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In the wild, wild Midwest, people who call themselves "noodlers" are catching massive catfish with their bare hands, using their own fingers and toes as bait.
A seasoned "noodler" from Missouri, Howard Ramsey, proudly displays his scarred arms and digits, called "river rash" by insiders.
"Yep, that's right, " he beams, "You gotta bleed." |
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Noodling, which began with Native Americans, is the art of catching catfish with your bare hands. People like Howard Ramsey have done it for years without rod, hook or bait. Instead, they quietly grope the dark undersides of rocks or stumps in riverbanks, where catfish nest, until they feel the sandpaper-like teeth of catfish clamp down on their hands.
Then, the noodler grips the jaws and triumphantly yanks the writhing fish to the surface. Ideally, that is.
Sometimes, noodlers poking around the mossy, underwater crevices are also vulnerable to the painful bites of snapping turtles, snakes and beavers that may hole up in abandoned catfish nests. |
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