FIsh id please

Caught this bad boy last night,was not careful enough by unhooking.... now the hand is double in size

You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

You've been a victim of the weaver fish

http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=17714

Weaver fish?

Thanks Andy and Petemc,the pain was unreal, went from finger to the wrist ,spot was bleading and turned white in the seconds i used frozen mac to cool the finger it helped , but looks like i was wrong ,today went to the doctor it was first time for the doctor to .....the felling now, like flue simtoms, PS it wasnt spine but the spikes on the gills !

Weevers are sometimes erroneously called 'weaver fish', although the word is unrelated. In fact, the word 'weever' is believed to derive from the Old French word 'wivre', meaning serpent or dragon, from the Latin 'vipera'. It is sometimes also known as the viperfish.

At first many victims believe they have simply scratched themselves on a sharp stone or shell, although this barely hurts, significant pain begins about 2–3 minutes after being stung. Weever stings cause severe pain, common descriptions from victims are "extremely painful" and "much worse than a wasp (or bee) sting".

Although extremely unpleasant, weever stings are not generally dangerous and the pain will ease considerably within a few hours even if untreated. Complete recovery may take a week or more; in a few cases victims have reported swelling and/or stiffness persisting for months after envenomation.

First Aid treatment consists of immersing the affected area in hot water (as hot as the victim can tolerate without being scalded) which will accelerate denaturation of the protein based venom. The use of hot water will reduce the pain felt by the victim after a few minutes. Usual experience is that the pain then fades within ten to twenty minutes, as the water cools.
Folklore often suggests the addition of substances to the hot water including urine, vinegar and Epsom salts but this is of limited (if any) value.
Heat should be applied for at least 15 minutes but, as a rule of thumb: the longer the delay (before heat is applied) the longer the treatment should be continued. Once the pain has eased the injury should be checked for the remains of broken spines and any found need to be removed.

more here:
http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=17714
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... aters.html
http://www.surfaroundireland.com/2010/0 ... -step.html

you are not alone if this is any consolidation

http://youtube.com/watch?v=IJ495wE7rcY

They actually make good eating. I've had them and if you're ever in the south of France, they're one of the ingredients of Bouillabaisse. I've caught massive ones on Clones and Kilcoole in the past. Hope you're feeling better soon.

BIG THANKS TO ALL!! I WILL SURVIVE

Well you wont forget that fish ID again....

thats for sure ,Sparkey

The funniest story I have seen on here about weavers concerns a chap fishing down in Caherdaniel in Kerry. He was catching a load of them and put them in a small rock pool for his children to play with!!!

Despite collecting several of them over a session and his children taking an avid interest, none of them got spiked or poisoned...

They are also a sign of a clean marine environment and are most usually caught at night in calm conditions over sand. People often mistake them for a whiting, similar in coloration, bar the black dorsal fin (and poison spines) that fold into a groove in the back.

FWIW

Funny you have mentioned that Kieran. I remember this was during winter time time at a MBMS meeting in Nenagh and we had a brief chat during a break about the dangers in coastal waters and the lesser weever came up as the most dangerous creature anyone can encounter around Ireland.

I didn't know this fish and completely forgot about our little conversation. Unfortunately, I must say.

However, summer arrived and I brought my little family of four to a lovely sandy beach in North Clare. Sure you know which one I'm talking about. My poor wife, she was enjoying the fine weather and, wave jumping together with our kids, was unlucky to step onto one, buried in the sand and totally invisible.

She was barefooted and I shall never forget the panicked expression on her face going through all stages from "I'm alright, just have to cool my leg a little" to full blown, near cardiac arrest racing pulse, shortness of breath and shock symptoms, just uttering "what's wrong now, it's getting worse".

I, completely unaware even of the sheer existence of these little buggers, was startled at first because she is one tough cookie, always refusing pain killers and epidurals during childbirth because it wouldn't be good for the kids and she wants to experience it all first hand et cetera.

So this one was hanging off my neck now in total agony, shedding tears and begging me to bring her to the next hospital.
I still hadn't a clue what had happened to her, there were no visible markings on her feet, only the right ankle started to swell up a bit and she was unable to put weight on it.

'Maybe she sprained her ankle stepping on a stone' was my first thought and 'we have to cool it a bit' but cold water made it way worse and she started to have this pin and needle feelings and completely lost control over herself and started to cry like a child.
This was my final alarm signal, I got the kids to gather our belongings and lifted her up, as she was nearly fading from the pain at this stage and carried her to the car.

I probably broke a few speed limit and various other traffic rules at the time on the coast road to Galway (my sincere apologies to everyone concerned, maybe you are still remembering a lunatic in a green Landrover Discovery with Austrian plates) and was only about 5 minutes away from the Hospital when my nearly dead wive announced "its not so bad anymore, no need to go through all the trouble, I'll be fine".
Looking at her in total disbelieve, I stopped the car and checked her leg, the swelling was all but gone, her pulse and circulation was back to normal and she was on the road to recovery as I could easily see. The entire duration from 'bite' to the step of feeling quite normal again was around 30-40 minutes. She was fully recovered by the time we were back home, about an hour later.

If this should happen to you, here a few simple steps to take:
Never, ever, try to cool the injured body part. It makes it worse, the venom will continue to circulate through your bloodstream.
Keep the injured limb down in order to make it harder to get circulated or try to bind it off (carefully, you dont want to stop circulation altogether!)
If you have access to someone with hot water, a kettle, even tea from a flask will do - check first that the temperature is ok not to scald the patient on top of his misery - around 60-70 C is ok, pour it directly onto the injured limb.
The protein based venom will be cooked so to speak and cant do any more damage, bit like an egg white when in comes contact with hot water solidifies. The pain should stop nearly immediately.

Don't be shy to approach fellow campers, guesthouses, even anyone nearby for a cup of hot water. Remember, especially in an area with lots of these lovely creatures you might not be the first one. Good way to make new friends as well.

However, needless to say, each and every single one of these creatures, who finds one of my baited fishing hooks irresistible, receives an immediate and carefully refined live burial treatment, which is aided by one or more vigorous and merciless twists from my Fishing Boots.

This is in total disregard how they might rank as a seafood delicacy. I couldn't care less.
Seriously.