Comments on: Gone Noodling

Gone Noodling

studentbaker — Wed, 14 Jan 2004 09:29:37 -0800

Noodling: Catching monster catfish with your bare hands. Personally, I'd rather go fishing with a pole. But, I still find this technique fascinating.

By: dazed_one

dazed_one — Wed, 14 Jan 2004 09:53:50 -0800

The fish in the snopes link are ridiculous. Jebus.

By: putzface_dickman

putzface_dickman — Wed, 14 Jan 2004 10:14:33 -0800

Crazy Bastards. I can say I learned something today. Thanks

By: fijiwriter

fijiwriter — Wed, 14 Jan 2004 10:26:55 -0800

I've seen this the last time I went kayaking at our reservoir. Wasn't there some movie or documentary about this a year or two ago? Won some awards...

By: troutfishing

troutfishing — Wed, 14 Jan 2004 10:43:01 -0800

Cool link. I'll learn this noodling way and go out to catch me a trout or two for dinner.

By: fenriq

fenriq — Wed, 14 Jan 2004 11:00:53 -0800

I wonder how many of those guys went on to date and then marry those big catfish they caught? I can recall hiking in Wyoming years ago, in one lake the fish were so thick you could literally reach down and pick them up. Just for kicks we caught like thirty in under five minutes (we tossed them all back though). Of course, they were all five to eight inch rainbow trouts and not the monsters in the Snopes pics.

By: Ogre Lawless

Ogre Lawless — Wed, 14 Jan 2004 11:26:51 -0800

What's kind of funny about this is, as a sport, its not much different than spearfishing or, say, abalone diving in terms of "why ya bother" and "dang, that seems kind of dangerous for a little bit of food." The difference is that since its a bunch of rural white poor from the South the immediate connection is "hee-haw". I would argue that noodlers are probably a soberer group than a bunch of 'boys in the boat with the cooler. Perhaps a bit more "alternative", but what the heck, they aren't fouling the waterways with line and gear, nor polluting the water and air with transportation (mostly). I, for one, salute and welcome our new Noodling overlords.

By: TedW

TedW — Wed, 14 Jan 2004 11:47:43 -0800

Noodling for Flatheads

By: stbalbach

stbalbach — Wed, 14 Jan 2004 12:15:45 -0800

I have caught catfish as big as in the snopes link in South Carolina. By hook and line. Never heard of noodling, looks like a hoot. Fish that big are a challenge to clean you can't filet them, basically what you do is pull the skin off with pliers.

By: milovoo

milovoo — Wed, 14 Jan 2004 14:02:45 -0800

The hole you reach in may be an old muskrat or beaver burrow, a crevice beneath a rock, a hollow log or any underwater cavity. Catfish occupy such nooks at times year-round, but are most likely to hole up during spawning season when laying, guarding, and fanning their eggs. Catfish fan their eggs to supply the necessary oxygen for them to hatch in low-oxygen waters. If they don't fan them the eggs will not hatch. Not to get too editorial here, but to me nesting females never seemed like the best of all possible food sources, assuming you want more of the same kind of fish next year.

By: thomcatspike

thomcatspike — Wed, 14 Jan 2004 14:41:51 -0800

The difference is that since its a bunch of rural white poor from the South the immediate connection is "hee-haw". I would argue that noodlers are probably a soberer group than a bunch of 'boys in the boat with the cooler Guess you missed Discovey channel's show about this. In Texas noodling is against the law, iirc, only 4 states allow it. Supposedly you can lose a finger or hand if done incorrectly. This I do know, catfish have barbs by their mouths, which are very sharp.

By: trigfunctions

trigfunctions — Wed, 14 Jan 2004 15:57:43 -0800

The Okie Noodling film (http://www.okienoodling.com/) is brilliant. Plus, the weird-country soundtrack is by The Flaming Lips. Check it out.

By: F Mackenzie

F Mackenzie — Wed, 14 Jan 2004 19:59:15 -0800

Two of my neighbors have told me their stories about this practice, which they call 'grabbing' and not 'noodling.' They claim that hollowed-out stumps are the best places to grab, and it's very important to drink plenty of cheap beer before engaging in the sport. I would argue that noodlers are probably a soberer group than a bunch of 'boys in the boat with the cooler. The 'boys' I know probably hold their liquor better than most.

By: titboy

titboy — Thu, 15 Jan 2004 11:09:26 -0800

those big catfish remind me of a character in an old japan anime (1973) series named Kerokko Demetan.

By: troutfishing

troutfishing — Thu, 15 Jan 2004 20:20:14 -0800

There are reports from European historical chronicles, of catfish in the Danube big enough to swallow a man whole. Catfish have been caught with whole human bodies inside. Big catfish. Noodling is for wimps, unless the catfish can turn the tables completely.