Ever noodled? I haven't, and I probably never will. What's noodling, you ask? It's a way of catching fish (and especially catfish) by hand. According to Baton Rouge, Louisiana's The Advocate:
Noodlers fish for catfish by sticking their hands into man-made or natural catfish holes. The goal is to get bitten by the fish — on purpose — and pull it out of the hole by its gills.
Folks have been long been noodling in Louisiana, but the state just recently explicitly designated noodling as a legal fishing method, as of August 1, 2022. That's good news for noodlers like Vince Wozniak, of Shreveport, LA, who got hooked by the "rush of adrenaline" that hit him the first time he went noodling.
Watch this video of some folks noodling. It's hard to actually see much, because all the action is happening under the muddy water. It just looks scary to me, sticking your hand into dark holes, not knowing what's about to bite you:
"I always say you're not a real noodler until you've been bit by a blue catfish," Wozniak said. "They're like the pit bulls of the water. You can be a foot from the hole, and they're coming out to attack you with full force and not letting go."
The Advocate explains: "First-time noodlers have a lot to learn about hand-grabbing. Wozniak said it's safest to noodle with others." Indeed. Still, I think I'll pass.
