Fishing Forum

I took my grand kids over to the Parkcenter pond today around 2:30 and to my shock and dismay there in the water was a badly hurt but sill alive catfish a good sized one at that. now I'm not catfish lover but I am an animal lover and this animal didn't deserve to be treated like this. the muscle had been completely cut away from the back of the fish and then placed back in the water it was still alive. Can you imagine the amount of pain that this poor creature had to endure because some [#ff0000]edited[/#ff0000] thought it would be funny to practice Filleting it with out killing it? all organs were still intact just the muscle taken off the back on both sides I felt sickened and had to put it out of it's misery and disposed of it properly. Who ever did this deserves no less done to them so they themselves can feel the pain of what they have done to another living breathing creature. The Photo was taken after we pulled it out and killed it but I wanted you all to know what someone had done to this poor creature.....and if your reading this post and you know who you are then I truly wish the same upon yourself.....
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I do love catfish. They deserve the same respect as a trout, salmon or steelhead.
I have hit them in the head to kill them before and even though they are whomped good they have an extremely hard head. This one dies not appear to have been hit but it is hard to tell. The bozo didn't even cut it up right. Ron
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It's only a flesh wound. It takes a few months but it would have grown back.[sly]
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If this was a case of torchure it is wrong. Fish deserve to be dispatched before being filleted.

Windriver
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In my opinion, I doubt if this was intentional torture. I think someone caught it, whacked it on the head, and filleted it. They then threw the carcass back into the water, not knowing that the fish was only stunned and still alive. Unfortunately catfish are VERY hard to kill!
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I don't think so the meat was still very intact hanging off the tail of the fish and there were no marks on it's head it looked as if they snagged it to begin with cause there a hook in it's back as well we bet it in the head with a wrench and killed it made sure it was dead and disposed of it. if they were really trying to fellet it I would have thought they would have taken the meat off all the way instead of letting it hang off the taill like that
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I'm not sure how scientists proved it, but fish do not have the brain capacity to feel pain. I read this when PITA was trying to outlaw fishing because of the hooks hurting the fish. I'm not defending what happened to the catfish, but I don't think they were intentionally trying to torture the thing. Too good of a filet job!
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Still to fillet it and not remove the meat? I don't know looks bad to me but I don't know. if your going to fillet a fish wouldn't you take the meat?
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I didn't see the meat hanging off. I thought it was just skin.

If they were illegally snagging or had no license it may have been a case of "panic, throw the evidence back, and run".

However it happened, it is unfortunate for the fish, and I am glad you took the time to stop its suffering. I wonder if others saw it too and didn't do anything?
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See I'm wandering that my self. There were people sitting in there cars there and I'm wandering if any of them saw it happen there was another fish in the water even larger but it was dead I again pulled it out and disposed of it rotting fish in the waters isn't good either. but yeah the meat was still hanging on this fella thats what made me so mad about it.....At first my son thought that the geese had done it but I saw the knife marks and the meat that was hanging off the tail and thought it was just that anyone would do that. but your right it could have been a paniced situation still wrong non the less....
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The reason I think it had to have been stunned first is that I don't think it is possible to do even a botched fillet job on a live, wiggling, slippery, spiny catfish. I could be wrong, but I would hate to try it!
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No it is possible to do it while they are alive. I did one once that was in a cooler full of ice. after I cut off the meat I put the rest in a bucket to throw away. Whne it warmed up it came to. I try to use a hammer or bleed them. Ron
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That truly is sick[crazy] I cant understand how and why would someone would fillet a fish alive takes a pretty demented soul if ya ask me. It could of been a group of teens or some nutcase who knows? You need to inform the game wardens/said pond if u havent already so they can attempt to discourage more tortures nuff said[unimpressed].

~4poundonly
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I was meaning that it would be very hard to fillet it without immobilizing it in someway first: like --it being out of water for hours, putting it on ice, or stunning it. They are really tough and have remarkable survival (revival) ability. I can see someone hitting one on the head and filleting it or (starting to) and chucking what they thought is a dead carcass back in the water.

I can't see someone trying to fillet a lively, active cat -- your just not even likely to be able to stick it with the knife!
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Well you have a point there it would be hard to do that to a freshly cought cat so maybe it was a scared attempt at not getting cought gone wrong but still I think if your going to cut it at all at least cut off the head to make sure it's dead. my opinion only.
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[quote cpierce]I was meaning that it would be very hard to fillet it without immobilizing it in someway first: like --it being out of water for hours, putting it on ice, or stunning it. They are really tough and have remarkable survival (revival) ability. I can see someone hitting one on the head and filleting it or (starting to) and chucking what they thought is a dead carcass back in the water.

I can't see someone trying to fillet a lively, active cat -- your just not even likely to be able to stick it with the knife![/quote]

That seems like a more logical explanation of what happened to this cat. But even so I hit my cats on head till they stop moving throw em in the cooler when it comes fillet time there usally dead if not a few more whacks job done I mean cmon if someone fillet it how would they not know its still alive not unless it didnt move any and when they tossed it it just sunk to the bottom I dont know hard to call.

~4poundonly
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Since they didn't even finish the fillet job, then I would guess that the whole thing was illegal and probably snagged. They didn't even retrieve their hook out of the back.

They were probably doing it at night, whacked the cat good until they thought it was dead, partially filleted it, were disturbed by someone coming by, panicked, and threw the carcass (evidence) as far out into the pond as they could. Unfortunately for the catfish it wasn't dead and it revived.

Sounds like a little patrolling might be in order.

Anyway that is what I think probably happened or something similar.
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Doesn't look like it has any marks on its head, so I doubt they whacked it. But yeah, it was probably caught by snagging. Considering the pond was just stocked with catfish according to the story posted here a few days back, I doubt it had a hook in its back when it was put it in the pond.

I can't see anyone filleting out a flopping, catfish, though. They probably left it out of the water for awhile until it stopped moving, then started to fillet it and someone came along. Since it was an illegal catch, they chucked it back in.

I usually put the ones I'm going to keep on ice and bleed them out by cutting the gill arches. Makes for less of a bloody mess when you take the meat off.
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They are hard to kill. I've had bullheads gutted & skined still wiggling in the frying pan!
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