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General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: VWE on March 04, 2004, 05:41:30 PM

Title: Noodling
Post by: VWE on March 04, 2004, 05:41:30 PM
Real men don't use no pole (http://espn.go.com/outdoors/general/columns/sutton_keith/1336494.html)   :D
Title: Noodling
Post by: capt. apathy on March 05, 2004, 12:39:14 AM
no offense meant.

but what a backward, hillbilly way to fish.
Title: Noodling
Post by: SOB on March 05, 2004, 01:51:20 AM
LOL, I saw that on that show on Discovery where the guy goes around doing the worst jobs he could find.
Title: Noodling
Post by: AKS\/\/ulfe on March 05, 2004, 01:57:13 AM
Real men use a sharpened stick, retards use their hands.
-SW
Title: Noodling
Post by: Chairboy on March 05, 2004, 01:57:20 AM
Since this is a WWII game, I thought this post was about something else when I read 'Noodling'.
Title: Noodling
Post by: Holden McGroin on March 05, 2004, 02:01:54 AM
My buddy 'Lefty' tried noodling for shark...  He said, 'Hey Holden! watch this!'
Title: Noodling
Post by: SOB on March 05, 2004, 03:34:40 AM
Did you hold his beer for him?
Title: Noodling
Post by: Maniac on March 05, 2004, 03:39:42 AM
Real men use their dick for noodling....
Title: Noodling
Post by: Holden McGroin on March 05, 2004, 03:43:16 AM
Quote
Originally posted by Maniac
Real men use their dick for noodling....


My bait is too big for anything smaller than say... a killer whale....
Title: Noodling
Post by: Dowding on March 05, 2004, 03:47:20 AM
Is noodling a bit like dogging or cottaging?
Title: Noodling
Post by: AKWeav on March 05, 2004, 06:09:55 AM
Anything like spooning?:D
Title: Noodling
Post by: rpm on March 05, 2004, 06:25:57 AM
I have several friends that Noodle. While they like to jump right in there and grab the fish, I prefer to guard the beer and the catch while telling them what a great job they are doing. While this may not have all the glamour of Noodling, it does get you an invite to the Fish Fry.
Title: Noodling
Post by: Eagler on March 05, 2004, 07:53:17 AM
betcha thats real tasty too, those cats have been sucking up bottom scum for years to get that huge, I'll stick to grouper and salmon - thanks anyway
Title: Noodling
Post by: Ghosth on March 05, 2004, 07:55:54 AM
Thank God we don't noodle up here in the north country.  The waters too cold too much of the year.

The banks of the river are like sheer cliffs in most places. Your either in the river up to who knows where, or your standing on top.

The catfish grow big enough that i'd rather not go gropeing for em.

A Diver below the Dam at Garrison on the Misouri found a cat big enough to swallow him whole. It was just sucking in his flipper when he went screaming to the surface.

I've seen a catfish take a beer can floating on the water comepletely into its mouth in one gulp, SIDEWAYS!
Big swirl, cans gone, I'm standing on bank with mouth drooling.

45 seconds later can resurfaces, crushed to aprox 1/4 of its original size.
pops up, loses the air inside, & sinks.
This was before aluminum cans mind you!
Sorry but thats more catfish than I'd care to noodle with.

The Snapping turtles run so big up here they don't lay flat in a 250 gallon water tank.  Think both hands holding an Orange, with the wrists and forearms together. Thats the size of their head & neck.

Praise the lord my momma married that ND man instead of a local!
Title: Noodling
Post by: capt. apathy on March 05, 2004, 08:48:43 AM
Quote
betcha thats real tasty too, those cats have been sucking up bottom scum for years to get that huge, I'll stick to grouper and salmon - thanks anyway


yep, I never could stand the taste of catfish.  wild ones taste like mud, and the farm raised taste like oatmeal.

I'd rather have a nice rockbass, or if they'd ever come back enough to see one now and then a lingcod is probably the tastiest fish, even better than a halibut.  they've been pretty scarce around here for the last 10 or 20 years though.
Title: Noodling
Post by: Ripsnort on May 23, 2005, 08:08:29 AM
Big Noodlers!

(http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL767/2726312/7109603/97683108.jpg)

The email associated with it says "New state record catfish. 140 lbs. caught in Lake Texoma" Take it for what its worth.
Title: Noodling
Post by: Nilsen on May 23, 2005, 08:15:56 AM
Best way to fish is to take the boat out alone in the morning (bring a cooler with liquids) and toss out the rod with nothing on it.

Just sit there til the sun sets (around midnight in the summer) and head back to the pier with your empty cooler.

Perfect day.
Title: Noodling
Post by: BlkKnit on May 23, 2005, 09:20:27 AM
Quote
Originally posted by capt. apathy
yep, I never could stand the taste of catfish.  wild ones taste like mud, and the farm raised taste like oatmeal.

I'd rather have a nice rockbass, or if they'd ever come back enough to see one now and then a lingcod is probably the tastiest fish, even better than a halibut.  they've been pretty scarce around here for the last 10 or 20 years though.


Quote
Originally posted by Eagler
betcha thats real tasty too, those cats have been sucking up bottom scum for years to get that huge, I'll stick to grouper and salmon - thanks anyway


Pucky, you boys never had real catfish!

Flatheads are meateaters, like any predatory fish.  Find them in any running water and the meat will be clean and not muddy.  most blues and channel cats will also taste clean if you catch them in clean water.  As a bonus, they are fun to catch.

But noodlin has got to be one of the dumbest ways to catch a fish i ever heard of :eek:
Title: Noodling
Post by: JB73 on May 23, 2005, 09:30:03 AM
someone was talking about catfish up north...

in the mississippi on the west edge of wisconsin it is pretty clean, and deep.

anyway, i have seen pics, and heard accounts of divers working on bridges and barges up here seeing catfish over 12' long in the deeper areas of the river.

i see a 12' fish in murky water near me, i'd die of fear right there lol
Title: Noodling
Post by: sling322 on May 23, 2005, 11:28:28 AM
Quote
Originally posted by capt. apathy
yep, I never could stand the taste of catfish.  wild ones taste like mud, and the farm raised taste like oatmeal.

 



Not if you know how to clean 'em.  Trick is to hang 'em up by the mouth in a tree and cut the end of the tail off and let them bleed out while they are still alive.  Stick the hose in their mouth to keep them alive as long as possible.  They will bleed most of that bad taste out and then all you have to do is trim away the darkest part of the meat once you start filleting them.  And dont forget to skin them....that takes some of the mud taste out too.  Back when I was in high school me and a buddy spent a whole spring break running trotlines in a local arroyo back in south Texas.  We caught well over 200 lbs of fish in a week including a 48 and a 54 lb'er on the same line at the same time.  That was fun trying to wrestle those two bastards into a 15 foot canoe on a moving river.  :)

By the way, noodling is illegal in Texas.
Title: Noodling
Post by: Curval on May 23, 2005, 11:31:41 AM
I don't click on links anymore...too much crap out there.

What is noodling?
Title: Noodling
Post by: JB73 on May 23, 2005, 11:36:16 AM
Quote
Originally posted by Curval
I don't click on links anymore...too much crap out there.

What is noodling?



Quote
Out There: A baptism! Noodling for catfish
Noodling is the most ancient form of catting. No equipment is used ... unless you consider your hands tackle.
By Keith "Catfish" Sutton
 
Special to ESPN Outdoors


Dave Tieszen of South Dakota noodles a catfish to the surface of the water.
Imagine you're visiting one of those Florida alligator farms where tourists can see brave handlers wrestling enormous crocodilians. The handler straddles a 10-foot gator, then asks for a volunteer to come up and assist. Being the daring (a.k.a. stupid) type, you jump at the chance. As you stand before the audience, the handler pries open the maw of the gator, then says, smiling, "While I hold his mouth open, you stick your hand inside."

The first (and last) time I went noodling for catfish, when my companions urged me to insert my hand in a dark underwater hole to feel for a catfish, I felt like that tourist. Like an idiot, I had volunteered for this mess, and my pride said, "You have to stick your hand in now, or you'll look like a wussy. So stick it in, stupid."

So what did ol' Stupid do? He took a deep breath, dove beneath the water and reached into the hole.

At this point in your first noodling excursion, many questions muddle your mind. How did I get myself into this? Will there be a cottonmouth in this hole, or a beaver, or a snapping turtle? Do alligators live in these parts? If a catfish is home, will it really bite hard like they say? How bad will it hurt? They say big cats will swallow your entire hand, start spinning and rip the skin off your arm. What will that feel like? How did my noodling instructors get the nicknames Nubbins and Three-Fingered Jack?

Noodling is the most ancient form of catting. No equipment is used. No hooks, no lines, no poles or reels. No tackle of any sort ... unless you consider your hands tackle.

It's an extreme sport by anyone's definition, ranking right up there with bull fighting, skiing Mount Everest, parachuting off waterfalls and walking tightropes stretched between city skyscrapers. Some call it foolish. Others label it idiotic. None would deny, however, that those who catch catfish bare-handed are a special breed.



A noodler can only hope it is a catfish that bites down on their hand and that they pull out.
Several terms describe the practice of hand-grabbing catfish. "Noodling" is almost universal, not surprising when you realize this is derived from the word "noodle," meaning a very stupid person; a fool.

"Hogging" also is used (slang for going to the limit) as are the synonyms "tickling,""grabbling" and "graveling." Nebraskans prefer the term "stumping," and in Kentucky, "dogging" is the predominant idiom.

It's hard to imagine the first brave soul who reached underwater and probed a dark, watery nook for dinner. But imagine it we must, for noodling leaves no traces. It is, as one writer describes it, "as emphemeral as some of the boasts it inspires."

Trader-historian James Adair was perhaps the first to leave a written record when, in 1775, he described "a surprising method of fishing under the edges of rocks" among Southern Indians.

"They pull off their red breeches, or their long slip of Stroud cloth, and wrapping it around their arm, so as to reach the lower part of the palm of their right hand, they dive under the rock where the cat-fish lie to shelter themselves from the scorching beams of the sun, and to watch for prey: as soon as those fierce aquatic animals see that tempting bait, they immediately seize it with the greatest violence, in order to swallow it. Then is the time for the diver to improve the favourable opportunity: he accordingly opens his hand, seizes the voracious fish by his tender parts, hath a sharp struggle with it ? and at last brings it safe ashore."

  When I reached in that hole, a catfish was home. It didn't bite. It didn't spin. Instead, it shot from the hole like a torpedo from a submarine tube, and smashed square into my chest.  
 

Today's noodlers are driven more by the desire for excitement than pangs of hunger. And despite the stereotypical image of the noodler as a rough-cut "river rat" of a man, participants come from all walks of life. One of the sport's best spokespersons was Kristi Addis, Miss Teen USA 1987. Addis told judges at the pageant that one of her favorite pastimes was "grabbling for catfish on the Yalobusha River" in Mississippi.

To become a noodler yourself, you must be brave enough (or foolish enough) to reach into an underwater hole and extract the occupant. At times, this is simple. The occupant becomes infuriated by your intrusion and chomps down on the offending appendage. You drag it to the surface and hope your buddies quit laughing long enough to beat it into submission.

If the creature is a catfish, your friends will pat you on the back and tell everyone how you bravely fought the beast. If it is, instead, a snapping turtle, snake or muskrat, they'll ask why you stuck your stupid hand in a hole where you couldn't see.

The hole you reach in may be an old muskrat or beaver burrow, a crevice beneath a rock, a hollow log or any underwater cavity. Catfish occupy such nooks at times year-round, but are most likely to hole up during spawning season when laying, guarding, and fanning their eggs.



Noodlers use no tackle except for their bare hands, and real noodlers don't even use gloves to protect them from their quarry.
Most noodlers enter shallow water — never as deep as the noodler is tall — to probe likely catfish hideouts. Sometimes the hole is partially blocked with rocks, small sandbags or the noodler's body to prevent the catfish's escape. If it's spawning season, however, this is unneccessary. Catfish guarding a nest seldom abandon it.

When a hand is inserted, the fish may nip, bite or, if large enough, engulf the noodler's hand. The cat may spin, causing the sandpaper-like teeth to shred the noodler's skin. For this reason, some noodlers wear gloves, though most believe this hinders the sense of touch necessary for determining the type of creature in the hole, its position and the best method for gaining a handhold.

If a cat attacks, the noodler attempts to grasp it by the mouth or gill cover. If it does not (as often happens outside spawning season), the noodler must coax the cat's mouth open to gain a handhold. Wiggling one's fingers may do the trick, but often as not, the noodler must rely on feel to find the cat's mouth or gill cover and work his fingers in. In either case, once a good grip is attained, if ever, the noodler attempts to resurface with quarry in tow.

At this point, the reason for working in shallow water becomes crystal clear. If one cannot quickly stand with mouth and nostrils above the water, he might find himself in a sticky predicament. Even then, battling a 50-pound-plus cat to the surface — and this is often done — may require extraordinary effort. Many square inches of the noodler's hide may be removed in the process. Occasionally, participants have drowned.

The closest most folks will come to hand-grabbing catfish is reaching across the table and snatching a fried fillet off a platter. That's also dangerous, but only when you're sharing a table with hungry friends, and there's only one fillet left.

Me ... well, I was stupid enough to try hand-grabbing the old-fashioned way. When I reached in that hole, a catfish was home. It didn't bite. It didn't spin. Instead, it shot from the hole like a torpedo from a submarine tube, and smashed square into my chest. Those standing on the bank above me saw lots of bubbles rising to the surface as the air left my lungs. Then they watched, amazed, as a 250-pound man lept from the water and onto shore, much like a migrating salmon ascending a waterfall.

Blood dripped from my arm where the catfish's spines had brushed me.

"What happened?" asked Three-Fingered Jack.

"Something bit me," I said, breathlessly. "A snake or a snapping turtle, maybe. I'm done noodling."

"Ah, c'mon, Stupid" Nubbins said. "We're going over to the Hole-tel on Barksdale Lake. Ain't no snakes or snapping turtles there. Only real big catfish."

I counted my fingers. Ten. I still had all ten.

My noodling adventure ended then and there
Title: Noodling
Post by: Curval on May 23, 2005, 11:51:54 AM
Crazy yanks.

;)

Thanks JB.

No catfish here btw...but I suppose you could noodle for other fish.  I wouldn't recommend it though...too many moray eels.
Title: Noodling
Post by: SunTracker on May 23, 2005, 12:39:05 PM
Ripsnort, that is a picture of what is known as a Giant Mekong Catfish.  They can get to about 1000 pounds, and are extremely endangered due to overfishing.

Sling322, catfish can survive on land from 30 minutes to 3 days depending on the species.  They have semi-rigid gills whereas other fish dont.  Its when the gills collapse that the fish die.
Title: Noodling
Post by: Hangtime on May 23, 2005, 12:41:40 PM
This works better.

(http://www.dc.state.fl.us/pub/compass/0309/images/Dynamite.gif)
Title: Noodling
Post by: bustr on May 23, 2005, 03:14:40 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Ripsnort
Big Noodlers!

(http://pic4.picturetrail.com/VOL767/2726312/7109603/97683108.jpg)

The email associated with it says "New state record catfish. 140 lbs. caught in Lake Texoma" Take it for what its worth.


This picture is of a European Giant Wels catfish. Here is the link to this guys article. He says its around 184 lb's.

http://xvella.free.fr/photos/photo-eng.php?sub=21&idx=713
Title: Noodling
Post by: Ripsnort on May 23, 2005, 03:25:01 PM
Where is that, Italy?

Re: from website: Fiume Po, ITA
Title: Noodling
Post by: NUKE on May 23, 2005, 03:30:17 PM
South America has a breed of catfish that are easily that size.
Title: Noodling
Post by: VWE on May 23, 2005, 03:30:57 PM
Texas (http://www.bassonhook.com/newsinfo/article155.html)  record catfish.
Title: Noodling
Post by: NUKE on May 23, 2005, 03:34:37 PM
Is it true that catfish basically never stop growing?
Title: Noodling
Post by: VWE on May 23, 2005, 03:51:28 PM
Yes
Title: Noodling
Post by: Nilsen on May 23, 2005, 03:57:58 PM
oh nice.. she will keep growing!

And we just bought a new bed.
Title: Noodling
Post by: Ripsnort on May 23, 2005, 04:09:30 PM
Quote
Originally posted by VWE
Yes


Bullpucky.

They stop growing when they die.

:cool:
Title: Noodling
Post by: VWE on May 23, 2005, 04:13:26 PM
.squelch ripsnort
Title: Noodling
Post by: Ripsnort on May 23, 2005, 04:21:22 PM
Quote
Originally posted by VWE
.squelch ripsnort
:D

Incidently, love your sig, VWE. :lol
Title: Noodling
Post by: bustr on May 23, 2005, 04:30:10 PM
Went out and did some reading on Giant Wels catfish.

Lankishire England in 2002 had a problem in a bird sactuary with one attacking swans. Portugal has phenominal fresh water fishing. But the locals don't fish for the Wels. They consider them trash.  An unfished population of these giants has lead to regular stories of busted tackle, towed boats and local fishermen's sightings of fish longer than the boat.

Russia has report's of 700 lb Wels being caught. In the 80's I met a german tourist in california who told me a story of being on a bridge one day in germany when a dachshund fell of the bridge. While it was swimming for shore a Wels came up under it and had a weiner for lunch........................ .....
Title: Noodling
Post by: VWE on May 23, 2005, 04:32:26 PM
Yeah, some poster named blue mako loved it so much he stole it and never gave me credit...
Title: Noodling
Post by: BlkKnit on May 23, 2005, 05:04:51 PM
my thumbs still sore from where a catfish bit me this weekend ;)

actually it was only a coupla pounds....but PO'ed!
Title: Noodling
Post by: Ripsnort on May 23, 2005, 05:14:29 PM
Quote
Originally posted by BlkKnit
my thumbs still sore from where a catfish bit me this weekend ;)

actually it was only a coupla pounds....but PO'ed!


You're supposed to accept breakfast before leaving in the morning....ya PEUTZ! :p
Title: Noodling
Post by: StarOfAfrica2 on May 23, 2005, 06:00:27 PM
Quote
Originally posted by Dowding
Is noodling a bit like dogging or cottaging?


Same thing.  I've heard it called dogging and hogging.  I call it stupid.  Anybody that's ever had even a 9 or 10 lb. catfish bite em will know better than to stick anything they want to keep attatched to their body anywhere near one of those things.  We used to catch mostly bullhead and channel cats, but blues are pretty good eatin too.  The ones in the deeper parts of the Mississippi are big enough, but with the way it silts up during the dry season sometimes, the biggest ones tend to stay in certain areas where the water stays deep year round.  The St. Louis Bass Pro Shop has some in a tank easily the size of a teenager.  I know guys that go every year to Lake of the Ozarks that claim they have seen cats down there as big as their bass boats lurking in the feeder streams.
Title: Noodling
Post by: bustr on May 23, 2005, 06:24:00 PM
Seems in Europe Wels fishing has as large a following as catfishing in the U.S. It's just these things don't come small. Check this fishing clubs photos from France. Nothing small in any of the pictures.

http://xvella.free.fr/photos/photo-eng.php?sub=22&rank=1&cntp=30
Title: Noodling
Post by: sling322 on May 24, 2005, 12:22:22 PM
Quote
Originally posted by SunTracker
Sling322, catfish can survive on land from 30 minutes to 3 days depending on the species.  They have semi-rigid gills whereas other fish dont.  Its when the gills collapse that the fish die.



They die pretty quickly when they run out of blood.  Maybe you missed my comment about cutting off the tail and letting them bleed out while still alive.  That is the trick to get rid of most of the mud taste that people complain about.
Title: Noodling
Post by: SunTracker on May 24, 2005, 12:40:29 PM
I was refering to you putting a garden hose in the fish's mouth.
Title: Noodling
Post by: sling322 on May 24, 2005, 01:35:57 PM
Yeah....its not neccessary unless the fish has been out of water for a while and you want to perk it up a bit to get the blood running faster.
Title: Noodling
Post by: -dead- on May 24, 2005, 01:36:30 PM
Quote
Originally posted by StarOfAfrica2
Same thing.  I've heard it called dogging and hogging.  I call it stupid.  Anybody that's ever had even a 9 or 10 lb. catfish bite em will know better than to stick anything they want to keep attatched to their body anywhere near one of those things.  We used to catch mostly bullhead and channel cats, but blues are pretty good eatin too.  The ones in the deeper parts of the Mississippi are big enough, but with the way it silts up during the dry season sometimes, the biggest ones tend to stay in certain areas where the water stays deep year round.  The St. Louis Bass Pro Shop has some in a tank easily the size of a teenager.  I know guys that go every year to Lake of the Ozarks that claim they have seen cats down there as big as their bass boats lurking in the feeder streams.
Pay no attention to Dowding: he is a very bad man.

This is what the Brits mean by dogging (http://www.swingingheaven.co.uk/dogging/).

And you might want to look up "cottage" in the weighty reference work that is Roger's Profanisaurus (http://www.maxim-magazine.co.uk/profanisaurus/profan_index.php)