The Hobby Stingray wanted to keep IN the closet!

[DrewKaree]

Now, maybe this is just the coolest thing since sliced bread, but I can't imagine getting the idea to do this WITHOUT being drunk at some point!

http://www.okienoodling.com/

[danny_galaga]

um, what IS the hobby exactly? putting their hands in dead fish? maybe i should see if darth vader can guess that one!

P.S: putting your hand in a dead fish sounds kinda kinky. like a substitute for something else....

[namzep]

I think that you put your hand in the mouth of a living fish to pull it out of the water.  Would be no challenge if it was dead.  Still a pretty moronic thing, though.

[Jabba]

I can't watch the movie because of low band width at home but I saw a show on Discovery/PBS a few years ago where these guys would wade out into the rivers down south and pull out these HHUUGGEE catfish. The water was completely muddy and you couldn't see 2 inches deep. These guys would probe the banks underwater with their hands and "feel" for fish and then pull them out of the water. The trick was finding an underwater "cave" and diving under and pullting out these 25lbs fish (with teeth!). Pretty brave dudes in my opinion. Some of these guys had some pretty beat up looking hands.....

[Stingray]

Without even having to click the link I know what noodling is (I guess that makes me a dyed-in-the-wool Okie). I've never done it, but I've seen it. You have to be a lot braver/ crazier than I am to do it. Essentially two guys go out into a river in a small flat bottom boat. They then get out of the boat and start feeling around the bottom until they find these giant catfish lying in holes in the bottom. Then they pretty much just wrestle them into the boat. I've seen 60 pound plus catfish caught this way. I've seen the "noodler" in question actually catch big ones by allowing the catfish to clamp down on his hand & then drag it out. No, there is no way of knowing if what you might find down there in the hole might be a water moccasin or an alligator snapping turtle. The guys that fish this way are nuts, but as I said, far braver than I am.

I'll stick to fishing with a rod & reel.

-S

[JackTucky]

The Wild Boyz did this with a snapping turtle.  That looked painful.

Art

[mr.Curmudgeon]

I own this documentary...great film. Watching these dudes wrestle such huge fish is simply hilarious.

[Stingray]

I own this documentary...great film. Watching these dudes wrestle such huge fish is simply hilarious.

If you think it's funny on TV, you should see it in person.

-S

[mr.Curmudgeon]

I own this documentary...great film. Watching these dudes wrestle such huge fish is simply hilarious.

If you think it's funny on TV, you should see it in person.

-S

I'd pay to see it in person. They sure look happy! 



From the book, Noodling for Flatheads: In Arkansas they called it "hogging," in Mississippi "grabbling," and in Nebraska "stumping." In Georgia it became "cooning," in Kentucky "dogging," and in Texas and Oklahoma "noodling," since you are getting ahold of the fish by squirming and squiggling your arm like a wet noodle.

mrC

[Stingray]

I have to admit that I have never seen anyone catch a catfish quite that big, but I've seen them pretty close. When the fish is so big that it takes two adult men to get it into the boat, you know it's a monster. One thing I've seen them do with the big ones is point them head first into a burlap sack and let the fish swim into it. Makes hauling them out of the water a lot easier.

I don't think that picture was taken anywhere near Oklahoma. All of the big catfish I've seen in this region are more of a uniform blueish-grey color.

Really I've always questioned the point of this hobby. When catfish get to be that big the meat gets pretty nasty tasting. I know this is more of a thrill seeking thing, but those guys eat them too. Yuck.

-S

[missioncontrol]

I'll stick to fishing with a rod & reel.

-S

The best way to fish is to send the wife to the store for fish.....

That way you can sit back on the couch and drink your beer.....

added bonuses:

You don't have to worry about putting your beer down if you get a bite.

You don't have to limit your beer intake so that you are safe to drive.

[Stingray]

You don't have to limit your beer intake so that you are safe to drive.

This where it really, really, really helps if you live within walking distance of a lake.

-S

[DrewKaree]

Hey Stingray, in that picture MrC has of you up there  you don't seem like you got the pipes to haul that sucker in the boat!

[tommy]

That freak of nature looks like it would catch that dude off the land for fun.

[ChadTower]

That's probably what is happening.  The picture is 2.5 seconds before the thing knocks him over and eats his torso.

[Stingray]

Nothing that ugly can possibly be friendly. The fish looks mean too.

-S

[ChadTower]

I've seen the women down there, he's probably just trying to get laid.

[Stingray]

You're in a particularly nasty mood today, even for you.

-S

[ChadTower]

You're probably right.