12-04-2010, 03:07 PM
If you hold it by the lip it will bite down on your finger. They have strong bites. The whiskers can't poke you and there is no antivenom on the belly, just more bacteria.
I don't remember if their gills are knives like perch, but they have spines on the first three sets of fins iirc.
For a small cat I slide my hand over it's head, 'petting' the first set of fins and the first top fin down and grip it thus.
I prefer not to handle them at all. Grab the shank of the hook with pliers close to the lip and twist, flip the fish back into the water or into your livewell or container. If it has swallowed the hook, just cut the leader.
I used to kind of squat-straddle the bigger fish and use both hands like in my first explanation, and have someone else take the hook out. Dangerous business
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I don't remember if their gills are knives like perch, but they have spines on the first three sets of fins iirc.
For a small cat I slide my hand over it's head, 'petting' the first set of fins and the first top fin down and grip it thus.
I prefer not to handle them at all. Grab the shank of the hook with pliers close to the lip and twist, flip the fish back into the water or into your livewell or container. If it has swallowed the hook, just cut the leader.
I used to kind of squat-straddle the bigger fish and use both hands like in my first explanation, and have someone else take the hook out. Dangerous business
[signature]