Ever on the lookout for the truly insane in this world, I was delighted to hear yesterday about some, um, unconventional anglers in Mississippi who catch catfish by hand. Apparently, the practice is fairly widespread — Missouri just made it legal, as have ten other states — throughout the south, although word of this first came to me thanks to some late-night History Channel-esque fare that was subsequently passed along (and I am so grateful it was!).
Essentially, you stick your hand in the mud, let the catfish bite you, and pull it out. Protective gloves are optional. People say about this “sport” that it’s highly addictive; I am having considerable difficulty understanding that characterization. (It doesn’t help that I’m not a huge fan of catfish, though, a fact that really calls into question my heritage as a southern lass.)
The most general term for this “sport” is “noodling,” although Wikipedia helpfully reveals a number of alternative names: catfisting, grabbling, graveling, hogging, dogging, tickling and stumping. Even if noodling is the most common name, I think my hands-down favorite is “catfisting.” I mean, c’mon. What’s not to love in that name?
Perhaps the best part of this story isn’t so much the sheer, I would argue, insanity of letting catfish bite you as a method of retrieving them for dinner, but rather that these guys stick their hands into mud without knowing precisely what’s there. Says Wikipedia: “The largest danger posed to noodlers are 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. These animals are always on the mind of experienced noodlers.” (emphasis added)
Ummmm, you think??