How to Noodle for Catfish

Noodling is the practice of fishing for catfish with your bare hands. Practiced throughout much of the Deep South, it is a sport often passed down from father to son, although female noodlers are becoming more common. Although the end result may be quite delicious, noodling itself can be quite dangerous.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Spotter/assistant
• Gloves (optional)

1. Locate your hunting ground: flathead catfish lay their eggs in holes that they find in rivers and lakes, most often under brush, rocks and logs. Speak with local fishers and noodlers to garner information where catfish are most readily found, and recruit an experienced spotter/assistant to help you. Check your local laws to make sure that noodling is legal in your state.
2. Wade into the water often in little more than your shorts, to minimize the risk of getting caught on roots, branches or rocks. With one hand, feel for holes underwater that might potentially harbor a catfish - you may have to dive, after taking a deep breath. When you find a prospective catfish site, stick your hand deep inside the hole. If catfish eggs have been laid inside, the male catfish will be standing guard over them - ready to attack any and all intruders.
3. Let whatever is in the hole chomp completely onto your hand. With any luck, it will be a catfish - although it may also be a snapping turtle, a beaver, or snake, who often move into holes formerly owned by catfish. In noodling, you hope for the best, although many long-time noodlers are missing a finger or two from inevitable bad luck.
4. With the catfish firmly latched onto your hand and arm, reach your arm even further into the catfish's mouth. Take hold of the gill cover, and heave the catfish out of the hole. This requires not only significant strength, but significant swimming ability. Your spotter/assistant should watch carefully, to ensure that the catfish's weight and struggle doesn't begin to drown you.
5. Lug the catfish to shore or a nearby boat, Many catfish can weigh several dozen pounds. With the help of your assistant, pry open the catfish's mouth, and remove it off your arm. Treat the bite marks afterwards: catfish teeth are tiny and sharp, and can cause serious injury from either the initial bite or subsequent infection. Non-catfish bites should be treated accordingly.