Using Your Noodle
I was cable surfing last night. That's about all I ever do anymore when I watch TV. Only occasionally do I stop to watch a show for any length of time. Last night something on PBS grabbed my attention that kept me transfixed for an hour. I couldn't believe what I was seeing.
It turns out there are some folks down in Oklahoma that have unique pastime. I never would have guessed people could - or would - do this.
Hand fishing. They call it "noodling" in the business.
The idea is simple: you hop into a river, then, using nothing but your bare hands, feel around inside hidden crevices and hollow logs looking for catfish. If you're lucky, a 60 lb. male flathead catfish guarding its nest will bite your outstretched fingers, whereupon you simply grab its lower jaw and haul it ashore.
Of course, snakes, snapping turtles, muskrats, and beavers could also be inside those underwater hang-outs.
Ouch.
I can't imagine what would possess someone to hand fish for catfish. I'm terrified to go near the drain at the bottom of a pool let alone blindly stick my arm up some underwater log hoping to get bit by whatever happens to be living there. It did strike me that the noodlers interviewed for the movie weren't exactly the brightest guys in the world. Most were self-described as fellows "who just like to use their hands." They were all earthy, unassuming, country lads, so to speak. As the Oklahoma DNR cop said on last night's show: "Not many people are willing to dive underwater and reach inside somewheres hoping to get bit!"
Risk aside, I can't believe any form of predation where you pull a nesting animal away from its brood is sustainable. It seems kind of irresponsible and mean to me even if it is just a catfish. Though maybe flathead catfish are super-abundant in Oklahoma.
Hand fishing is only legal in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
K-
It turns out there are some folks down in Oklahoma that have unique pastime. I never would have guessed people could - or would - do this.
Hand fishing. They call it "noodling" in the business.
The idea is simple: you hop into a river, then, using nothing but your bare hands, feel around inside hidden crevices and hollow logs looking for catfish. If you're lucky, a 60 lb. male flathead catfish guarding its nest will bite your outstretched fingers, whereupon you simply grab its lower jaw and haul it ashore.
Of course, snakes, snapping turtles, muskrats, and beavers could also be inside those underwater hang-outs.
Ouch.
I can't imagine what would possess someone to hand fish for catfish. I'm terrified to go near the drain at the bottom of a pool let alone blindly stick my arm up some underwater log hoping to get bit by whatever happens to be living there. It did strike me that the noodlers interviewed for the movie weren't exactly the brightest guys in the world. Most were self-described as fellows "who just like to use their hands." They were all earthy, unassuming, country lads, so to speak. As the Oklahoma DNR cop said on last night's show: "Not many people are willing to dive underwater and reach inside somewheres hoping to get bit!"
Risk aside, I can't believe any form of predation where you pull a nesting animal away from its brood is sustainable. It seems kind of irresponsible and mean to me even if it is just a catfish. Though maybe flathead catfish are super-abundant in Oklahoma.
Hand fishing is only legal in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee.
K-
