Just Stick It Into A Hole

I watched a rerun on my local PBS station this evening about noodling. Basically it's fishing with your hands but a little bit more complicated. These guys were after catfish, which are basically bottom-feeding scavengers that live in holes along the banks of rivers and lakes, and can grow to enormous sizes. I've heard rumors of catfish the size of toddlers near a spillway at a lake in Texas. Yikes.

So anyway, these guys get in the water and submerge themselves near a hole that they think may house a catfish and stick their hands and arms in there to grab what they can. Catfish bite...and so do lots of other things in the water. Ouch. This manner of fishing can also be dangerous because of where catfish like to congregate. One noodler explained how another noodler stuck his arms under a partially submerged asphalt road, which then collapsed a bit, pinning the man's arms and preventing him from getting his head out of the water. He drowned just inches below the water. But when everything goes right noodlers catch some amazing (scary) fish.

As for me, you will never find me noodling because there is something inherently wrong with sticking your hands and arms into holes that you have no idea what could be lurking in there. I also have a low tolerance for pain so I wouldn't find getting bitten by a large fish or turtle appealing. Besides, I don't care much for catfish anyway.