Here, this was on the Homepage at work last night, couldn't post it then though. BTW Nebraska is a state where this is not allowed although it does happen.
Oklahoma noodlers use ‘hands on’ approach in annual fishing tourney
2006 winner catches 61-pound catfish in Okie Noodling Tournament
by Lauren Hopkins
July 29, 2006
They’ll never believe this fish story.
Oklahoma native Don Brewer took home the biggest fish overall at the Okie Noodling Tournament after using scuba gear to dive underwater and catch a 61-pound catfish with his bare hands.
Brewer took home a $500 prize for the catch along with bragging rights for the biggest fish yet.
The Okie Noodling Tournament saw its seventh turn July 8 in Pauls Valley. The tournament serves as a mecca for Oklahoma noodlers as well as hand fishermen from across the country who practice a unique form of fishing: thrusting an arm into an underwater hole and waiting for a catfish to bite.
The practice of hand fishing, also known as noodling, has found a home in Oklahoma, one of several states where some forms of hand fishing are legal.
Glen Madden, a noodler from Wayne, said he has been noodling since he was about 10 years old.
NoodlingNoodling is a sport where fishermen attempt to catch catfish with their bare hands. • Takes place annually at Bob’s Pig Shop in Pauls Valley• Sponsored by Pauls Valley Tourism and Chesapeake Energy• Winners are awarded $500 for biggest fish overall or $300 for Biggest Stringers.
“It’s exciting. You get bit, but they’re just bites,” he said, gesturing toward the scars and scabs on his right wrist and arm.
“You’ve got more and more people getting into it. You can’t pull in to a river anymore and there aren’t 15 to 20 trucks,” Madden said. “It’s a lot more of a younger generation.”
Phil Henderson, owner of Bob’s Pig Shop in Pauls Valley, the tournament’s official venue, said the event has grown in participants and results since its beginning in 1999.
“Every year has brought out bigger fish,” Henderson said.
Noodlers are allowed to fish any Oklahoma waters that fall under state wildlife regulations, and only flathead catfish are eligible for hand fishing.
Henderson said the sport of noodling is not for the faint of heart; it often requires a lengthy wrestling match with catfish weighing roughly 50 pounds.
“Noodling is a pretty simple situation,” Henderson said. “It all boils down to just you against the fish.”
Heath Osborne started noodling when he was 14. The now 24-year-old competitor said when he was growing up, noodling was a necessity.
“Well when I was about 7 or 8 years old, my daddy always noodled. And he took me noodling, and I just learned how from him. I mean, that’s how we caught fish for supper, that’s how we ate,” Osborne said.
While veteran noodlers mixed with first-timers, some spectators watched in amazement and vowed never to participate.
Donna Balch of Ada came to see what was going on from down the street.
“I wouldn’t want to do that. You might pull out a snake or lose half your fingers,” she said. “You’d have to be a little crazy to do it, right?”
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