David Pescovitz:
"Noodling" is a kind of fishing where you dive underwater, grab hold of a catfish with your hands, and then pull it to the surface. (Image by Keith Sutton from an ESPN Outdoors article.) Noodling has been illegal in Missouri since 1919, but for a limited time this summer the Missouri Conservation Commission is allowing it in three rivers. From A Knight Ridder report:
When (noodler Howard) Ramsey gets a bite when he goes catfishing, it hurts. He isn't dangling a worm or a piece of chicken liver on a hook in front of the fish. The only bait he uses is his fingers or his toes. And when a big catfish clamps down, Ramsey knows it.
"I have a lot of scars from where big flatheads have bit me," Ramsey said. "When you swim into one of their holes, they aren't too happy to see you.
"I've had them clamp down so tight on my arm that I didn't know if they'd ever let go. They have rows of tiny teeth, and when you try to pull your arm out of their mouth, they'll just skin you. I even had one fish that tore my tennis shoe right off my foot. I couldn't walk for a couple days. But that's all part of it.
Link (Thanks, Dave Gill!)
UPDATE: Thanks to Carlo Longino, Matt Vance, Jacob Simpson, and the other readers who urged me to watch the documentary Okie Noodling! Link [Boing Boing] Posted by actionhero at May 06, 2005 02:59 PM