Blame it on the catfish.

nlester · Apr 17, 2015

From Texas game warden's field report.

Blame It on the Catfish
A Bosque County game warden and Bosque County sheriff’s deputies responded to a call to rescue two fishermen whose inflatable raft was sinking. A deputy located the fishermen offshore while the warden launched the patrol boat. The warden was able to quickly reach the fishermen, who were in the water at this point, clinging to the mostly deflated raft. The warden helped both men in getting into the patrol boat and safely returned them to the boat ramp, where emergency medical services provided medical attention to both men since they had been in the 63-degree water for more than an hour. Both men said some of the catfish they caught must have finned the raft, causing it to deflate. They also said the stringer they used had wrapped around the trolling motor, disabling control of the craft. Both fishermen put on lifejackets before going into the water.

JMichael · Apr 17, 2015

I haven't been finned by too many salt water species, but catfish wins hands down as the most painful experience when it comes to getting finned by a fresh water fish that I know of. Man does it burn for a long time.

EZ707 · Apr 17, 2015

If it doesnt happen when u catch them it will happen when u clean them. Man it hurts!

lovedr79 · Apr 17, 2015

i had one fin me in the web between my thumb and index finger. talk about painful!stuck all the way through

jasper60103 · Apr 17, 2015

Been stung more than a few times over the years.
All you need is one catfish in the cooler to kill all the other fish, LOL. :LOL2:

Abraham · Apr 17, 2015

I feel like an ass for what I did in this story but thought I'd share. When I was 19-20 some friends and I were country cruising and came upon a few other friends that happened to be fishing. They had caught a 10-12lb catfish and for some stupid reason I wanted to kick it back into the water. I would blame the drunkenness if I wasn't such a ******* back then #-o .

I was luckily wearing Vietnam style jungle boots and booted this fish back into the water. As soon as I connected I felt a pinch in the top of my foot. I knew I'd hurt myself but was drunk and laughed it off. I limped back to the truck thinking I had broken my foot.

The next morning I can't walk on that side and the stupidity of the previous night comes back to me . I take off my sock and there is about half an inch of fin buried in the top of my foot. In my adolescent mind, a pair of army boots couldn't be punctured by anything other than gun fire so after removing the fin I inspected mine. It had gone through the leather that held the boot lace brass. Not real thick but probably 1/8 inch.

After three days or so I could make my way around with little discomfort but it was a terrible choice to do that. Feel bad for that fish. Shouldn't have done that.