When that ol' catfish stings

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

I’ve been around fishing many years. Knew to watch out for the barb.
(They also have teeth, you know. And they will bite)

The kids were fishing and one grandwrex got a nice catfish. He’s been taught to be careful unhooking it. Never been a problem but today He got it good.

His finger swelled. The going fisherman treatment is soaking in hot water. Seems it’s on Google too.

Didn’t work. Or he was being overly dramatic. Not sure.
His mom insisted he hold the hand in the water for awhile.
But I got the Bactine and had him soak it in that.
That did the trick.
I suppose. He quit whining and the swelling went away.
He’s all better now.

Imagine my surprise, I am watching an episode of Emergency! and Dr. Bracket gets stung by an aquarium catfish. They try all kinds junk, nothing is working, and the old Doc comes in and says “Old fisherman’s tale, soak in hot water, it pulls out the venom”
They do it young Doc quits whining and is all better.

This is true woo.

2

When my son was little he loved going fishing. One day on his very first cast, he snagged himself on the side of his head. The barb was buried and I was a bit worried.

I told him I’d take him to a doctor so they could remove it, but he wanted to continue fishing. I described how I could force the hook through the rest of the way, clip the barb, and remove the hook. I did this and he barely flinched.

I washed his wound with lake water, tied on a new hook, and we had a great day.

3

All you kids out there, please don’t try this at home.

mmm

4

Au contrair, the solution to bacterial pollution is dilution!

5

Tell that to the lake water that got me admitted into the hospital for IV antibiotics.

mmm

6

Ingestion or topical exposure?

7

I think it matters what lake and where it is.

We were on our pond. I wouldn’t drink it. But the dogs and plenty of wildlife do.

When my kids were young they swam in it. I’m sure they drank many gallons over the summers.

The grandkids don’t go in the water. It’s really not safe anymore with all the water plants and lily pad growth.

We’d all be dead if that water was poisonous.

8

They also had an episode where someone’s hiccups were cured by drinking soda. Not that I object to drinking soda.

9

Do you do noodling?

10

I was tubing on a lake, got a scrape on my elbow from the tube. Lake water entered the open wound.

My arm swelled up like the HIndenburg. Was hospitalized for 3 days, then needed six more week of out-patient IV antibiotics.

I don’t like jumping in lakes so much any more.

mmm

ETA: This happened in one of the Finger Lakes in upstate New York.

11

I have noodled.
Didn’t sing about it tho’
:blush:

12

Wow.
That was bad.

Sorry you had that experience.

13

I always managed to avoid the stinging spines on catfish. Do you have flatheads down your way? The channel cats I caught as a kid had tiny teeth, kind of like sandpaper.

14

Hey, I too was bit by a catfish once. That bugger bit my thumb pretty good. I remember that it hurt like the dickens, but I was with a new( ish) boyfriend so I put up a very brave front. I might have even sucked on the injury, but I can’t recall since it’s been 40 years or so since that happened.

I’m pretty sure we ate him for supper though.

15

Been some of every kinda catfish in my world.
I’ve been stung and bit many times.

Yep. It’s painful.

You soon learn your lesson.

Lots of fish in the pond.

16

Which is where my daughter and SIL have just moved.

17

My son and his long time girlfriend stayed there after graduating college.