vicrider 0 Report post Posted July 15, 2022 3 hours ago, DFoster said: As I understand it, noodling requires the "angler" to root around neck deep in muddy pools while slipping their bare hands, blindly into submerged hiding places in the hope grabbing onto catfish instead of a snapping turtle or water snake- Yeah....I'll take my chances with a worm and a bobber thanks. That's the most primitive way to do it. The guys who are really into it are like crappie guys with their brushpiles. They have 55 gallon drums set up int strategic areas. The have a "milk run" of holes and crevasses the cats use. There are still incidents of lost fingers are trips to emergency for turtle or snake bites. Reason you should noodle alone. One of the funniest I saw was a couple of rednecks in a big jon boat set up a gas powered air compressor and used it as a diving bell to go way down for the big cats others couldn't reach. I didn't see how the final ruling was on whether this was legal in the tournament or not but if you'd seen the contraption they were using to dive you'd know it was short bus grads doing it for sure. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mikechell 0 Report post Posted July 16, 2022 When I was 19, I moved to South Carolina. Had some friends there that put me up until I found a place. The place I worked at was full of crazy southern people, and a group of them took me "grabblin'". (The local term for "noodling") 5 of us in a large flat bottom boat. At the first two stops, one of them would get into the water and reach down into a spot ... wiggle there fingers into the cavity until the catfish bit down ... grab hold and pull the fish out. First one just got tossed into the boat. Second one was larger, and the "angler" hooked it to a short piece of rope with a 8/0 or 9/0 hook. Huge frikkin hook! Used that to tire the fish a little and then pull it into the boat. Then it was my turn. Tied the rope and hook to myself (just in case), then went into the water. The cat I got was only about 20 inches long, so I didn't have to hook it, but it drew blood as its teeth sandpapered my hand while I was getting it out of the hole and into the boat. It was only after I'd caught that fish that I noticed that every single guy in that boat except me was missing the end of at least one finger. That's when I found out that snappers sometimes go into those crevasses as they dive to hide from approaching boats. And that those snappers, if large enough, can bite through the joint if they get "lucky" and the angler isn't. They all showed me multiple scars where the snappers bit on bone instead of joints. I didn't bother going after any more catfish on that trip ... and never went grabblin' again, either. I'm 99.9% sure that neither bigfoot nor yeti exist ... but I can vouch that noodling/grabbling and losing digits to snappers is a real situation. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DarrellP 0 Report post Posted July 17, 2022 Bigfoot is running out of places to hide. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Mark Knapp 0 Report post Posted July 17, 2022 34 minutes ago, DarrellP said: Bigfoot is running out of places to hide. Flytier has him. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DarrellP 0 Report post Posted July 18, 2022 Looks like he and Norm been hitting the weight room. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DFoster 0 Report post Posted July 18, 2022 On 7/15/2022 at 3:22 PM, vicrider said: That's the most primitive way to do it. The guys who are really into it are like crappie guys with their brushpiles. They have 55 gallon drums set up int strategic areas. The have a "milk run" of holes and crevasses the cats use. There are still incidents of lost fingers are trips to emergency for turtle or snake bites. Reason you should noodle alone. One of the funniest I saw was a couple of rednecks in a big jon boat set up a gas powered air compressor and used it as a diving bell to go way down for the big cats others couldn't reach. I didn't see how the final ruling was on whether this was legal in the tournament or not but if you'd seen the contraption they were using to dive you'd know it was short bus grads doing it for sure. On 7/16/2022 at 10:01 AM, mikechell said: When I was 19, I moved to South Carolina. Had some friends there that put me up until I found a place. The place I worked at was full of crazy southern people, and a group of them took me "grabblin'". (The local term for "noodling") 5 of us in a large flat bottom boat. At the first two stops, one of them would get into the water and reach down into a spot ... wiggle there fingers into the cavity until the catfish bit down ... grab hold and pull the fish out. First one just got tossed into the boat. Second one was larger, and the "angler" hooked it to a short piece of rope with a 8/0 or 9/0 hook. Huge frikkin hook! Used that to tire the fish a little and then pull it into the boat. Then it was my turn. Tied the rope and hook to myself (just in case), then went into the water. The cat I got was only about 20 inches long, so I didn't have to hook it, but it drew blood as its teeth sandpapered my hand while I was getting it out of the hole and into the boat. It was only after I'd caught that fish that I noticed that every single guy in that boat except me was missing the end of at least one finger. That's when I found out that snappers sometimes go into those crevasses as they dive to hide from approaching boats. And that those snappers, if large enough, can bite through the joint if they get "lucky" and the angler isn't. They all showed me multiple scars where the snappers bit on bone instead of joints. I didn't bother going after any more catfish on that trip ... and never went grabblin' again, either. I'm 99.9% sure that neither bigfoot nor yeti exist ... but I can vouch that noodling/grabbling and losing digits to snappers is a real situation. If Catfish tasted like Maine lobster it still wouldn't be worth potentially losing digits. As for bigfoot, I did read that some biologist conducting environmental DNA sampling of rivers in remote areas had some test results that were difficult to explain. Samples contained DNA that tested at 98% human. 2% doesn't sound like much but that is the difference between a human and a chimpanzee. The scientist in the article said that their test were not "proof" but that it caught their attention and further study was required to lock down a known explanation. I don't know if they ever found the reason for those results or not but it's interesting to think about. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SilverCreek 0 Report post Posted July 18, 2022 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DFoster 0 Report post Posted July 19, 2022 17 hours ago, SilverCreek said: I'm guessing that in that type of marriage it's really important to know which of the spoons you are.... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites