Is this true?

[craig20110]

So when i was young, my uncles use to tell me that the cat fish wiskers would sting you if they touch you. But looking back my uncles use to tell me alot of stuff just to see if i would beleive them. So im woundering can a catfish wisker sting you?

[hushpuppy]

I assure you that the wiskers on a catfish will not sting you. The fins on the top and both sides will. Looks like your Uncles got you...lol

[Timotha7]

LOL Kirk
you got that right, I have not caught a big Blue cat, hear they can bite like a old bull dog, but know from experience that a flathead up round 28lbs can run right up your arm when you lip them an peel some skin coming back off

[big country]

these gentlemen are right about the whiskers the y are harmless they use them like a nose for finding there food but the dorsal and pectorial fins well they are a different story,the smaller cats fins are like a hyperdermic needle and will cause you some rather uncomfortable few minutes and make you say a few choice words....lol

[wewamohawk]

Well, I can tell you for sure what "NOT" to ever do. Don't ever try to lip a 20 pound blue cat like you would a bass. Like me, you will only do it once. One clamped down on my thumb and did a death roll just like an alligator. My brother-in-law Butch had to use a screw driver to pry the fish's mouth open so I could retrieve my bloody skinnless thumb!....Ray

[Arkie55]

That guys is a very true statement!!!! A big blue can do some serious damage to the skin on your hand. Even "gilling" them to land them is a risky move. They are so strong that when they clamp down even the gills put a serious crunch on the ole hand and twist and roll makes it even worse. A net or gaff is the best bet for landing a big boy. I use a net. I like to release every thing over 20lbs.

[Rainman4u2]

It ain't only the big ones, the little ones will roll on you to if you try to lip them.

Ray

[TA2D]

Small to medium sized channels and blues can really nip ya, caught a 7-8 lb channel a couple of years ago and had to thump him on the head with a beer bottle to make him let loose... I got the last laugh... he tasted real good!

Aaron

TA2D

[swampman]

i was fishing on a charter boat in the gulf, and i caught an 8 pund catfish of somekind and the captain told me, you had to handle it a certain way cause the barbels and fins can cause a poisonous sting. maybe his uncles were telling him about the wrong kind of catfish?

[ho_shi]

Have got hit several times by the needles stickin off the sides (dont remember what they called) and old wives tail is to rub the sting area on the belly as there is a antidote there to help take care of the sting caused by getting poked. Works for me

[jason454ci]

We must be a little dumber up north here. We just stick are hands right on in there. Ain't nothin like a good flathead rash across the knuckles to show off a good weekend of fishin.

[Nightfisher]

TA2D is right about those smaller cats. The ones you can only get a finger or two or a thumb into it's mouth are the ones that really clamp down. Once they get bigger and you can get your entire hand around the lower jaw, they cant exert as much pressure on one small area of the hand, even if they are a bigger cat. Also, it's across the knuckles, or upper part of the fingers, which are less sensitive. Gotta watch for the roll tho. If the tail touches the floor of the boat, or water once you lift them they go nuts. The 61 I caught tried to break my wrist when I lowered it back into the river. I keep a pair of ski gloves made from spandex with a thin leather palm on the boat for handling big cats. Keeps my right hand from looking like I stuck it in a cheese grater. In the excitement I forget to put it on a lot tho.