happy moments

[snakecatcher]

Got stung by a happy moment whilst emptying a cast net a while ago - little bugger was hiding behind a mangrove leaf. It is definitely an experience I don't want to repeat but if it does happen again has anyone got any onboard remedies which might help with the pain? Putting your hand in hot water for as long as possible isn't a great help if you are 45 mins away from the boat ramp - copious amounts of the amber fluid does however help take your mind of it.

[onerabbit]

Hi snakecatcher, as a senior first aider, & someone who has also been hit with marine venom, I can say with all certainty that, yes, hot water , as hot as you can stand is THE BEST REMEDY for all venomous fish injuries.
If hot water is not an option, then go with the ice , its not as good but does help, had to give a bloke a frozen mullet once after he grabbed an eel-tailed cattie to take the hook out & it twisted in his hand.
I have been hit not only 1 time, but in both feet on separate occasions by dogfish (blue catfish), the first time needing hospital.
If I was in the boat & copped a bad hit, with no ice or hot water,I'd just go home.
However , beer as a short-stop sounds good to me!!!!!
Muzz

[brett_rokesky]

Hot water is the go.
I always take the old man fishing, and he always brings his flask of tea.

[Black_Jack]

How many people have a coffee flask in the boat. is it hot.

its not clean hot water but i would use it

geoff

[Volvo]

Failing all that belt feck out of it with whatever you have onboard n then stick it in the gob n suck the pain out of it lol...Normally whats happened in the past when ive been spiked as had nuthin around to use otherwise:)...
Got spiked in the finger/thumb one about five miles or so out to sea by a poor mans lobster (Scorpion Fish) hurt like all hell..got the missus ta pull the anchor up and head for home.Soon as i just hit the boat ramp the pains gone as if it wasnt there in the first place..

[bevnarch]

my young one got done by a happy a few weeks ago ,,,we had nothing on the boat, no hot water or ice till we got home so i took a chewie out of my mouth and told here to hold it on there untill we got back..........took her mind off it and was fine ...............mind over matter good aint it arch

[FOOCKCHUCKER]

another good reason to keep a very sharp knife in ya boat to cut the line before you are happy momented and have to cut the effected part off. p.s. another good reason not to fish naked i spose.

[Panda]

Its the heat that breaks down the venom. Any source of heat will do. I use a disposable cigarette lighter. The metal part around the top gets quite hot after a few seconds. Hold it against the stung area. You can regulate the heat by turning the lighter on and off. Used it several times with good effect.

[bevnarch]

your a smart bugger panda ,,what a good idea arch

[snakecatcher]

The lighter is a top idea - I'll definitely take one of them on my next trip.

Cheers all

[onerabbit]

Good on ya Panda, I never thought of that, cheers, Muzz.

[fish2eat]

Caught a happy moment in my castnet just this weekend.....my wife was about to bend down and get it out, not knowing what it was.....nearly a disaster until we got a set of BBQ tongs

If heat is required, you could maybe use the engine heat, ie take the cover of the outboard etc and run it for a few minutes

[Custaro]

Getting a good spike is never much fun. Heat is definately the go. You can use the water from your tell tail, pee on it, boil some in anything you can find. Catfish spikes, the aboriginal way is to cut its eye out and squeeze the gel out of it on the wound.

[roz]

Volvo's method or the hot water,

I was stung on my left hand by a black trevellly a few years ago, not nice at all. I didn't have anything on board the boat either, just had to put up with it. The effects lasted for about two weeks.

[fish2eat]

Volvo's method or the hot water,

I was stung on my left hand by a black trevellly a few years ago, not nice at all. I didn't have anything on board the boat either, just had to put up with it. The effects lasted for about two weeks.

I think a happy moment and a black trevally are the same thing, just another difference in local names.

Can I assume that even very small ones still pack a punch??

[snakecatcher]

Yep they are the same thing. It was a small one that got me and it hurt like hell so definitely one to avoid.

[Canoedle]

I was never unfortunate enough to get spiked by one, but have caught heaps up in Toogoom, near Hervey Bay in the early 90s, used to get em in the crab pots quite a bit too, actually not too bad on the chew, if there's nothing else on offer that is. ;)

[snakecatcher]

I had heard that they weren't bad eating but not sure I would want to run the risk of filleting them.

[Canoedle]

Once they're dead it's not that bad m8, as I said, never been spiked and handled hundreds of em, just grab em by the head or use a tough thick rag to get a good grip on em while they're kicking. If you are cautious you won't get done.

[dfox]

Ah yes the good old black travelly! As a kid i worked with my uncle pro fishing, one night we netted several hundered kilo's of them. He was used to getting hit by them but i wasnt. My hands were twice the size by the time we got them all out. I think we got around 50 cents a kilo for them :P
They hurt for sure but bullrouts are worse and im not keen on those little striped catfish eels either. Stonefish are by far the worse and ive been fortunate not to have experienced a hit from one.
My advice is, if you ever get hit by a bullrout, stingray etc, it doesnt matter how long its going to take to get to some hot water, JUST go! ;) ...foxy

[roz]

I assumed he was talking about those smaller fish....can't for the life of me think of their names.

We get them when we go prawning.

Always seemed to get black trevelly (spine foot) off shore or rock fishing.

Somebody help me out here.....I can't think of it's B.... name

Roz

[snakecatcher]

here is a picture of one - they seem to have a lot of names including rabbit fish, black trevally and spinefoot.

[bugman]

I did a story on a pro fisherman out of Bribie who told me he had once falling into his dory-longboat which contained around 300kgs of Happy Moments. The more he tried to get up the more he was stung.

He said after a while it didn't matter because you could only handle so much pain - whether it was 10 or 100 it was pretty similar. For the record his estimate puts it in the couple of hundred range.

Happy Moments are recorded as Rabittfish by Queensland fisheries - the make up not an insignificant amount of the total professional haulage of Queensland finfish.

The Asians love them apprarently.

Bugman

[Panda]

here is a picture of one - they seem to have a lot of names including rabbit fish, black trevally and spinefoot.

-----------------

Thats the little buggars!

Nasty sting.
Never caught a decent sized one on a line, but regularly get juveniles in the castnet around rocky reefs. I believe they are mainly weed eaters, so that probably explains why its mainly the net fishermen who get them.

Been a lot of years (decades) since I tasted one, but I do remember that they tasted very nice. Fairly strong flavour and slightly oily from what I remember. I would certainly not hesitate to throw one in the pan again if I got one big enough to eat.

[Canoedle]

We used to get em on yabbies quite a bit, and if they eat weed then I don't know why they were getting stuck in our crab pots, have seen them up to 30cms and were common around 20 to 25cms up around Hervey Bay.

[Panda]

We used to get em on yabbies quite a bit, and if they eat weed then I don't know why they were getting stuck in our crab pots, have seen them up to 30cms and were common around 20 to 25cms up around Hervey Bay.
--------

I dont doubt you caught them on yabbies or got them in your crab pot. Just I havnt. Never fished the Hervey Bay area.
And yes, they are "mainly" weed eaters according to the reference material I have read.
Seen some smaller versions caught on bait down in Moreton Bay. But thats all my experience with them is on flesh bait. Get them regularly in the cast net up here on the Cape, but none on bait.

[land-lubber]

They are primarily weed eaters, but will take any bait u put in the water. mainly around rocky/reefy areas. i have caught them on squid, pillies, prawn etc. they get around the 30cm mark and are a good fight. in fact, they are probably the most caught species off the kingfisher jetty by amatures next to butter bream. the asians love em. they boil em in the electric kettles and turn em int fish cakes.

the venom can cause nearly no problems right up to serious heamoraghing under the skin (like a huge bruise/blood blister) and serious swelling as well as breathing difficulties in extreme cases.
Heat is the go due to the toxin being a protien based compound, thus heat over about 60-70 degrees knocks it on the head
cheers

[bidkev]

Yep, I thought they were weed eaters until I happened on 'em at Curtin.

We were catchin' 'em one after the other last trip over there and must've caught 40 of the buggers. At one stage I had 3 on a bait jig and made the mistake of trying to get 'em off one at a time. Was getting the top one off when the one underneath spiked me.

Why did I go for the sterndrive on the Whittley? Hot water on demand ;D Trouble was, it was *too* bloody hot and I ended up with the scald taking my mind off the sting ::) ::)

kev

Ideas are funny little things, they won't work unless you do.

[fish2eat]

Welcome to the thread Kev...

Happy Moments/Black Trevally should be best described as "vermin"

Therefore we should not have even been discussing the topic without reference to the vermin king.

At least you now have a supply of hot water that you can add some cold to (should you forget the gloves)

I always keep some of those leather garden gloves on my boat, which I get for a dollar a pair at a disposal shop at Cannon Hill.....I even use em for bream and flatties to protect my soft "office" hands

[Fixation]

Hi roz,
Where you talking about scats? We used to bait net alot of them up in round hill creek and in hervey bay. Hey have a good sting on em too. Although I haven't been hit before.

[roz]

I remembered just after I logged off.

The fish whose name I couldn't think of was the Fortescue (sorry if the spelling is incorrect).

The fish in the pic is of course a spinefoot, I think there are around four different types.

They all bloody hurt though!!!

Roz

[roz]

One more thing, Fortescue generally turned up in the nets when we went prawning. They were always hard to see at night, and there were quite a few of the little buggas.

Roz

[MrMullet]

fortesques are cute little buggers, theyre very closely related to rock cods (poor mans lobster) and i have one swimming around in my fish tank.

I have an idea for hot water.

It involves a good meal and plenty of drink, then, you proceed to piss all over your sting. Or even better, get all your mates to piss on your sting too! [smiley=jester.gif]

[cuzzamundi]

great i dea panda. with catties, rub their belly on the wounded area - works ok. could be psychosomatic, or the belly may actually have neutralising properties. who knows. ive also been stung by happy moments, eel-tailed catties and a ray barb. all with no hot within cooey, so had to put up with it. if only i had panda there and his resourceful advice!!! ray barbs cause a lotta blood, the others dont seem to though.

cuzza

[roz]

Hi Mr Mullet,

I suppose Fortesque (assume you can spell it better than me) would look OK in the fish tank. I have heard that their sting is up there with the stone fish's (can put a person in hospital).

Never want to find out though!!!

Cheers Roz

[snakecatcher]

Here is what the Australian Museum Fish website has to say about the Fortescue. Haven't caught one of these yet but will look out for them.

"The Fortescue has a brown to white body with dark brown to black bars. It has two large spines on either side of the head that can be projected sideways when the fish is disturbed. The first dorsal fin has 16 strong spines that are capable of inflicting a very painful sting.

This species grows to 14cm in length.

It lives in estuaries and bays to a depth of 30m. Divers often see Fortescues, sometimes in large numbers, resting motionless on the bottom.

The Fortescue is endemic to (only known from) Australia. It occurs in temperate marine waters from southern Queensland to eastern Victoria"

Picture of one below

[Bream_Reaper01]

Exactly why do we call them happy moments?Is it that's it's the strange aussie humour coming out.Getting done by one will not give a happy moment.

Funny bone ,have you ever seen anyone having a laugh after hitting funny bone hard?

Red Haired men,always get the name the nickname blue.

I'm sure there's lots more as well that i can't think of right now.

[al-straddie]

I've also caught a lot of 4tascue (hopeless speller) in nets prawning, but never on a line. the biggest i've seen is about 6cm. hope NEVER to see one 14cm as they pack a punch, like a scorpion cod. :'(
My mates answer to being stung, was to finnish his six pack as fast as he could. :D. this may also be why he always got stung more than once ;D ;D ;D

[bidkev]

Exactly why do we call them happy moments?Is it that's it's the strange aussie humour coming out.Getting done by one will not give a happy moment.

Funny bone ,have you ever seen anyone having a laugh after hitting funny bone hard?

Red Haired men,always get the name the nickname blue.

I'm sure there's lots more as well that i can't think of right now.

Well the kids always call me Basil Fawlty or Victor Meldrew, so I suppose that means that I'm a mild mannered, patient kind of chap ;D ;D

kev

Hurt people hurt people. Whole people heal people.

[sunny]

Exactly why do we call them happy moments?

That good old Aussie humour. The story I heard, dunno if it's true, is that some people build up a reaction to them. So that every time you get stung, the pain is worse.

Heard that pro netters used to get stung often and one or two of them built up this reaction so that any spike gave you that "happy moment"

[fisher28]

chuck the cast net in the wheely bin. ;)

[rossramage]

Years ago an old fisherman told me to dig out the eye and rub it on the sting site. It worked for me, took the pain away within five minutes. Small ones are bloody good live bait for Yellowtail Kingfish too. Ross.

[rossramage]

Works with flathead too.

[roln]

Hey All,

First post here only found out about this site a few days ago...

Sure fire remendy for all the nasty ocean stinging fish.... there liver...

Gut.. take out liver and rub into wound and the pain will ease... something about the liver breaks down the venom...

Anyways still best to handle with care...

catchyas

[oddbudman]

I once caught a 30cm Happy Moment on a worm in the Noosa River. He sure did fight a little, caught my by supprise - I thought I was onto a good size bream :(