I see that a lot of guides put their catfish on ice in the cooler as they catch. What is wrong with putting them on a stringer or fish basket and keeping them in the water? Do they communicate to other fish in a negative way? Just wondering.

ive wondered that too
but it keeps on puzzling me

I like to keep mine on ice during the hottest part of the year to keep them from dying on a stringer if the water has low oxygen levels at the top they won't stay alive that long. It also makes it easier for me if I go fishing at night to just throw them on ice in the boat that way when i get in late I can just clean them in the morning.

i think they are easier to clean when they are cold as well. plus its a pain to take a bunch of cats off a stringer, that's usually when i get finned.

In my opinion a dead catfish that's been iced down is a lot easier to clean than a live one. A lot of the eating size fish we catch on Secret 7 will swallow the hook so deep that they will not live very long in a live well, basket or on a stringer once the hook is removed. That is if you can even see or find the hook and dip tube. Sometimes it's easier to just cut the leader and tie on another hook. When the water temps are near 90 degrees, a dead catfish in the water can spoil quickly. To play it safe, I prefer to ice my fish and keep the quality of the meat as high as possible for my customers.

plus I have found that even if they CAN stay alive in a livewell, during the heat of the yr they can get a bad taste. I don't know why this happens but I suspect it has something to do with the heat and oxygen levels stressing the fish and them releasing some hormone thru their body.

About 30 years ago, I was 10, I learned that getting cats out of a livewell can be a bad deal. I ran a fin under a fingernail and it was at that point inmy little mind that I swore that when i was old enough to have my own boat i would never throw a cat in the livewell ever again. Also, like Bobby says, they are much easier to clean after they have been on ice and you know the meat will be fresh.

Like others have said- easier to clean

and its been 100* out side.

+1

i just like the way they make my beer taste. (really should get a second cooler)

+1

I wish my boat had room for a cooler to ice em down... I jsut dont have the space.

I guess I need a new boat

I have the same problem, it seems that you can almost never have a boat too big, at least on a lake, or in the gulf, and you can never have too much horsepower. If you are catching that many fish, is suppose it is a good problem to have!

easier to clean and don't have to pick up every move