Noodling: The Challenging Art of Catching Catfish by Hand

Noodling is a technique used to catch catfish by hand, especially flathead catfish in the muddy rivers of the southeastern United States. Unlike regular fishing with fishing tackle or baits, noodling involves reaching into catfish holes, crevices, or underwater structures and pulling out the fish by hand. It requires the nooder to be skilled, have excellent breath control, and be physically powerful in order to retrieve the potentially large catfish. As such, noodling is much more challenging and inherently riskier than typical recreational fishing activities with rods and reels, and may also expose noodlers to potentially harmful situations depending on where and how it is practiced.