Thread: How to Unhook Saltwater Catfish

How To Unhook A Saltwater Catfish Without Touching It [VIDEO]
Published by Luke Simonds on June 16, 2016 under Fishing Tips

It’s saltwater catfish time!And yes, this post is really is about the fish that we have continued to bash and avoid catching here at Salt Strong… the catfish.
But it is inevitable that if you spend enough time inshore fishing, you will catch some unwanted catfish.
Here is why catfish are among my least favorite fish in the entire ocean to catch:

1. They have very sharp spines dorsal (top) and pectoral (sides) that can cause a lot of pain
2. They are prone to slime up your line so it’s not nearly as transparent after a run-in with a catfish
3. If you do NOT have a DeHooker on board the boat or in your tackle box, these slimeballs can be a real pain to unhook sometimes.

The reason we decided to put this article and video together was to help ensure that anglers don’t make a costly mistake while unhooking one of these slimy fish. I also wanted to share a cool catfish release tip I have been using to avoid touching these slimeballs (where you do not need a catfish DeHooker).
Because one brief mistake can lead to a lot of pain since their 3 core spines are not only very sharp, but they’re also poisonous.

So if you’re not 100% comfortable in unhooking catfish, then be sure to continue reading this article and watch the video at the bottom.
Best of all, one of the unhooking tactics explained below allows you to get them off without even touching them.

part 2:

How To Unhook A Catfish Without Touching It

There are many ways to unhook catfish.
Some catfish release methods require lots of slime on the hands, some require lots of slime on your pliers, and some require no slime at all…
That’s right, there is a tried and true way to take a hook out of a catfish without touching it… just so happens that it is my favorite method to release these pesky catfish.
Although this method requires a piece of rope or line, that usually isn’t that tough to find while fishing (if not, another method is explained below).
This method uses a strand of line or rope to hold the bend of the hook up so that gravity can step in and do the dirty work for you…
Note: The video is below with all of the steps.
Here’s how it works:
Step 1: Loop the rope around your fishing line that is attached to the catfish

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The purpose of this is to ensure that the rope will slide down your line and onto the shank of the hook as you’ll see in the next step.
Step 2: Slide the rope to the shank of the hook


This is done by lifting the rope up while pulling your fishing line off to the side… the rope will slide down the line and finally end up on the hook as shown in the above picture.
Step 3: Rotate hook until it’s point is pointing downward


This position is achieved by pulling the rope up while moving the line down. The purpose is to get the hook point facing downward so that gravity pulls the fish off of the hook.
Important Note: Be sure to never pull the fishing line all the way below the catfish because it then will fall onto your hand once it falls off of the hook.
Final Step: Shake rope until the fish falls off of the hook

Once the hook point is facing down, the only thing holding the fish on the hook is the hook’s barb, so some slight shakes are typically all that is needed to have the fish fall of off the hook.
Note: Hold fish over the water during this last step so that it falls straight in once freed from the hook unless you’ll be using it for bait.
See video below to see exactly how this unhooking method works.
How To Grab A Catfish

Although the “hands-free” catfish method is highly effective, unfortunately, it does not work 100% of the time (catfish hooked too deep, tougher with circle hooks, etc.)…
So it’s important to know how to grab ahold of a catfish with your hand because that will be required. There is no reason you should have to cut your line, re-tie your line, or lose a nice hook or lure due to being afraid of grabbing a catfish.
Grabbing a catfish isn’t very difficult because there are only three barbs on the fish that will hurt you.
So you just need to be mindful of those three points when going in for the grab… here are the steps:
Step 1: Position your hand for the grab


Since the top and both sides of a catfish each have a spine, the safest side to grab a catfish from is the bottom/back.
And since the spines can only get you from the point, it’s best to slide your fingers under the side spines and while hugging the side of the fish so that your hand is safe even if the fish starts shaking.
Step 2: Grab and hold onto the fish


Once you get your fingers under the spines, just slide up your hand up the side of the fish and grab onto it so that it won’t slip if it starts thrashing.
As you can see, the two pectoral fins are kept at an outward position away from your hand since you’re fingers are below them.
And the top fin is completely out of harms way because it’s on the complete other side and further down the fish.
Best of all, even if the catfish thrashes, it is very tough to lose hold of the fish because its side fins are very strong and they will support it’s body, so a vertical hold will almost ensure it doesn’t get dropped.
Once in this safe position, you then can unhook the fish using your other hand or any type of pliers or hook remover you like to use.
Step 3: Release the fish

The final step in unhooking a catfish with your hand is to release the fish once the hook is out.
To do so, simply move it in a forward motion away from you right before loosening your grip and pulling your hand back.
This will ensure that your hand gets away while moving in the opposite direction of the catfish spines.
Here’s a video that shows both ways to unhook a catfish that are explained in this post:


Conclusion

Although saltwater catfish aren’t typically a desired catch, it’s very important to know how to handle them so that your fun day out on the water isn’t interrupted by a very painful injury.
Because even a small prick from a catfish can be extremely painful.
But the great news is that they really aren’t too difficult to safely take off of the hook… it’s all about being aware of their three sharp spines.
My personal recommendation is to get used to grabbing them right away because the hand’s free approach doesn’t always work, and it is slightly more dangerous if you accidentally move your bottom hand too far down below the fish when it comes off.
P.S. – Please share this with any of your friends who enjoy saltwater fishing because they’ll likely be faced with having to take a catfish off their hook and this post could very well save them some pain.

Good post. I was just now able to slide my wedding band on for the first time in over a year since my catfish injury on my knuckle. Be careful

Much better than the method we used when I was a little kid - the overhead slam onto the sand until the fish came off.

Probably would get me and my cousins reported to somebody these days.

I guess I'm in the minority. I watched the video and thoroughly disliked it. The way he was bouncing the catfish was a good way to get a spine in your hand or foot. He had his hand nearly directly under the fish and the fish was being jerked around quite hard. It could easily have jerked loose at the wrong time. It's probably a good technique, but I didn't like the way he was demonstrating it.

I just use a thick towel now. Fish on sand, towel on fish, pliers to dehook and flip back into the water. No risk for painful injury

As a kid it was mostly bullhead (catfish with squared off tail) that were caught in a farm ponds. Most of them were small (<6") and they would stab you in a second. I got really good at getting my hook back. Now I fish for freshwater catfish and in the past few years the saltwater as by catch. They all need the same care in dehooking. After trying everything under the sun I finally found my preferred method. It's a pistol grip dehooking tool. it grabs the hook with an retractable arm and hold the hook in three places. Once you are on the hook good, turn the wrist and the fish is unhooked. The reason it's my preferred method is takes to hands (rod and de hooking tool) hand and keeps the slime on the fish and off me. In the above string method it takes three hands (hold rod, hold string and hold line). As a bonus the reach of the tool puts some space between you and the things that stab.

Originally Posted by doesitgobang

As a kid it was mostly bullhead (catfish with squared off tail) that were caught in a farm ponds. Most of them were small (<6") and they would stab you in a second. I got really good at getting my hook back. Now I fish for freshwater catfish and in the past few years the saltwater as by catch. They all need the same care in dehooking. After trying everything under the sun I finally found my preferred method. It's a pistol grip dehooking tool. it grabs the hook with an retractable arm and hold the hook in three places. Once you are on the hook good, turn the wrist and the fish is unhooked. The reason it's my preferred method is takes to hands (rod and de hooking tool) hand and keeps the slime on the fish and off me. In the above string method it takes three hands (hold rod, hold string and hold line). As a bonus the reach of the tool puts some space between you and the things that stab.

Who makes or the name of this tool?

Fish Hook Extractors | Bass Pro Shops: The Best Hunting, Fishing, Camping & Outdoor Gear


I'm guessing it is one of these types.

That's not the exact model but it's the same type. In salt a full stainless version would be called for. It has also worked on blue fish, sharks and other toothy critters. Work great with circle hook but will also handle treble hook on line or lure. A must have tool in my opinion especially if catfish are around. For the really small catfish a pair of forceps also comes in handy. I carry both on every outing.