Are flathead spines poisonous?
Submitted by randall df223 on Tue, 2012-01-31 18:13
I caught a juvenile last week out between Hillarys and Rotto, and the lil bugger spiked me while I was getting the hook out. He only just got me but it hurt like hell for about 30 minutes afterwards, throbbing to the point of that sick feeling you get sometimes.
Are they poisonous?
____________________________________________________________________________
Fish! HARD!
scottland
Posts: 3045
Date Joined: 10/05/10
I dont think they are poisinous
But the best cure is to rub where he spiked you with the belly Of the fish 0.0
i support two teams eagles and whoever is playing the dockers
randall df223
Posts: 6454
Date Joined: 08/08/11
are you pulling my leg with that cure, or what?
are you pulling my leg with that cure, or what?
Fish! HARD!
Spence
Posts: 302
Date Joined: 09/08/10
Haven't tried it, but that's
Haven't tried it, but that's what I've been told too. Rub the slime of the fish on the wound, its meant to settle the pain.
I think the other alternative is hot hot water.
-Spence
Insta: @wafishingofficial
Lamby
Posts: 3145
Date Joined: 04/08/09
Yeah they do a little tickle
Yeah they do tickle a little bit, been spiked a few times & you certainly bleed out for a while. Highly doubt they are posionous Randall but I keep a little cup of concrete on board for these incidents, works a treat with some verbal encouragement!
Dicey
Posts: 912
Date Joined: 23/07/10
Been spike many times and
Been spike many times and just live with it, doesnt hurt anymore now. As for rubbing on the belly, does work better if you let it dry, wouldnt be doing it with flathead caught from dirty water though.
randall df223
Posts: 6454
Date Joined: 08/08/11
what do you do with the
what do you do with the concrete? smash the affected thumb between it and the hull, whilst rubbing the belly of the offending fish on wound? to take your mind off the pain?
Fish! HARD!
ealzee
Posts: 611
Date Joined: 14/11/11
concrete hardens you the f%@k
concrete hardens you the f%@k up!! haha. and yeah they are venomous so that means they are poisonous. Never been done by one but been told it feels like a bee sting
kill it??? eat it!!!!
MattMiller
Posts: 4171
Date Joined: 15/06/09
They are not
venomous (no venom sack/gland). It is the bacteria in the spines that causes the pain and inflamation.
ealzee
Posts: 611
Date Joined: 14/11/11
you sure?
you sure?
kill it??? eat it!!!!
BOOMER
Posts: 179
Date Joined: 24/01/11
Tea spoon of the concrete
Tea spoon of the concrete washed down with a beer and stop being a girl!!!!!!!!!!!
''Throbbing to the feeling of throwing up''
Fair Dinkum!!!!!!!!
Big hook,
Big bait,
BIG FISH !!!!!
chris raff
Posts: 3257
Date Joined: 09/02/10
Had a deckie once
who used to like rubbing a fish on himself said it made him feel better...he was a pretty lonely sort of fellow though...quickset cement otherwise
“Intelligence is like a four-wheel drive. It only allows you to get stuck in more remote places.”
Tomcat
Posts: 614
Date Joined: 24/02/11
Soft
Mate get a life I would not embarrass my self to admit that on a web site bet your mum kissed every better for you
randall df223
Posts: 6454
Date Joined: 08/08/11
hey, i get spiked pretty
hey, i get spiked pretty often by decent sized snapper but that doesn't hurt for such a prolonged period of time as this did. the point of my question was that it was such a small fish and such a minor spiking, i thought there may have been some poison going in at the same time. I'm not embarrassed to ask questions. as a result of "embarrassing" myself, i am now slightly wiser for the experience and can try a couple of things if it happens again in the future.
nothing embarrassing about being slightly wiser....
Fish! HARD!
ealzee
Posts: 611
Date Joined: 14/11/11
yup well said and thats whats
yup well said and thats whats its all about
kill it??? eat it!!!!
aussie_breamer
Posts: 359
Date Joined: 24/08/10
tomcat
Tomcat, shut up....
bream slayer
Swan River Fisher
Posts: 877
Date Joined: 03/05/11
(No subject)
hekser
Posts: 572
Date Joined: 31/03/10
bleed like a stuck pig
from my knowledge not poisonous and as scottland said, rub the slime from their belly on the wound. you will be amazed ;)
Swan River Fisher
Posts: 877
Date Joined: 03/05/11
a quote lamby once said to me
a quote lamby once said to me is ' go and drink some harden the phuck up' lol
sometimes pissing on it helps (dead serious)
but i've been spiked numerous times and sometimes it can actually hurt.
ealzee
Posts: 611
Date Joined: 14/11/11
flathead are venomous
have a look in the WA Species identification guide. It will tell you flathead ARE Venomous aswell as cobbler
kill it??? eat it!!!!
Swan River Fisher
Posts: 877
Date Joined: 03/05/11
+1
Seen that too
Swan River Fisher
Posts: 877
Date Joined: 03/05/11
(No subject)
choc
Posts: 670
Date Joined: 05/01/12
Depends on the person I
Depends on the person I think.I have been spiked a couple of times and I swell up quite badly.
Lamby
Posts: 3145
Date Joined: 04/08/09
I am only taking the piss
I am only taking the piss Randall & I did consider chucking in a Freo Dockers quip! However I digress your post is quite valid & I am wary of the little buggers also (seems to be shitloads of small ones on my whiting patches). The big ones don't seem to worry me & are usually dispatched anyway but the little ones are difficult to handle esp. if they have a firm hold of the hook. After numerous stings I ran out of my concrete supply so now I grab the bottom lip between thumb and forefinger to de hook & this seems to work well.
Never heard of rubbing the fishes belly... strange dudes out there
Swan River Fisher
Posts: 877
Date Joined: 03/05/11
get a 'flatty flicker' works
get a 'flatty flicker' works really good
chris raff
Posts: 3257
Date Joined: 09/02/10
A flatty flicker
WTF...Swanny you never cease to amaze me ...lol...everyone just having some fun Randell ( I still think your Bondy in disguise ) ...I pricked myself on a trumpy the other day and had a sook...
“Intelligence is like a four-wheel drive. It only allows you to get stuck in more remote places.”
randall df223
Posts: 6454
Date Joined: 08/08/11
i'm still wonder WTF a flatty
i'm still wonder WTF a flatty flicker is? would it be something like "freddy found a flatty flicker and flicked a flatty far far away"????
Fish! HARD!
Swan River Fisher
Posts: 877
Date Joined: 03/05/11
got it wrong- Fat Freddy
got it wrong- Fat Freddy found a flatty flicker and flicked a flatty far far away lol
no seriously its like a 20cm long bit of wire with a bend in the end (90 degrees) and you put the end around the hook. then you hold the flathead over the side and 'flick' the flathead upside down and the wire dislodges the hook.
randall df223
Posts: 6454
Date Joined: 08/08/11
no offence taken from you
no offence taken from you lamby. be careful with the dockers quips, lets see how the season panes out.... there will be plenty of meaningless sledging opportunities to come i am sure. agree with the comment about their numbers on the whiting patches!
Fish! HARD!
Swan River Fisher
Posts: 877
Date Joined: 03/05/11
yea but real men go for
yea but real men go for dhuies and snapper so flatties are rare. pfff who wants to catch whiting! (Sarcasm)
randall df223
Posts: 6454
Date Joined: 08/08/11
more sarcasm - you won't
more sarcasm - you won't catch dhuies in the swan river fisher!
Fish! HARD!
Swan River Fisher
Posts: 877
Date Joined: 03/05/11
ha ha very funny! men with
ha ha very funny! men with balls go in the ocean and dont cry when they get stabbed by a flatty. haha lol
Paul_86
Posts: 1449
Date Joined: 27/03/09
"men with balls go in the
"men with balls go in the ocean" ahhh, you do realise you call yourself "swan river fisher" rite?
ealzee
Posts: 611
Date Joined: 14/11/11
sarcasm my friend... sarcasm
sarcasm my friend... sarcasm
kill it??? eat it!!!!
Paul_86
Posts: 1449
Date Joined: 27/03/09
Haha all good mate, just
Haha all good mate, just trying to stump him ;)
Swan River Fisher
Posts: 877
Date Joined: 03/05/11
got me with that one! haha
got me with that one! haha
Paul_86
Posts: 1449
Date Joined: 27/03/09
Haha, glad to see you took it
Haha, glad to see you took it lightly mate, alot of people take things too seriously sometimes.
ealzee
Posts: 611
Date Joined: 14/11/11
LMAO!!!
LMAO!!!
kill it??? eat it!!!!
Spence
Posts: 302
Date Joined: 09/08/10
Actually holding a flathead
Actually holding a flathead from its mouth puts stress on its back.
I've been told the best way is to hold them upside down so there's a slight bow in the back and the fish goes into a state of paralysis and does not move at all. I tried it last year, dead set worked.
Rubbing the slime from the skin is meant to work for settling the pain, meant to neutralise it, but never been stung myself to find out.
-Spence
Insta: @wafishingofficial
ealzee
Posts: 611
Date Joined: 14/11/11
yeah for sure "Venom" has
yeah for sure "Venom" has different effects on different people I think some of you are being a little harsh. I think Lamby said it like a gentlemen and gave the hint
kill it??? eat it!!!!
ealzee
Posts: 611
Date Joined: 14/11/11
I suggest you start handling
kill it??? eat it!!!!
randall df223
Posts: 6454
Date Joined: 08/08/11
and there be'th the leason
and there be'th the leason learnt!
Fish! HARD!
meglodon
Posts: 5981
Date Joined: 17/06/10
poision stings and such
A little bit aside from flatties,i got stung by a cobbler i was trying to release early last year and the pain was such that it certainly made your eyes water, so i thought I would urinate on my sting working on the theory that warm water would ease the pain,eerrh wrong all I ended up with was a hell of a pain in my singer and a hand that stunk to high hell and I think everyone in the causality section at mandurah hospitial new what I had done to the affected part, urinate on a spiking from cobbler and flatties. not a cure failed the myth buster test
randall df223
Posts: 6454
Date Joined: 08/08/11
i believe vinegar works for
i believe vinegar works for stingers (jellyfish), i wonder if anyone has tried the same for cobbler / flathead etc (probably wouldn't bother with vinegar for a stone fish spiking)...
Fish! HARD!
Mr x
Posts: 182
Date Joined: 17/03/09
iv been done twice first time
iv been done twice first time hurt like a bee sting for 30 min second time no pain i dont think they inject poison into you its more like a iritating slime on the spines themself
BOOMER
Posts: 179
Date Joined: 24/01/11
Bucket of Hot water as hot as
Bucket of Hot water as hot as you can handle!
now stop being a bunch of sooks!!!!
Cheers Boomer
Big hook,
Big bait,
BIG FISH !!!!!
crasny1
Posts: 7028
Date Joined: 16/10/08
Easy answer to this
Yes they are venomous. Anything that has the capacity to cause a chemical reaction in the body from a bite, sting etc is deamed a toxin or venom. Wheter this is dangerous is another matter.
Most marine toxins are denatured by hot water, and vinegar would also do it, but the poison is already in the skin, so the vinegar is unlikely to work for a penetrating sting/spike.
I have been stung on the finger by a small baby cobbler in a prawn drag net. Didnt see the culprit, and as I was shaking the net it zapped my index finger. Thought nothing off it for about 5 minutes, then all hell broke out. Tried hot water, vinegar (did Jack) and eventually had a local anaethetic block at RPH. Because it is concidered an envenomation I was rushed in as a priority 1 ahead off patient with gashes etc on a Friday night.
Flathead stings have a anti-coagulant and a algesic agent (causing pain) so it hurts and bleeds. Stops other predators from trying to eat them, but I have to admit I need to harden up with cobbler, but dont even bother taking care with flatties. Just bleeds and doesnt hurt (me). Knows it can cause pain for others.
"I would like to die on Mars. Just not on impact!!" _ Elon Musk
Juneka
Posts: 222
Date Joined: 14/12/09
Fish stings
My understanding of cobbler stings is that their venom is a protein nature - putting the affected part in very hot water (without scalding victim) effectively 'cooks' the protein - like an egg white... once 'cooked' it is denatured, so doesn't go further. Still hurts like crazy for a while though - I accidentally jumped on one in the bottom of the dinghy, barefoot, when I was about 12 - it was agony for a few days, as it penetrated my heel by about a centimetre...
Flathead hurt when they get you too, but it isn't the same sort of pain - more shortlived. I usually just let them bleed, and cuss somewhat while I get on with catching fish! I have found the easiest way to dehook the little prickers is to use long nosed pliers to grab the hook, hold them over the side, and give them a flick... the only time I actually make contact with them is on the rare occasion that they have swallowed the hook - then I hold the fish with a wet rag, and do the dentistry with the pliers again...
I guess for those who experience overwhelming pain from fish spikes, an anaesthetic cream would numb the pain a bit...
Save the Whales! May as well - they won't fit in my catch bag!!!
Lastchance
Posts: 1275
Date Joined: 02/02/09
Fish Pricks
A friend of mine was holding a cat fish up for a photo for a laugh. Anyway, when it somewhat inconsiderately made an attempt to free itself, it stung him on the chin. Now that was a laugh. Despite our offers and advice, he would not let me piss on it for some reason. Or put it in hot water - not that we had any, which lead me back to the initial offer.
So he just sat there in the dinghy in Airport creek, whining like a little bitch waiting for the crabbers to move their amarda of nets so we could continue trolling and watch the chicken wrestling on the bank in pain. Not even a 1/2 dozen bush chooks would help.
Moral of the story, keeps your mouth away from pricks, especially when you are in the boat with mates.
Juneka
Posts: 222
Date Joined: 14/12/09
Good advice!
Thanks for the heads up on that one, Lastchance - I will remember to keep my mouth well clear... but more especially if I'm on the boat with guys who AREN'T my mates!!! LOL...
Save the Whales! May as well - they won't fit in my catch bag!!!
Lamby
Posts: 3145
Date Joined: 04/08/09
Gold
Gold