Less risk in freshwater than in the sea
Freshwater fishes are not as dangerous as marine fishes, we don't risk to be stung by a livebearer or a ray and we don't have to deal with teeth as sharp as the tassergal. However, it must be admitted that our freshwater fishes also know how to defend themselves, carnivores all have a secret weapon to protect themselves from predators.
The carnivores
Each in its own way, carnivores all have physiological characteristics that can help them escape danger. It is with the pike that we risk the most, it has hundreds of sharp teeth, they break easily, but they grow back throughout the life of the fish. It already happened to me to enter me in the fingers and there attention, it is better quickly to withdraw it and to disinfect generously!
To seize a pike is not simple, because it is a very nervous fish, to avoid its teeth, it is necessary to seize it by the hearing. We slide the hand in the slot located under its beak. Apart from its teeth, there is no other dangerous element on the pike unlike the perch or the zander which are well armed to defend themselves.
Thumb grip pole
Perch and black bass
The perch's teeth do not represent any risk, they are thousands of small raspy teeth, on the contrary, you can grab it by putting your thumb in its mouth. On the other hand, one must be wary of the spiny rays of its dorsal fin which are very prickly. The cartilage that protects the perch's gills is razor sharp!
The black bass is handled in the same way as the perch. With these two species you have to be careful when you put your thumb in the mouth, especially when fishing with treble hook lures, it stings much stronger than a spine!
Perch in defensive position with dorsal fin erected
Pike Perch
Pike-perch backbone bite during a bad handling
The pike-perch has the same defensive qualities as the perch, but with a more developed dentition, less sharp than that of the pike. It is impossible to put your hand in its mouth as with perch unless it is a very small pikeperch.
Catfish
Here we are talking about fish that can weigh twice as much as a man, so you have to be even more careful than with other species. You have to grab it by the mouth, its teeth are not sharp, but they are raspy and can still hurt you, so I recommend that you wear a glove.
We must also make sure that the fish is calm before seizing it. For that I always put my hand on his head to see if he is cooperative or if he still has energy to spare, before putting my hand in his mouth!
Catfish held by the mouth with the glove
The eel
Certainly the most complicated to handle, the reputation of the eel is not to be made anymore! It is a real soap, impossible to hold it. Its blood is toxic for humans, so you should not put a wound in contact with the eel's mucus. If it feels threatened, it can also bite and it is not very pleasant. The easiest way is to handle it with a moistened cloth.
