An underground group of fisherman says it has dealt with discrimination from Missouri lawmakers for years.
Noodling is an ancient fishing method in which the fisherman wiggles his or her hand underwater near a bed of fish in hopes that a catfish will bite or, even better, swallow his hand. The fisherman then pulls the catch, which can weigh up to 250 pounds, out of the water.
"I feel like we can win this battle one noodler at a time," the noodler wrote.
letting this fish swallow your arm seems contraindicated
Noodlers fight for acceptance:
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19 Responses:
I was so relieved it didn't say wiggle their noodle.
Damn. That's the first thing I thought while reading the '. . . they wiggle their. . .' sentance as well.
Those are the grossest-looking catfish I have ever seen in my life.
WHAT THE FUCK?
Those aren't photoshopped?
Those aliens live on our planet?
And the fish are pretty funny looking too!
Have you ever seen a sturgeon?
Right after I thought that exact thing I thought, "HOW OLD ARE THOSE THINGS?!?!"
Hmm. Big Fish flashbacks.
This is exactly why I left the state of Missouri. These people are allowed to VOTE!
You just wait until they start fighting back. Then there will be trouble.
"Dolphins Evolve Opposable Thumbs; 'Oh, Shit,' Says Humanity"
"Oklahoma, one of the 11 states in which hand fishing is legal"
... so this practice has been a wide enough problem that 39 states had to pass laws against it?
It's probably not the case that they specifically pass laws against it as much as that fishing licenses regulate how you can catch fish, and hand fishing is usually forbidden. The concern is that hand fishing is dangerous to the catfish population, because people are going to pick off the biggest and most likely to reproduce.
I grew up in one of the other 11 states where "noodling" is legal, although I never tried it. My experience was that the catfish was far too plentiful, and I frequently ended up catching the ugly bastards even when I was specifically trying not to.
So catching a fish by shoving a hook through it's jaw is ok, but catching it with your hands is a no-no.
Oooookay.
Definately some ooogly fishes...
I like catfish, but sheesh, bizzare :)
Everybody knows that the second thing the Communists do when they take over a country, right after banning cockfighting, is to outlaw bare-handed fishing.
amen.
Argh! I misread "bare-handed fisting" there, courtesy of sleep deprivation.
Go my brain, you rock!
... which makes one wonder whether this manner of fishing would be okay if the noodler were wearing latex gloves.
Doesn't it?
beautiful. friends?