wrote:

I am new to fishing, I am intimidated by fish with spikes and teeth. I
was struck by pointy fin of a cat fish and it hurt for about 5 days. I
caught a nice saugeye, but a friend of mine took it off the hook. I
thought to myself, "I am not taken this thing off". I can see myself
getting my hand ripped open trying to hold and handle these fish. Does
anyone have basic advice on how to handle fish with spikes and teeth?


Thanks

We surf fisherman are very used to handling fish with teeth. Not the
teeny weenie ones you got answers for in this thread, but big, bad and
very nasty 16-18 lb. bluefish, which have been known to snap at
virtually anything. Bluefish have very big mouths, and have been known
to take bites out of anything just for spite while lying on the deck or
beach dying.

No surf fisherman would be without a pair of needle nose pliers to
remove the hook from such a fish. We generally grab the fish through
the gill slit and that prevents the fish from moving its mouth and
consequently biting. If you're handling small fish, use a rag to hold
the fish. That should provide you with protection from its dorsal fin.
Grabbing the hook in the bend with your pliers and pulling up and away
usually releases the hook quite rapidly with minimal harm to the fish.
As most surf fisherman are catch and release fishermen, this leads to a
quick return of the fish to the water and minimal shock. Should work
just as well with the kinds of fish you're looking at. After all,
they're not 18lb. bluefish.