Noodling for Oklahoma catfish, NOT ME!!!

[GaryG]

Thanks for the link. I got these pictures with out any explanation. Usually someone on TBN can get you the answer. I'll stick to rod n reel. Gary

 

[knucklehead]

Bet there's NO skinny dipping in good old Oklahoma /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

Sorry, couldn't resist.

 

[TMAC]

I've seen those pics before and found them somewhere on the net. They're "Wels catfish" and found over seas in France and other European countries. They look very similar to our "Mud Cats", Flatheads, Shovelheads, whatever you prefer to call them that we have here in the states. The Wels cats have a longer eel like tale and can grow commonly larger than our related flatheads/mud cats/shovelheads.

All in all though they must grapple for them over there as well. Here's some full body shots of the Wels cats Wels Cats.

 

[jwnge]

When my Dad was a kid, he and his brothers went hogging in the ditches of so. Missouri. He used to tell us stories of the cats they got, most 10 to 25 pounders by reaching into holes along the bank with hay hooks, one uncle almost drowned cause he got grabbed onto by a big cat when using bare hands.. I also used to go turtleing with dad and one of his roughneck friends, Dad was a driller, and they used shovel handles to poke along the sandy bottom. When the sound went from a that of a shovel hitting sand to that of hitting a solid snapping turtle back, the fun was on.. Making sure to stay away from those jaws and only grab by the tail to get it in the bag..They let me drag the gunny sack till it was too full for me to drag.. They were sure tough to clean but We had many good fried turtle meals back in the 1950's along the Wabash river in so. Ill..

 

[Dargo]

I've never gotten one nearly that big, but I have gone noodling in the Wabash River several times. It's sort of a rush! I have gotten a few decent sized cats. However, I basically whimped out when a measley 15 pounder or so ran his dorsal fin through the skin between my index finger and thumb. For about a week I thought I was going to die. I ended up having to take antibiotics for another week due to a nasty infection. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif Been there, done that, got the scar. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[DannyD]

I live near the Ohio River, Louisville area. There is told of cats in there bigger than a man, and able to swallow a man whole. Divers that went down to hook up boeys etc have told of seeing them. They do not move, just wait on dinner to come by.

dont know if it is true or not, and not going in to find out

 

[billbill1]

Here in Kansas, we call it hand fishing. The catfish start spawning around the first of June and are usually finished by the 4th of July. It's illegal here and carries a stiff fine if the game warden catches you in the act. The reason for it being against the law is the huge number of fish that can be caught in a very short period of time. I've been involved in the practice many times as a youngster but would only drag the gunny sack for the fishermen. (yes, I was one of the wusses) Most of the fish we caught were under 10#. The local Native Americans can legally noodle on the reservations and many still practice the art.

 

[ronnie2005]

I have an Uncle Carl that lives in Kenner, which is about a stones throw from the Mississippi. He gets 2 Catfish a year about 6 months apart. He doesn't have a pole, he uses a gig made from a pitch fork with a steel handle, a ring on top hooked to a 4000 lb winch in the bed of his old F150. He roles up his pants and wades in the silt till he feals um then gigs um. Once up on the bank he shoots them with a .22, then winches into the truck. Their are old mud cats and when you cut um open the meat is dirty yellow almost brown. He won't give me his recipes for his marinade but I know it takes about 3 months to turn the meat white and ummmm good. /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Durbob]

How about having this one clamp on to your hand!

 

[froggy]

ABC news just had a segment on noodling in Missouri. It's the first time it's legal to noodle in over 80 years.