Dingostema Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Hello all, Went up to the Hawksbury river with my girlfriend for a couple of days over easter. We spent a couple of hours fishing of thye bank and really we only caught a handfull of these fugly looking catfish, they looked halfway between a catfish and an eel. I didnt think twice about unhooking them and throwing em back. The last one of the day was just as it was getting dark at about 5.30pm and as I tried to unhook it I got jabbed in the thumb by its spine which I now know is venomous! That really hurt. pain went up my arm and my whole hand swelled up to the point that I had little feeling or movement in it. The pain was pretty heavy and after a couple of hours of waiting for it to tail off it got so bad that we had to go to A&E. They gave me a jab of painkillers as the 4 neurofen I had taken hadnt even touched the sides. The only thing that calmed it down was having my hand in hot water but the pain came back immediately after taking it out again. Even at midnight I still had my hand in hot water as the pain just wouldnt go away! I'll take this as a valuable lesson learned. Catfish are evil! Cheers, D p.s I didnt take this pic but found it on the web snd its the same catfish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tilba Posted April 27, 2011 Share Posted April 27, 2011 Hi D, Commiserations , been there done that, I was wearing leather riggers gloves as well and it still spiked me. It took a week for the swelling to go down after I got spiked,the poison seems to sweat out of the swelling. Never touching one of them again. I always use long nose pliers now to remove the hook. Hpoe you feel better soon. Doggo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingostema Posted April 27, 2011 Author Share Posted April 27, 2011 Oh yes, I forgot about that. My whole thumb was sweating while the rest of my hand was just swollen which was a pretty weird experience! Cheers, David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rafinx Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 ive also had had it happen but my experience was alot less severe as it dulled by the end of the night. But the one I caught was about a third the size of that one in the picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trapper Tom Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Hey dingo Bad experience man. God they hurt. All fishraiders please note for stingrays, and other spiky fish oooglies the treatment is hot water. If you get stung don't muck around get to some hot water. Reason is that most fish toxins are extremely tempurature sensitive and break down very quickly if exposed to temps outside the fishes general survivable temp range. Its a darwin selection thing. Also note I don't belive this applies to the box jellyfish Any Docs on the site (and i belive there is) might be able to elaborate the more scientific explaination. Cheers Trapper Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingostema Posted April 28, 2011 Author Share Posted April 28, 2011 Thats exactly what the A&E Doc told me. Hot water will neutralise the venom but you need to keep your hand emersed for an hour or so and the water needs to be as hot as you can take it (without damaging your hand any further). When you take your hand out of the hot water the venom may be re activated. They cant really give you any decent pain relief as the pain is so localised. The difference the hot water made was increadible. Cheers, Dingo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRED-ATOR Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Hello all, Went up to the Hawksbury river with my girlfriend for a couple of days over easter. We spent a couple of hours fishing of thye bank and really we only caught a handfull of these fugly looking catfish, they looked halfway between a catfish and an eel. I didnt think twice about unhooking them and throwing em back. The last one of the day was just as it was getting dark at about 5.30pm and as I tried to unhook it I got jabbed in the thumb by its spine which I now know is venomous! That really hurt. pain went up my arm and my whole hand swelled up to the point that I had little feeling or movement in it. The pain was pretty heavy and after a couple of hours of waiting for it to tail off it got so bad that we had to go to A&E. They gave me a jab of painkillers as the 4 neurofen I had taken hadnt even touched the sides. The only thing that calmed it down was having my hand in hot water but the pain came back immediately after taking it out again. Even at midnight I still had my hand in hot water as the pain just wouldnt go away! I'll take this as a valuable lesson learned. Catfish are evil! Cheers, D p.s I didnt take this pic but found it on the web snd its the same catfish Hey David, That pic you got there of the eel tail catfish is under the brooklyn rail; bridge in hawkesbusy where have caught thousands of these things!! when i catch these i can forget jew fishing becuase i know i will only get these. I also got stung by one by its dorsal spike which sits under the skin and looks like a bone. It got me on the thumb and i had a small sweeling from where it stung me but appart from the initial pain of it jabbing me i had no pain only severe ITCHING!! i could not stop scratching it until the skin came off and it was there for weeks until it went down. I must of had an allergic reaction to it? There gross looking fish for sure, i witnessed a couple of guys catching some off a wharf in the hacking a few weeks back, they decapitated it and threw it back in the water without any hesitation - i think thats discusintg though, they have a right to live just as any other animal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dingostema Posted April 28, 2011 Author Share Posted April 28, 2011 I know what you mean Stan, Its not the catfish's fault and it was me, after all, that caught it, not the other way round! Blame evolution I guess! Hey David, That pic you got there of the eel tail catfish is under the brooklyn rail; bridge in hawkesbusy where have caught thousands of these things!! when i catch these i can forget jew fishing becuase i know i will only get these. I also got stung by one by its dorsal spike which sits under the skin and looks like a bone. It got me on the thumb and i had a small sweeling from where it stung me but appart from the initial pain of it jabbing me i had no pain only severe ITCHING!! i could not stop scratching it until the skin came off and it was there for weeks until it went down. I must of had an allergic reaction to it? There gross looking fish for sure, i witnessed a couple of guys catching some off a wharf in the hacking a few weeks back, they decapitated it and threw it back in the water without any hesitation - i think thats discusintg though, they have a right to live just as any other animal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aussie007 Posted April 28, 2011 Share Posted April 28, 2011 Hello all, Went up to the Hawksbury river with my girlfriend for a couple of days over easter. We spent a couple of hours fishing of thye bank and really we only caught a handfull of these fugly looking catfish, they looked halfway between a catfish and an eel. I didnt think twice about unhooking them and throwing em back. The last one of the day was just as it was getting dark at about 5.30pm and as I tried to unhook it I got jabbed in the thumb by its spine which I now know is venomous! That really hurt. pain went up my arm and my whole hand swelled up to the point that I had little feeling or movement in it. The pain was pretty heavy and after a couple of hours of waiting for it to tail off it got so bad that we had to go to A&E. They gave me a jab of painkillers as the 4 neurofen I had taken hadnt even touched the sides. The only thing that calmed it down was having my hand in hot water but the pain came back immediately after taking it out again. Even at midnight I still had my hand in hot water as the pain just wouldnt go away! I'll take this as a valuable lesson learned. Catfish are evil! Cheers, D p.s I didnt take this pic but found it on the web snd its the same catfish i had to have a laugh to my self that u caught those cat fish in that certain spot we use to fish the hawkesbury F3 bridge a couple nights a week and once we knew we had a cat fish on the line thats all we'd be catching the whole night and sure enough 5 hours later still catching cat fish LOL they are there in plague all though if u fish between the 2nd and 3rd pillon from the north side of the bridge u will manage to evade these pest and get some nice flat heads and bream u should have went to the ambo's on the F3 just north of the bridge if they dont take u in u just call 000 say your outside the door the ambo's will get the call and let u in there is a shot u can get but its morphine and u get a needle in the ass lol my cousins mate jumped out of my boat in the harbour at greenwich boat ramp 10 years ago some ass hole left a dead cat fish in the dark on the boat ramp with the dorsal spine sticking up and he landed strait on it from the bow of a half cabin he needed pliers to rip the fish off his foot he was handling the pain but u could tell it was killing him he drove all the way from the harbour to campbeltown hospital where he got the jab in the ass about 2 hours later and drove home high as a kite Hey David, That pic you got there of the eel tail catfish is under the brooklyn rail; bridge in hawkesbusy where have caught thousands of these things!! when i catch these i can forget jew fishing becuase i know i will only get these. I also got stung by one by its dorsal spike which sits under the skin and looks like a bone. It got me on the thumb and i had a small sweeling from where it stung me but appart from the initial pain of it jabbing me i had no pain only severe ITCHING!! i could not stop scratching it until the skin came off and it was there for weeks until it went down. I must of had an allergic reaction to it? There gross looking fish for sure, i witnessed a couple of guys catching some off a wharf in the hacking a few weeks back, they decapitated it and threw it back in the water without any hesitation - i think thats discusintg though, they have a right to live just as any other animal. are u allergic to seafood? im allergic i once went to a aquarium shop rest my elbos on the counter 5mins later i was scratching like crazy this was my 3rd reaction to fish the shop must have washed the counter down with something from the fish u better get checked out as i was down the coast around 2003 went into a club for dinner i was deciding weather to get chinese or fish and chips i went the fish and chips the next morning we woke up went for a boat ride on the way back the top half of my face had swollon it looked unbelievable like someone from star trek could barley open my eyes another time i was eating hot chips i mention to one of my girl friends at the time "that chip tasted like fish" 30mins later im in emergency getting checked out with a rash all over my body the doc said its a allergic reaction ive loved fishing my whole life and loved eating fish just as much i only got stuck into king fish a couple of years ago and ill never know what one taste like even though there my fav fish to catch Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PRED-ATOR Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 i had to have a laugh to my self that u caught those cat fish in that certain spot we use to fish the hawkesbury F3 bridge a couple nights a week and once we knew we had a cat fish on the line thats all we'd be catching the whole night and sure enough 5 hours later still catching cat fish LOL they are there in plague all though if u fish between the 2nd and 3rd pillon from the north side of the bridge u will manage to evade these pest and get some nice flat heads and bream u should have went to the ambo's on the F3 just north of the bridge if they dont take u in u just call 000 say your outside the door the ambo's will get the call and let u in there is a shot u can get but its morphine and u get a needle in the ass lol my cousins mate jumped out of my boat in the harbour at greenwich boat ramp 10 years ago some ass hole left a dead cat fish in the dark on the boat ramp with the dorsal spine sticking up and he landed strait on it from the bow of a half cabin he needed pliers to rip the fish off his foot he was handling the pain but u could tell it was killing him he drove all the way from the harbour to campbeltown hospital where he got the jab in the ass about 2 hours later and drove home high as a kite are u allergic to seafood? im allergic i once went to a aquarium shop rest my elbos on the counter 5mins later i was scratching like crazy this was my 3rd reaction to fish the shop must have washed the counter down with something from the fish u better get checked out as i was down the coast around 2003 went into a club for dinner i was deciding weather to get chinese or fish and chips i went the fish and chips the next morning we woke up went for a boat ride on the way back the top half of my face had swollon it looked unbelievable like someone from star trek could barley open my eyes another time i was eating hot chips i mention to one of my girl friends at the time "that chip tasted like fish" 30mins later im in emergency getting checked out with a rash all over my body the doc said its a allergic reaction ive loved fishing my whole life and loved eating fish just as much i only got stuck into king fish a couple of years ago and ill never know what one taste like even though there my fav fish to catch LOL "something out of star trek", i dont think im allergic mate, i eat seafood all the time. That is the only thing that made me itchy but no pain. I also get itchy on my hands if i clean heaps of prawns...maybe i have a slight allergic reaction? but nothing when i eat seafood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musty Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 Here's a tip for ya'll baito's... If your catching catfish after catfish, move to shallower water. Your fishing too deep. Its catch-22 I know, your after jew so your sitting in the deep channel, but like Gazza said, the northside 2-3rd pylons arn't nearly as deep and you will still get decent fish from time to time minus, 178 catfish. What's interesting is how the Hawkesbury is as full as a butchers dog with them and no other waterway seems to have them, more wierd is that the commercial trawlers seem to have ZERO impact on catfish stocks! They truly are the cockroaches of the Hawkesbury! Musty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Aussie007 Posted April 29, 2011 Share Posted April 29, 2011 They truly are the cockroaches of the Hawkesbury!LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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