I just saw a special on tv a couple nights ago about Noodling in Oklahoma. I've heard of this before and was intrigued. After seeing how big those catfish are that these guys caught by noodling made me want to try it. I want to try Noodling at least once in my lifetime. The only drawbacks that make me wary are reaching in on a beaver or snake by mistake. Does anybody here Noodle? If so, what techniques do you use? Any Tulsa or Oklahoma Noodlers here?

 

My brother in WV used to - until a big snapper got a hold of him. Ruined his bowling game.

 

aerocolorado,
Are you serious? What do you mean by "snapper"? The only snapper I am familar with is a salt water sport fish that I used to catch in the Gulf of Mexico.

One of the guys on that tv special got bit by a copperhead and was lucky enough to get to the hospital for anti venom treatment. A week later, he was out noodling again.

 

I would have to assume he meant a snapping turtle. They are some nasty little creatures. I've caught a few of them (not by noodling, of course), and you just get them close to shore then cut the line. You don't want them to get too close.

Roger

 

Ahh the snapper. Beak like a hawk. It'll take off your fingers with one, well, "snap" of it's jaw. Once cause one that was about the size of a 14" wheel. Had 20 lb test on the rod and was lucky it didn't snap, cause I was dying to see what I had on the line. Probably weighed close to 40 maybe 50 pounds, and as soon as we got him on shore he was thrashing and hissing, opening that beak and snapping it shut, hence the name I'm sure. Got about a foot from him and cut the line and watched him scamper away. Lucky to have my fingers still, I heard they can extend their necks quite far to reach out and getcha!

Ryan

 

Noodling Huh ?
I think I'll stick to cooking spaghetti.

Toodles and noodles!

Dennis

78 F-150 429CJ C6 ,Silver w/Explorer Pkge
641/2 Mustang,Pre-World's Fair Car #8092
64 Fairlane S/C waiting for a 390-4spd.
68-Mustang.Sunlit Gold 80,000 miles

 

Noodling HUH?

I think I'll stick to Cooking Spaghetti.

Toodles Noodlers.

Dennis

78 F-150 429CJ C6 ,Silver w/Explorer Pkge
641/2 Mustang,Pre-World's Fair Car #8092
64 Fairlane S/C waiting for a 390-4spd.
68-Mustang.Sunlit Gold 80,000 miles

 

I have never heard it called noodling before.

I spent most of my childhood in Illinois along the mississippi and we called it bank'n.

The best thing to do is where a steel mesh butchers glove and then those snappers don't hurt!

 

That's what I was thinking. Some metal mesh gloves and maybe some snake proof rubber gloves underneath? Now if I could just find some local friends to go noodling with.......

 

That skill is an excellent one to add to your emergency survival bag of tricks, but I have never tried it myself.

My favorite way to fish is with anywhere from a 6 to a 10 foot cast net.

BTW: Cast nets are rated from the center outward, so a ten foot has a twenty foot spread!

WALMART stocks these nets, mostly for people who bait fish -

But I have caught awesome fish in my nets. Why do you think it is the preference of Pacific Islanders?

I figured that if I really wanted to be successful, I should learn from those who fish to survive, and find out what THEY do when it really matters.

With my nets, I catch fish when everyone with a rod and real has been sitting around all day thinking of better times...

And then there is "Bow Fishing"...

I know a place on the Missippi where the Catfish are four feet long and bigger, swimming right on the surface.....

A bow is the only way to get them....

 

a buddy of mine once reached in on one and it weighed upwards of 60lbs. it clamped down on his hand and took off. my buddy got his wrist broken.

 

a buddy of mine once reached in on one and it weighed upwards of 60lbs. it clamped down on his hand and took off. my buddy got his wrist broken.

 

If you catch a snapper you either shoot him or eat'em. They are kinda fun to play with -- so long as you know that they can get'ya. I don't release them since to many of them can be hard on the fishing.

As far as noodling goes. I know several guys that do it. In theory, there shouldn't be a snapper in a hole because the hole is under water and so no air is available for the snapper to breath (or very little). So 95% of the time you should have a cat there. If beavers are around, you'll know. Chewed up trees everywhere as well as "slides" from where they slide down the bank or crawl out of the water.

A 60 lb cat can really leave a mark on your arm. When they bite down they'll start thrashing around trying to swallow what they have bitten on. Their "teeth" can be quite abrasive and you'll lose some skin in the process.

Me? I don't do it. Something about walking along a creek bank at night and thrusting my arm into a hole in the bank. I'd rather toss a stick of dynamite over and see what's left after the bang.

A large amount of alcohol is recommended. Several friends. And remember that it ain't always legel to do it.

 

When I was around twelve I saw what a snapper can to to a human hand. I was with a guy that got his hand too close and in a split second his fingers were crushed. The chief of police came and shot the turtle, but it didn't let go. The head was chopped off next, but it did no good. Finally, they pried and literally pulverized the turtle's head to get the guy's hand out. When I move five years later, that fella still had very little use of his hand. Anyone that wants to "noodle" better first have his NOODLE examined by a shrink. Kind of like peeing on an electric fence.

 

Ren and Stimpy anyone? "Don't wizz on...the e-lectric, fence!" Snappers are dangerous creatures. Speaking of controling population and fishing abilities, another pest are the danged sunfish. They eat anything and everything smaller than them. That includes baby bass. So I have no problem tossing them on the street or against a tree when I get a good sized one. The smaller ones can stay cause the large mouth eat those fellas. Hey, what goes around comes around, right? And on the line of the big ones, 40lb plus...Up in the White Lakes of New Hampshire, around Mount Chokura, the lakes are known as "kettle lakes", due to the depth. They aren't more'n a mile across, most are 1/4 mile or less. But these things can be upwards of 100 feet deep and more, easily. Cause they were formed during the last ice age from setting ice. The lakes used to have streams and tributaries that would flow all the way to the Atlantic thousands upon thousands of years ago. Since that time, the streams have filled and dried, leaving just a round small deep lake. In these lakes, you can find some of the biggest land-locked Atlantic salmon in the world. Average size for these puppies is I believe 50 lbs plus. Some get as much as 60 or 70lbs. In the spring, as the ice melts away and all the chum is left on the surface of the water, these fellas come on up and feed on it. With some good bait you can hook these, but a canoe won't do it, you'll tip right over. You need a wide dingy of kinds. And some high pound test line. Very high pound test! At other times in the year, you need to go out and sink your line to about 30-40 foot off the bottom, so roughly 60 to 70 feet of line. Here's where they feed on bigger fish, like youth and some adult bass, etc! It's pretty amazing such big fishies can live in such small areas.

Ryan