That is how I do it and it works for me. You can also hold 'em from the bottom with your palm on the belly and your thumb behind one pec fin and your other fingers behind the other pec fin. This grip is not quite as secure as the one described above, but it works. Won't have to buy or keep up with gloves.

LOL@Wilson
@aaron don't follow this advice man...it's just not safe to do this and it really aggravates the fish.

Its the small ones that always get me. If I catch a small one, I will try to not handle them, but instead, just grab the hook with plyers and shake them off. The larger fish spines don't seem as sharp.

I also get stuck throwing them back in.

handle a few of the gar down there and you'll no longer worry about the catfish...

I have been finned hundreds of times since I was a small child and only died from it once..
After a few dozen times it wont even hurt anymore, I pretty sure I built up an imunity to the poison years ago because my fingers don't even get sore anymore.
I had a fin about a quarter inch long break off in my finger about twenty years ago and it took about a month to work it's way out the other side.

Good Luck man! FYI my wife don't like to pick up cats either but she has developed a new system. Once she gets a bite and reels in a decent sized cat she pauses and then some how knows that I'm getting a bite and my attention is on my rod and then bam she swings it in the boat and impales my calf with the cat!! She has done this twice-- I think I'll get some snake boots!!LOL
A week ago while I was carrying out the remains of bunch of cats somehow the gut bag swung into my shin and a 2" fin went in and almost poked out the other side. It's a dangerous sport but it's all worth when you have big fish fry!!

This is the same method that I use. Works great.

I grab them from the belly with one of the pec fins right above my thumb and the other finbetween my index and middle finger.

All you hero's out there be advised. Those catfish stings can be very serious. Ive been stuck a few times myself but my brothers resent incident will make me think twice about playing tough. Long story short, he had to go to surgery few days after a sting to get part of his foot cut out due to infection. It's the slime that causes the infection and sting so I would not advise rubbing the slim on the wound like mentioned above. Doctor said he is lucky he came in when he did.

The worse ones are the little ones. Just grab it like Tom said..don't hesitate or it will flop and get you for sure. The worst reaction I ever seen was when I dropped a small one on my leg and it poked me like a pin. It swelled up like a mosquito bite. Bottom line is you are only going to mess with all the gloves, grippers, etc for a short while an you will get tired of them. Getting finned is just a part of it...more than likely nothing worse then temporary discomfort will result.

I suppose some people have terrible life threatening reactions, but the you could get killed by a sudden derencho.

This is how I do it to just have to make sure you have quick hands on the release. Thats when I get stuck the most.

I got stuck 3 times this weekend alone! It hurts, but the fun more than offsets the pain. Kinda goes with the territory but a good pair of gloves should eliminate most problems... by the way, I grab them like Mudshark and the Ronster mentioned with the fish belly to my palm... although after telling you about getting stuck 3 times this weekend you might ignore that!! LOL...

they used to make a metal fish grabber. it would open up and then you squeezed the handle and the arms would grab the fish. i dont like grabbing em, but grew up fishing for em. i have to let em settle down before I grab em. those spines hurt!

Easiest way to handle them is with a lipper, or sometimes called a gripper. Long handled device locks down on bottom lip and keeps fish out of reach. You still have to stay out of the way when the catfish starts flopping around, but good advice to clip the fins if you are keeping the fish.

I hold the fish with the lipper, and use long pliers to retrieve the hook. I have to admit that if the hook gets swallowed, sometimes I retrieve the hook AFTER the kitty is no longer alive.

Some lippers even come with weights. The one I have does not, but I still like it. Good for all fish, so as not to handle and injure the ones that you are releasing. Keith Bunch (fishing guide) showed us how to use these things, and I went right out and bought one and have been using ever since.

Not to say they arent serious... but I have been stuck multiple times and always rub the belly slime into the stick as best I can. When I get home, I disenfect it really good. If it's sore, I soak it in some ebsom salt. I have never gone to the hospital (or needed to) over a catfish stick. Just make sure you disenfect it when you get home, and do so for several days.

With that being said, when you pull the fin out of your hand, finger, ect... .check the fin and make sure part of it didnt break off down in there. That would be the only reason I could think of to make me go to the hospital or Dr over a stick.

i get stuck more often by perch lol.. i just slide my hand down and lay the fin over with my hand and hold it tight, pull the hook out and toss her back.. no big deal.. it if matters that much, go ahead and step on it and pull the hook out. its not nice to the kitty but at least you wont get poked.

I wear a glove while perch fishing, I prefer cats any day over perch.

If they are over a pound and under 10lbs I will usually grab them from the top. They have a little hollow spot there on each side of their head. Works pretty good for me.
If they are bigger than 10lbs, then the fins are usually dulled down some anyways. But they sit in the net until picked up with fish grips.

The little ones are the ones that will really get ya. I grab them from under the belly. One fin between ring and middle finger, other fin between thumb and index finger. I hardly get stuck anymore, but it will happen now and again. Belly slime makes it stop hurting.

Only had one trip to hospital for catfish fin, had one break off in my knuckle. Hand got really swollen. Doc's grabbed it out with needle nose pliers after they numbed it up enough for me to not care. I think a buddy and I could have done the same thing with enough whiskey.

A short Hardhead cat story.I was fishing off the rocks at 91st in Galveston. Had a fish on the line and was pulling him in,when it got to the rocks I gave it an extra tug to get it over the rocks.Well It came flying at me and stuck me in the calf.I don't mean it just stuck me but it was actually stuck in my leg.I looked down at it and it felt like I had electric going threw my leg.It was in so deep that it just hung there.I pulled it out(without getting stuck again)took it off the hook and threw him back in the water.There was a women there crabbing with her son,she said she never saw anything like that before.Thanks I said.I had to sit for a few minutes and it was getting dark so I decided to head home.I did stop at CVS and picked up some neosporen.I've been stuck many times and try to always use pliers to get them off the hook but when they start flappin around they can and will get you.

I got hit by hardhead when I was about 10 years old. It was pretty painfull and I never want that to happen again. I now use pliers to pop the hook out. I guess i'm scared because I want touch one now.

Reggie

Team Catfish "floating fish grip" is the ticket. Just watch Jeff handle cats with them in his videos and you will see how great they are.

Take your wife or girlfriend with you and make her take them off you line.

I had one actually break off in the palm of my hand in April! The cat stuck me and it was actually dangling from my hand then it broke. I had to cut it open with a razor blade to get it out. My hand was swollen like a baseball for about 3 days but it didnt kill me. Its all a part of fishing. My kids sure thought it was funny!!!

Usually for catfish I slide my hand up under its belly and grip under the fins. I have never been stuck doing it this way. If it is to big to grip under the fins, I grab it by the mouth with my whole hand.

If you put them in a livewell, there is a good change you will get a fin in your hand when you take them out. I carry a pair of tin snips and snip all three fins off (top and both sides) before I put them in the livewell. After that, they are safe.