Yep; use hot water. As hot as you can stand.

Been finned about 1000 times. My old man used to tell me to rub some slime on it and quit belly aching! It’s not a real fishing trip until somebody bleeds!

Same here. Slime it, and keep fishing! I had one hit the meaty part of the hand yesterday.

Dang, I'm 73 and been fishing and catching cats since I was old enough to bait a hook, and reading some of these posts ya'll got me scared to catch another catfish!

All I can say is when it happens it happens QUICK!

My 4 yr old got spined by a 4 lb blue last night. He yelled “Dad, he got me good!” but he didn’t shed a tear. I told him there are full grown men that whine worse than he did. He rubbed his finger on it and licked the blood and slime off his finger. Said blood and slime taste gross. I told him now he’s a real catfisherman...That’s my boy!

FYI if you ever get finned by cats make sure you rub some of the slime off the catfish on the area...I know it sounds gross but the slime has antibacterial and it's the anti- venom for the small amount of venom they release when your finned....do that and it will stop the burning and will not be that sore the next day. Most ppl don't know this unless your hardcore catfisherman

yeah thats a good fin there.

I have been finned more times than I can count over the years and never thought it was that bad. This spring I tried to cram a dog food bag full of eater size blue heads after filleting them into my chest freezer to wait for trash day. Lid would not close so I gave the bag a big slap to knock it down without thinking. Took a fin in the joint at the meat of my thumb pretty much down to the bone. I pulled it off right away by reflex. Spent the next 15 min shaking uncontrollably and trying not to vomit, It was a level of pain that completely out of scale for a puncture wound that size. Could not even grip a pole for a week. There is finned and there is FINNED.

I keep a first aid kit in my boat and pour alcohol on my Stab wounds. My other technique used to be dio round into the lake but blood poisoning is not a good thing. That first aid kit gets its fair share of use and we'll worth the price. I would say it should be required boat safety equipment. I am not one that is for more rules or laws and think if folks don't want to be safe that is their choice.

I carry a fish flipper haven't been finned in about 15 yrs. . But I have been finned more times than I can count and been hit by sting rays . That's the life of a commercial fisherman.

I dropped a catfish on my foot one time and got the fin stick in my foot. I jerked it out. My alcohol from my first aid kit made that burn real nice. I have been catching catfish for well over 50 years and I hope to continue for at least 20 more. I have stepped on snakes and ate by chiggers but I stay my distance from sharks and sting Ray's. The key point here is to have that first aid kit in your boat. You can avoid some nasty infections with that. W he en I was say 10- to about 30 I used lake water to wash my wounds which was not smart at all but when it stings you hot to make it stop.