Catfish noodling is a very unique, mysterious type of sport fishing that is often misunderstood and written off as a crazy, wreckless time in a man's life. However, I can assure you that I am an not any of those latter two adjectives at all. Frankly, I have considered handfishing just an integral, fun part of my life since it was introduced to me by my cousin, David McCosh. I was quickly drawn to the sport by the intense, adrenaline pumping experience you get when the catfish bites you upon entrance to his spawning nest. I cannot explain the feeling other than it is definitely an unorthodox, x-factor like experience that keeps you wanting more after successfully catching the first fish. After catching a few fish, the noodler's fear of the unknown usually goes away, followed by an urgency to see the next fish and how big it is. The forty-two pound monster that I caught my first time grabbing a catfish was quite the feat to surpass. Since that time, I have surpassed that fish to catch a fish in the mid 70's by weight, but I am now searching for a 3 digit fish that is 100 pounds or more. The desire to wrestle a 100+ pound fish drives me year after year to keep searching for my personal moby dick!
Catfish noodling can be a very dangerous sport because some of the holes the catfish nest in are very unpredictable. I have been hung in a catfish lair many with precious few seconds to release my hands or feet from the grips of the rock that have me lodged in that position. I have developed a system of building catfish nests in a more safe manner for that very reason. I go to the rocky areas of the lake usually where the rock run in what I call "ridge rows", usually slate rock, and I lean other rock up to the exposed slate rock to form a "teepee" type shape with a hole in the front. Usually this hole I would want it to be anywhere front 4 to 8 feet in length and usually 2 to 5 feet in width depending on how big of a fish I want to catch. The fish shelter I construct would have the smooth flat rocks facing inwards where my hands or feet will be feeling for the fish. This reduces my risk of getting my foot, shoes, or hands hung or wedged between the rock. Wooden structures can also be built in a "box" type of shape like a 2-5 feet wide, 4 to 8 feet in length, and 12-16 inches in height with a hole cut in the front of the structure. The advantage to this type of structure is that it makes the catfish beds uniform, predictable, and greatly reduces the amount of danger posed to the noodler. The disadvantages are that the wood usually costs money, other people see the structure in the water, and the boxes sometimes get swept away in the current.
The biggest controversy of noodling is because in order to handfish you are generally catching very large, mature trophy fish. Secondly, you are disturbing the fish from his eggs which are vital to the catfish population's survival. With this in mind, I personally have mixed emotions about the folks who are totally against handfishing altogether. I know that my personal practice of mostly catch and release does not hurt the catfish population. I keep a few fish, 5 or 6 on average, to eat through the winter months because my family does like catfish. However, I am very selective about these fish, and I always make sure it is a smaller male that has completed his duty of allowing the fry to hatch. A clear indication the fry have hatched is the swarming of the fry in a school above or near the catfish nest. I keep a few of these lone males after they have done their jobs from time to time, however, I do not believe that I am hurting the catfish population by harvesting a handful of fish every year. I have always found an abundance of catfish while handfishing, and I believe we always will as long as people don't keep every fish they catch.
In closing, I can say with certainty that I am not crazy, and I do still have all of my fingers and toes. I enjoy this sport more than any other hobby that I have tried or experienced, it provides me the adrenaline pumping experience that I so long for in life day to day. I also provide other folks http://www.bigtncats.com the opportunity to experience handfishing in TN with yours truly. I also am a big proponent of catch and release fishing and conservation to look out for the future of our world class fisheries. Now, I challenge you to get out of your comfort zone for one day and try something you never believed you could do! Fish On!
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