Words to think on!

[Catwoman]

Catfish...Flatheads...Gar...Carp...Anything that will bite on bait, be hauled in and then filleted!! lol

[Catwoman]

I'd much rather set a trot line than go noodling, any day...That noodling stuff is (along with being illegal in KS) dangerous.

[thatsMRSc2u]

  they had some guys on the news showin the reporter how to go noodlin cause they just made it legal wherever they were at, I missed that part , but they were havin a blast. Lots of guys I knew used to noodle

[jarhead]

Quote from catwoman:
I'd much rather set a trot line than go noodling, any day...That noodling stuff is (along with being illegal in KS) dangerous.

No catwoman, noodling was legalized in 3 Ks. rivers a few years back and just this year they made it legal in ALL Corps of Engineer  lakes and Corps owned rivers leading to the lake. You do have to buy a hand fishing license. Have you ever noodled ? It is one of the greatest sports out there. Not sure what the dangers are you speak of. The noodlers I have known in the past are "easier " on the flathead population than fishermen. Catch a big FH on lines and you keep that puppy---a noodler might keep a few to eat but release them more often than not. It's the fun of catching them. I have seen many 50 lb plus FH's caught, admired, then turned loose.
Pam, noodling was legal in Mo. for a couple years in just a few short stretches of certain rivers but it came to a screeching halt. The all knowing higher up's said too many big "breeding size" flatheads were being taken. I have no idea what they meant by 'breeding size"  but a 4-5 lb flathead spawns and lays a hell of a lot of eggs

[Catwoman]

Thanks for this, Jar...The men in my family will be happy to hear this, if they aren't already aware of it, which they more than likely are...It's usually me that's late to the dance! lol  I have been tempted to try noodling.  It's just knowing that there's far more than just catfish that live up under those cuts under the bank...Losing a finger or two to a snapper, muskrat or beaver, or getting snakebit or caught by a big crawdaddy...None of that sounds like much fun.  Now...If I could be guaranteed a 25 lber that wouldn't drag me down the river, screaming my head off...We might be in business! lol

[larryJ]

I had not heard the term "noodling" before so I am even slower finding out things than Catwoman.  So I read about it and decided I didn't want to do it because:

Noodling can result in superficial cuts and minor wounds to the noodler. This can be reduced by wearing gloves and other protective clothing. Losing fingers is also a risk, whether from the bite or infection. Most holes are deep enough that diving is needed, so there can be a danger of drowning. A person with confident swimming abilities may be caught off guard by the sudden added strain of carrying a large fish to the surface. Spotters can alleviate this danger, but it is still present. A wounded noodler ten to twenty feet underwater might not be able to return safely to the surface, and drown. Clothes may get tangled or snagged on roots or rocks, so some noodlers wear only shorts.

The greatest physical threat posed to noodlers, however, comes from other forms of aquatic life found in catfish holes. Far more dangerous than catfish are alligators, snakes, beavers, muskrats and snapping turtles, who will take over abandoned catfish holes as homes of their own.


When I lived in the mountains of Wyoming as a teenager, we used to fish a lot, but when in a hurry for dinner, a blast from the Winchester usually brought up something to eat from the "sonic" boom!

Larryj

[jarhead]

Catwoman,
Why be scared of a snapper ? You feel first with a stick. A catfish is slick and smooth---a snapper is all rough feeling but just remember the points on that snappers shell point towards the back so knowing that you can catch them too. My friend, BLT, that taught me to noodle many years back (mind you, it was in Oklahoma--of coarse ) will catch a snapper and enjoy doing it as much as a big flathead. Now them muskrats and beavers are strict vegetarians so your fingers will be safe. I wouldn't suggest trying to hold one when you feel one but beavers seem to be very docile critters. Many a hole back in the river bank go down where a flathead lives and then goes up where beaver reside. You go into them feet first and if Mr. Beaver decides to exit you scoot to one side and give him free, unmolested passage but by all means DO NOT let Mr. Flathead escape. That is punishable with 50 lashes of sting weed on a bare back.
I aint never seen a crawdaddy so big that they would strike terror in my heart and our snakes are just water snakes. Me being pleasing plump I doubt there is any ol water snake going to try and swallow me whole. Naw, the biggest fear is a big ol male channel cat guarding eggs. You just as well clamp a pair of vice-grips on your finger as mess with one of them puppies.
One of my first noodling trips( again this was in Oklahoma ) I was feeling under rocks with a limber stick---felt something funny feeling---had little bumps all over it and I could push it a little bit side to side---called BLT over to check it out---he felt, then informed me he thought it was an octopus's head---he then gingerly  stuck his hand back there to discover a basketball---had a split in it and bottom half was silted in but top half was moving around. So much for an octopus !!!

[W. Gray]

Larry J is right about those alligators.

These are just some of the guys you might meet if noodlin in Colorado.

Alamosa is the nearest town from where this photo was taken.

Actually, the colony numbers upwards of 400 crocs and alligators living in a year round warm water area.

They are fenced in, though.

[Catwoman]

Yup, yup, yup...I'll sit on the bank, with my 20 lb. test wafting gently in the current, a cooler full of...Uhm...Well, let's just say the party will be FUN...And enjoy the scenery of a good ol' boy working the other side of the water.  Sounds like more than enough excitement for this old woman! lol

[jarhead]

Larry,
With all due respect, I think whoever wrote what you read about noodling was written by a desk jockey. Most flatheads spawn in 2-6 feet of water where there is plenty of oxygen in the water. I have a friend in Louisiana that is a hard core noodler ( they call it grappling in La. ) in alligator infested waters. He does not give the gators a second thought. They do use scuba gear and GPS to locate their "honey holes" which is usually an old cast iron bath tub with a hole cut in the end or custom made 'fish houses" his friend in a cement burial vault business makes for him. Even though he uses scuba gear it is only for being able to stay under until the 'job is done" even though the water might only be neck deep. If we had gators or piranha I'm sure Mother Edwards's baby boy would have never of been so foolish as to have ever went noodling !!!
Although old age and tickets and court costs forced me into retirement , if Ek Konnected could get me a $1,000,000 grant I could be brought/ bought out of retirement to do a definitive study of flatheads and their spawning habits.