put them in the city park ponds around Columbus, for 2 or 3 weeks it was pretty good fishing, we never kept any..all our fun was in the catching...we were at one of the ponds and a guy(who wasnt playing with a full deck) catches about a 1-2lb channel...he ask us where are the fins that sting you??? we pointed them out and he said OH NO these here(whiskers) are the ones that get you..we tried to convince him that he was wrong but he would have none of it...he turned his back to us and proceeded to try and get a grip on this fish...he all of a sudden jerked and started to cuss...he let go of the fish and grabbed his hand for a second, then he tried to grab it again needless to say with the same outcome(lots of hand shakeing and cussing) this went on for a couple more seconds until a friend of his raced around the pond and got the fish off and dropped him back in the water..you could almost picture this fish going taught him a thing or two..but the whisker thing is a common misconception that has got more than a few people jumping and swearing.


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## big fish (Oct 9, 2005)

thanks for the correct info. im glad i asked before i ended up like that one guy. lol


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## pendog66 (Mar 23, 2005)

im with Bryan the only time i get stung by a catfish is when they are really small channels or im messing with bullheads. But i have had scraps on my legs from big blues and flatheads thrashing around.


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## TheSonicMarauder (Mar 9, 2006)

Dougerus said:


> What Web MD says:
> http://www.emedicinehealth.com/wilderness_catfish_sting/article_em.htm


webMD needs to get their fact straight..... the "Domestic Catfish" at the bottom isnt even a catfish... its a species of Pleco..... a species of domestic catfish would be a corydora or a rafael catfish


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

> we pointed them out and he said OH NO these here(whiskers) are the ones that get you..we tried to convince him that he was wrong but he would have none of it...he turned his back to us and proceeded to try and get a grip on this fish...he all of a sudden jerked and started to cuss...he let go of the fish and grabbed his hand for a second, then he tried to grab it again needless to say with the same outcome(lots of hand shakeing and cussing)


 Sounds like something Bart Simpson would do.


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## spiff (Jun 3, 2004)

I learned the hard way that the bigger channels can fold the side-fins down on your fingers...and when they do, the underside of the "horns" seem to be serrated and do a real nice job of slicing you up. I still have a scar on the lowest knuckle of my left thumb....my badge of stupidity.... I bled all over the place & my son asked if we were done for the day. I asked if we still had bait & he said yes....so I asked what his point was.....


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## fishintiger (Apr 26, 2004)

Just because I can I'm going to disagree with all of you that say the dorsal fins sting you.  Until someone volunteers to prove to me other wise I won't believe it (no I'm not volunteering either).  Just kidding. I was always under the assumption that the whiskers were what got you. If I caught a catfish I would usually take a pair of pliers and grab the hook and pull it out and let the fish fall back into the water. If I couldn't get the hook out that way I would grab the fish with a towel and pull the hook out and then toss the fish back into the water. One of these days I'll learn how you hold the fish without getting poked and maybe I won't be such a sissy.


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## peple of the perch (Sep 13, 2004)

i had one get me in the leg and hand badly


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## husky hooker (Apr 6, 2004)

be a sissy like me and use a towel,its less messy too and no stings!!!!!!!


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## Urnso (Jul 13, 2005)

Small ones always get me. You go in for the grab and they twist right before. BAM!! Zap yah right in the hand. 

I wear gloves on the smaller ones and if your still funny about grabin' the bigger one's get a set of Rapala lock jaws. They lock onto their bottom jaw and they can't get away. They even come with scales built in so you can weigh the BIG CATCH!!

I have gotten chomped pretty hard trying to gill pick catfish. If you get your thumb in their mouth make sure its tight in the corner. They have little barbs inside their mouth that will deglove  your thumb if you rip it out.


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## Lewzer (Apr 5, 2004)

Just grab the channel around it's belly and rest the pec fins on top of your finger and thumb. You can hold them very securely that way.
For bigger ones over 10 pounds I lip them like a bass. As someone mentioned don't try to pull your thumb out when they chomp down. They have those little barbs (whatever they are called) and that's when your thumb gets messed up. 
They can apply some pretty good pressure but as long as you resist your instinct and don't yank your thumb out, you'll be fine.


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## Shaun Frame (Mar 27, 2006)

About 20 years ago, a fellow I worked with was fishing one night at Buckeye Lake. As he headed back to the ramp (the pay ramp at the old Blue Goose) at Cranberry marsh around midnight, his motor died and wouldnt restart. 

Since he was pretty close to the marina, and the average depth was less than four feet, he decided to hop out of the boat and wade in, towing the boat by hand with the anchor line.

He was wearing cut-off jeans and a pair of those rubber flip flop sandals. As he was wading back, about twenty five yards from the dock, he happened to step on the dead carcass of a good size channel cat that someone had filleted and pitched in the water.

The dorsal spine went completely through his foot just about dead center right behind the where the toes join up. He had no choice but to limp/hop the rest of the way in with a half rotten cat firmly staked through his right foot.

He was a tough SOB though; he drove all the way home (far west side of Columbus), unhitched his boat and trailer, put all his gear away, and THEN drove himself to the emergency room.

EEEWWW! Nasty wound. He was off work about 8 weeks.

Be careful; Towels are mighty flimsy protection and just might give someone a false sense of security. Spines will go right on through with the right thrash. If you dont know The Grip, dont rely on terrycloth armor to keep you safe.


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## Smallmouth Crazy (Apr 4, 2006)

Many Many years ago a friend and I were below the spillway at Clearfork...he caught if I remember right about a 8"-10" channel...he yanked this small little guy right out of the water and had alot of loose line..like probably 3 or 4ft of line with his pole in his hands the line starts to sway back and forth as he brings this fish to the bank...the swaying line ends up causing this fish to hit him in the front of the leg(he has shorts on) he let out a yell needless to say and starts to bleed..again a case of the fish getting a little payback.


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## soua0363 (Jun 10, 2005)

Just be like me and use a fish grabbing tool and hold the catfish in place while pulling out the hook.


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## trophycats (May 28, 2006)

On the smaller ones i always put my thumb behind one of the side fins and rest my hand against the dorsal and put the other side fin between my index and middle fingers. I have never had a problem getting stuck. With the bigger cats if you press down on i guess you would call it their tongue they can't close their mouths.


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## big fish (Oct 9, 2005)

ok im having another argument with my friend. when a catfish stings you do you have to go to the docotrs because of some kind of poison of because of the barbs stay in your skin?


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## misfit (Apr 5, 2004)

catfish are NOT poisonous.there fins/barbs are NOT poisonous.
though some say that bullheads release a minor irritating venom from the pecs/dorsal,it's normally not too painful.more irritating than anythimng.
the only reason to see a doc is for infection,which is sometimes possible from serious wounds.i've been poked hundreds of times in my life,and have yet to have any reaction other than a few instances of minor soreness.
those little 6-8 inch channels have a very rough back edge on the doersal/pecs,and will definitely scrape your skin off and draw blood if they rub you.they bother me much more than the bigger ones.


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## big fish (Oct 9, 2005)

ok thanks you helped me win another argument


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