SRS -

All of the freshwater catfish have spines that can give you a pretty nasty poke. Getting "finned" is most likely with the small ones. It's not hard, however, to learn to get a grip on them that lets you handle them without much "collateral damage."

The "standard" grip is from the top, with the first and second fingers on either side of one lateral (side) fin, and the thumb behind the lateral fin on the other side. On very small ones, you have to watch out for the big spike on top, but I don't think I've been "stuck" using this grip on the last couple of hundred I've caught. (It's been quite a few years since I fished much, so maybe I only remember the nice ones.)

The alternate, preferred by some, is just to stick your thumb in their mouth and pinch the lower jaw. They don't have teeth - although the inside of the jaws are like rough sandpaper. I've used this method with some rather large ones - too big to get a hand across the back, but often replace the fingers with a pair of pliers for a more "secure" grip on a larger one.

All of the freshwater bullheads I've tried have been quite tasty. In fact, much to be preferred to the farm raised commercial channel catfish - the only thing you're likely to be offered in a restaurant - or even to "wild" channel cats. The bullheads are small, and most of it is head (a little less than a third, actually), but what's left is very good (if from "good water"). I would probably release anything under about a 1.5 pound bullhead though, because of the relatively small snack provided by smaller ones, while a 1 to 1.5 pound channel is ideal plate size.

John