NOODLING...WHO KNEW?
2/20/2008 12:08:41 PM by Robert Edens
We take a look at one of the oldest forms of fishing and why it has held steady throughout the centuries, despite the fact that it’s also one of the most dangerous.
The sport of noodling, or catching fish barehanded using only fingers and toes as bait, dates back to the early Native Americans. Of late, the sport has seen a resurgence amongst modern-day anglers, especially those targeting catfish. The rods, hooks and more traditional bait are left at home as this new breed of hands-on fishermen reach bravely underneath rocks, tree stumps and other structures forming catfish havens until the target fish in question literally catch them. Once the fish has bitten the angler with their sharp teeth and strong jaws the fisherman hauls the fish quickly to the surface and wrestles it into a fishbox.
Or at least that’s how the sport is supposed to work. Often a fish releases the angler before it can be completely pulled in. Others are “wrestlers” successful at getting away. Yet other times the sportsman finds themselves being bitten by snapping turtles, snakes and beavers, all of which are known to move into abandoned catfish nests. Despite sometimes iffy bite-to-catch ratios, avid noodlers wear their scars — catfish or otherwise — as proud badges of honor.
The sport is currently legal in 13 Southeast and Midwest states. In Florida, a state known for wild beach parties during Spring Break, many college students opt not for the glamorous shore but the vacation inland for some serious noodling. “This is the best of all worlds,” says Pete Parveau, a junior at Ohio State. “Sun, fun, palm trees, famous Daytona Beach with women in bikinis just three hours away, and some really frisky catfish. We’ve been practicing catch-and-release unintentionally. These are some pretty savvy cats they’ve got down here, but then I guess they don’t get this big without having avoided noodlers before. Some of our pals have opted to try out Georgia this year since they made noodling legal there, but not us. My friends and I plan to make this an annual trip even after we graduate.”
The ultimate noodling event occurs around the glove in Nigeria where 10,000 noodlers entered muddy streams to tussle with giant perch at the recent Argungu Festival. Noodling has become highly controversial in some areas, where environmentalists say it upsets the natural food chain. Originally banned in the state of Missouri in 1919, the sport was reauthorized two years ago on a trial five-year basis. The season was kept to a minimal six weeks with catch limits of five fish per day in the three top rivers. Comparatively, traditional rod-and-reel anglers are allowed 20 fish per day year-round.
The Missouri Department of Conservation banned hand fishing this past summer just as the season was about to start after scientists reported higher than anticipated catfish mortality rates. The noodlers have come back with a proposal of catch limits of five fish per season instead of five fish per day but the Department of Conservation is holding firm. The noodlers are expected to take their petition all the way to the state legislature. Isn’t noodler defined as “foolish” in some dictionaries?