Catfish Noodling – Catfish Catching With No Rod, Just Bare Hands
Catfish Noodling – Catfish Catching With No Rod, Just Bare Hands
Catfish noodling is about using bare hands to catch the catfish. Noodling Catfish is mostly practiced in the southern parts of USA. The term noodling can be applied to catching any type of fish using unconventional methods or without the use of rods or bait. Catfish noodling is specifically about bare-handed catching of flathead catfish.
Noodling for catfish is legal in 11 states. These are Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Kansas, Illinois, Arkansas, and Missouri. People participate in various similar fishing sports, calling it various names like catfisting, grabbling, graveling, hogging, dogging, gurgling, tickling and stumping. Participants can be of any gender and age and are usually called noodlers.
Actual catfish noodling is risky at times. One must look for a suitable place, places where catfish dwell like holes and underbrush in lakes and rivers, or spots where they lay their eggs. The spawning season is usually in summer and spring when the water temperature is high. During this time, one will most likely find a catfish in its hole protecting their eggs.
The next step for noodling catfish, is submerging a few feet underwater for a noodler to place his hands inside the hole to locate the catfish. The cornered catfish would then attack and latch onto the noodlers hand thinking it could get out of the hole to safety. The job is then completed by holding on to its gills and hoisting it out of the water while a spotter is ready to get it in the boat.
As a safety precaution, noodling should be done with a partner or noodling buddy. One can have more than one noodling buddy at a time. They help in blocking the escape routes of the fish, heaving it into the boat and in pulling a noodler to the surface in case the catfish drags him underwater.
It is also advisable to cover oneself with protective gear such as a water suit and steel gloves when noodling for catfish. A catfish does not have sharp teeth but it can still scrub your skin raw. These fish are known for their rolling maneuver in the water just like an alligator and that happening spells disaster. This can be stopped by grabbing it with both hands.
Keep in mind that lakes and rivers also house other aquatic animals that can pose as a danger to the participants. Poke the hole first with a stick to know whether there is a catfish in it and not an alligator, muskrat, cottonmouth and a snapping turtle. After this, all that is left is to enjoy catfish noodling.
