Pickles Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 1. Cut the line when handling catfish - don’t try to get hooks out (even with pliers) 2. Always have a thermos when fishing areas with “dangerous” fish. 3. Keep a first aid kit on the boat with Panadol or pain relief. 4. Don’t forget to Pray for a safe day. A last minute invite last night to head out to Brooklyn / Pittwater today was tempting. However I cancelled out of a Sydney Harbour planned trip due to BOM prediction of strong SSW wind and choppy seas, so wasn’t confident of a pleasant day - and how correct I was, but not due to predictions (the wind and swell wasn’t great, but fishable). The event that turned the day sour was getting spiked in the knuckle of my second (rude) finger by a catfish. I’ve had a Red Rock Cod spike in the past and that was extremely painful and knew what was coming & what to expect. (This is the first time in memory I forgot to pray for safety on the boat. People say praying that produces results is purely “co-incidence”, however the more I pray the more coincidences happen). I had my faithful “Thermos” with me and had my finger in HOT water within 15seconds and this helped enormously to deaden the pain. My buddy didn’t have a first aid kit (Panadol), so we headed straight back to the ramp. There is filming going on at Parsley Bay and planned for Australia Day long weekend (weekend fisho’s be warned) where we were able to get the thermos refilled and the “Hawkesbury water Taxi” kindly gave me some Panadol ( legend), for which I was most appreciative. What did I learn - refer to 1. 2. 3. 4. top of post. 15 hours later my finger is still sore and swollen, but far less painful than this morning. Oh Bye the way, we bagged 3 nice 40cm snapper, a 42cm bream and 4 Flatties over 40 cm (as well as 3 shovel-nose )and a catfish 😖). 11 2 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 that is a bummer Bob. A fortescue spike is bad enough, I assume the catfish sting is worse. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadmaster Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 I read somewhere that Westralians are very partial to catfish although they are despised in these parts. They call them cobblers apparently over there. After reading that I was curious and actually kept the last one I caught after (very) carefully removing and discarding the head. And I have to say crumbed and fried it was delicious, I also found a video on how to fillet and skin and it was quite easy once it had been 'disarmed', But it is dangerous work as you can testify, so I may be better to follow your advice from now on. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wazatherfisherman Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 Sorry to hear you copped a cattie Bob, they are agonizing. Imagine how bad it could have been if you didn't have hot water or knew what to do. Cut them off is great advice- them and Pike eels. Hope you are out of pain quickly 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted January 23 Author Share Posted January 23 6 hours ago, Yowie said: that is a bummer Bob. A fortescue spike is bad enough, I assume the catfish sting is worse. Haven’t had a spike by a Fortescue (when I used to do a lot of prawning, we used to call them “Scoobie Do’s” ) and after a catfish spike, I don’t want the experience. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted January 23 Author Share Posted January 23 1 hour ago, Toadmaster said: I read somewhere that Westralians are very partial to catfish although they are despised in these parts. They call them cobblers apparently over there. After reading that I was curious and actually kept the last one I caught after (very) carefully removing and discarding the head. And I have to say crumbed and fried it was delicious, I also found a video on how to fillet and skin and it was quite easy once it had been 'disarmed', But it is dangerous work as you can testify, so I may be better to follow your advice from now on. If you give me your number, I’ll ring you and you can come and get all you want @Toadmaster - cause I ain’t getting near one ever again. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big Neil Posted January 23 Share Posted January 23 Trust you will recover quickly from that encounter Bob. I didn't know that Catfish are a sting issue. I have caught both salt and freshwater species and didn't realise their potential danger. They do taste good on the plate though. Apparently, anglers used to catch them regularly down here, but not in recent times. bn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yowie Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Victorians also like catfish (cobblers). I was on a charter boat in the Gulf of Carpentaria many years ago. A few catfish were hooked (5 pounders) and a Victorian fisho asked to keep one. The boat skipper told him not to bring one on board or otherwise he would be thrown overboad with the catfish and made to swim 5kms back to shore. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadmaster Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Haha, thanks for the kind offer. A mate told me many moons ago when they used to fish off the Hawkesbury bridge, there was an old timer there with a chopping board and a cleaver and he would walk up and down and promptly dispatch any unwanted by-catch. By all accounts he dined better than most of the anglers there. Maybe he was also immune to pain. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bessell1955 Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Sorry to hear of your misadventure. The pain is almost unbearable, so it was great to hear that you had the hot water which, as you know. positively reacts with the protein of the sting. My latest sting was with a paper wasp and that did bring tears to the eyes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blaxland Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Bob your life has been interesting to say the least 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted January 24 Author Share Posted January 24 18 hours ago, Toadmaster said: I read somewhere that Westralians are very partial to catfish although they are despised in these parts. They call them cobblers apparently over there. After reading that I was curious and actually kept the last one I caught after (very) carefully removing and discarding the head. And I have to say crumbed and fried it was delicious, I also found a video on how to fillet and skin and it was quite easy once it had been 'disarmed', But it is dangerous work as you can testify, so I may be better to follow your advice from now on. Invite them over and they catch as many as they want (I don’t like catfish anymore) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pickles Posted January 24 Author Share Posted January 24 1 hour ago, bessell1955 said: Sorry to hear of your misadventure. The pain is almost unbearable, so it was great to hear that you had the hot water which, as you know. positively reacts with the protein of the sting. My latest sting was with a paper wasp and that did bring tears to the eyes. Hey @bessell1955, when I was out getting spiked by a catfish, my dutiful wife was hedging (box headgear) with the battery operated hedger I bought her for Christmas and got stung by 3 paper wasps - we both had a mournful evening. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jenno64 Posted January 24 Share Posted January 24 Sorry to hear you cooped that Bob! certainly spoils a session😡 I had a spike in the knuckle from a grouper once that had me on antibiotics for 4 months🤷🏻♂️ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toadmaster Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 On 1/24/2024 at 8:27 PM, Pickles said: Invite them over and they catch as many as they want (I don’t like catfish anymore) Maybe we can swap our catfish for their marron. Happy days! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackfish Posted January 25 Share Posted January 25 Interesting article on how this fellow rates Australian “Painful Creatures” and it seems quite a few live in water. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-01-26/stings-venoms-bites-ranked/103319874 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larkin Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 Fish spine stings are always super painful. Throbbing intense pain! Been done by a fortescue when I was a young kid running a net through weed. Am super careful after feeling that pain 😂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larkin Posted January 26 Share Posted January 26 On 1/24/2024 at 8:53 PM, jenno64 said: Sorry to hear you cooped that Bob! certainly spoils a session😡 I had a spike in the knuckle from a grouper once that had me on antibiotics for 4 months🤷🏻♂️ Mycobacterium marinum? I copped this bacteria once from a prawn spike - had to be on antibiotics for 3 months plus. It’s temperature sensitive, so hot packs on the sting site help to kill the bacteria too. Slow growing and spreads in a line up your arm. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kantong Posted January 28 Share Posted January 28 sorry to hear about your catfish spike. Hope you recover soon and thanks for sharing the tips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jay88 Posted January 29 Share Posted January 29 Sorry to hear Pickles, hope you feel better mate. And I never thought of the Thermos. Down on my boating 101 notes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adkel53 Posted February 2 Share Posted February 2 I got spiked by at the base of my index finger by one a couple of years ago. I couldn't get my hand into hot water for about 45 minutes. The pain was next level. It took hours for the pain to subside. I ended up with an infection in the wound site and on a course of antibiotics. If ever I catch one again it will be cut off with the hook still in it. I never want that experience again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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