catching catfish???

[jim202000]

OK I keep seeing that when fishing catfish people say "you need to keep then alive, or on ice, or in cool water, ect" until you are going to skin/fillet or what ever. My question is why? I would never keep a fish on a dock in the sun for half the day and then clean and cook it ... but .... like when I trout fish why can't I just snap its neck to "quick kill" the fish and toss it in a creel (or in my case a plastic shopping bag) for an hour or so before I take it home to clean??? I don't have a bucket to keep it in water (nor do I want one if I don't need one) and I am not goot enough at catfishing to buy ice every time I go "just in case" I get one. In short can I just toss my, say 10" - 25" cat in a bag on the bank for about an hour,dead, and then head home to clean my catch? If not why?

thanks for your help

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