Missouri Legalizes Fishing (By Hand) For Catfish - Called "Noodling"

[matcom]

<snip>

COLUMBIA, Mo. -- Missouri is legalizing a new type of fast food. The food is fast and you have to catch it.

Starting next summer, people can jump into the state's rivers and grab their own catfish by hand.

It's called "noodling," and until now, it's been a misdemeanor offense. Conservationists were worried that people would pull too many large, mature catfish from logs and river bottoms.

But authorities have changed their minds and are giving the idea a chance next year. They're offering a $7 noodling permit that lets anyone hunt for fish the very old-fashioned way. The permits say each person can only walk away with five of the fish a day.

Before you try it, there's one warning: Many noodlers come up with fistfuls of angry snakes or turtles instead of fish.

http://www.wftv.com/irresistible/4030953/detail.html

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

1. This will have a potential positive effect:

The potential is there for some of those huge flatheads to win, thus thinning the herd of redneck noodlers. :D

[Cuban_Liberal]

2. It's called 'hogging' here.

I like my fingers and hands too well to try it. I'll stick to my rod and reel.

:scared:

[GOPisEvil]

3. There's a documentary out called "Okie Noodlin'".

Check it out. :thumbsup:

[matcom]

4. thanks but um.....

no ;)

[GOPisEvil]

6. It's actually well-done.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0294805/?fr=c2l0ZT1kZnxteD0yMHxzZz0xfGxtPTIwMHx0dD1vbnxwbj0wfHE9b2tpZSBub29kbGluJ3xodG1sPTF8bm09b24_;fc=1;ft=1

[cornfedyank]

7. i saw it. it was good. n/t

[Endangered Specie]

5. Catfish stings HURT!

but, some people have to learn the hard way I guess ;)

[OnionPatch]

8. My husband can actually do this!

But it's sort of a "parlor trick" thing he and his buddies did when they were young. I never saw them do it but they all swear to me they can and have. The way I remember though, it was trout and they would find them under the stream banks.

[B Calm]

9. It's called hogging here in Indiana. I hate to see it legalized.

Many mature catfish as old as 50 / 70 years old will be poached.

[yardwork]

11. I don't understand. Why is it easier to catch more fish with fingers?

[AllegroRondo]

12. Its easier to catch the really big ones

the old ones like to hide out under dead logs and in tree stumps, and just eat whatever comes along. its difficult to get a line with bait in there, or pull it out without snapping your line.

So these guys will put on waders and some really heavy gloves (like welding gloves) and stick their hand inside the old tree stumps. when the big catfish bites one of their fingers, they grab its mouth with the rest of their hand an pull. If you dont lose your finger (or find a snapping turtle by mistake), you get a big fish.

[Carson]

15. Is it considered "poaching" if it is legalized? nt

[B Calm]

16. No its not considered poaching if they legalize it, but it's

still awful news to rod and reel sport fisherman hoping to catch a fish of a life time. It takes a lot of years for these catfish to grow to trophy size. Some flathead cats are close to 100 years old. Most of these hogged fish are thrown into the back of a pickup truck and left to rot while the hogger shows off his catch for a couple days.

They caught a hogger here in Indiana a few years back setting barrels into the river bank while the Wabash river was low. The DNR staked out the sunken barrels and caught the hogger when the river rised.

[underpants]

10. Wussies! they should try hunting snappin' turtles

as described by a guy at a garage in Waynesboro Va. to my friend when his car died on a roadtrip (he was the advance team-we had to pick him and the gear up on the way).

"They'll pay $10 a pound for turtle meat in Richmond" (BIG city)

See you jump in the river and reach up and under the river bank to grab them.......this guy had maybe four whole fingers left.

[Carson]

13. A friend goes noodling every year. He caught a 60 and an 80lb catfish

last year. The eighty-pounder looked like it could swallow a person.

We're still eating on that one. Yum.

[jandrok]

14. There ya go.....

Noodling is a time-honored way of catching catfish. I've never seen anyone put on waders or anything that fancy. Most of the people that I've heard of that do it just dive on under and start reaching into holes. It's not too big here in this part of Texas, but folks along the Eastern edge of the state do it. You get into Louisiana-Mississippi-Arkansas territoty at it's more common.

Personally I've never noodled, but I have caught some big catfish on milk-jug lines....that's where you take an empty plastic gallon milk-jug and rig it with some line and a big ol' ball of dried Wheaties on a treble hook. You just let that baby float around out there until something finds it. Caught more than a few that way.

[proud2BlibKansan]

17. There are some odd fish in MO.

The flying Asian Carp jump out of the water and hit boaters.

http://www.courier-journal.com/localnews/2004/03/12ky/B1-byron0312-6556.html

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

18. Well, thank God. Mr. Noodles' death was NOT in vain!

At least he got something named after him.

[Blue-Jay]

19. We used to call it "hogging"

You can get some big uns in the Mackinaw River close to Route 9.