Live and let live..at least as much as possible!

I was pondering the positive side of the Hardhead Catfish.  I am sure there must be one somewhere!!  For anyone who does not know what I am referring to..think nuisance fish..bait thief..slime maker..pain inflictor.  Yep..that catfish!  I catch a lot of the Hardhead Catfish when I am fishing off the pier and for the life of me, the only positive use I can think of is as bait.  They do make good bait for the crab pots!!!  Still, in the grand scheme of things, there has to be some point in this fish being around.  Like I said, I was pondering this fact as I caught catfish after catfish..then all that changed.

A female Hardhead Catfish.

One of the catfish spewed numerous eggs all over the pier when I picked it up to remove the hook from its jaw.  The bright golden orbs sort of stuck to the pier boards and glistened like gemstones.  I immediately felt a great sense of remorse for harassing this poor fish!  She had aborted her eggs all over my pier!  I tried to hold her more gently and remove the hook.  Once that was done, I slipped her back into the water and flipped all the eggs back, too.  I can't imagine that did one iota of good because, well, I don't suppose there was even a slim chance of her doing anything about those eggs floating around in the murky water.  Still, there was hope!  I had read somewhere that a male catfish will hold the spawned eggs in his mouth until the hatchlings are able to fend for themselves.  Surely, in all the catfish I was hooking, there was one chivalrous male that would be willing to adopt some orphan eggs!  I can only hope!  What am I saying???  I was just complaining about the bait-thieving, slimy fish and then I have guilt feelings over a few aborted eggs?  Oh, my!  I think I have been standing in the sun a bit too long!

Closeup of two Hardhead Catfish eggs.

The Hardhead Catfish is one of the most plentiful fish around in the Bay.  They are not overly huge as the majority only get about three pounds.  This fish is edible but is extremely hard to clean and from all accounts, tastes pretty bad. The dorsal and pectoral fins are all supported by barbed spines that will inflict nasty wounds. These spines are actually covered with a slightly poisonous slime which can cause infection very quickly.  When dealing with the Hardhead, extreme care should be exercised!  Those fins will get you!  Now..back to pondering why in the world this fish was created!  It definitely has to have a positive use somehow!