Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Noodling

I was in Orlando last week and some friends started talking about "noodling." The more they talked about it, I started to wonder if they were messing with me. What they explained was that noodling is when someone swims down to a sunken log where big catfish live, and they stick their arm inside the log so that the catfish grabs on, and then they swim up and stick it in the boat.

The danger being that there could be poisonous snakes or snapping turtles in the submerged catfish hidey-hole and one can lose a finger or become poisoned.

In other words, it makes for excellent television.



I thought I should share this with you. My world is now a larger and stranger place.

9 comments:

  1. Anonymous1:56 PM

    Apparently National Geographic believes we Canadians lack the cultural understanding and complexity to be able to view and be touched by such a video and have thus blocked it. I'll just take your word on it.

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  2. That's just wrong.

    I guess they take the "national" in their name more seriously than the "geographic."

    As a consolation prize, here's a giant catfish in cambodia:

    http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/11/photogalleries/catfish-pictures/images/primary/3_461.jpg&imgrefurl=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/11/photogalleries/catfish-pictures/photo3.html&usg=__UrxmgDxc9-CLhZub8VoWBCCVdlk=&h=328&w=461&sz=68&hl=en&start=0&sig2=kexPKkoLYL4qU1QAT7LKYg&zoom=1&tbnid=dQ1Thdsx7LcQDM:&tbnh=160&tbnw=239&ei=SFi_TJK6KI6BswbYp7ytDQ&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dgiant%2Bcatfish%2Bpictures%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DN%26biw%3D1440%26bih%3D678%26tbs%3Disch:1&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=155&vpy=382&dur=1508&hovh=189&hovw=266&tx=182&ty=158&oei=SFi_TJK6KI6BswbYp7ytDQ&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:12,s:0

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  3. Matt,

    Hey as a NW transplant living down here in Texas, I just want to say... welcome to my part of the country. This is big in Arkansas as well as Oklahoma.

    Pretty fun to watch... Interesting... I think!
    David Taylor

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  4. I agree, it's really interesting. I'd love to take a look at this in real life.

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  5. Darren Seelye2:22 PM

    Why didn't my guidance counselor tell me about noodling!?

    How cool would it be to have on your resume, "Professional Noodler"?

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  6. pongboy2:27 PM

    And it is for this reason why they need to bring back "Fear Factor!" And the prize money should be inside the fish! Oh well, at least there's still "Survivor!" Definitely makes for good reality television. :D

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  7. They did that years back at the mouth of the Colorado river. Floated along the sand bars and found the holes, stuck the hand in,:bite: close your fist so the fish can't let go and toss it onto the river bank. CRAZY! but it worked for feeding the family. Nowadays, the Colorado is so low due to diverted water, the sand bars are all gone and the mouth of the river is a big stagnant marsh.

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  8. Darren -- I think your guidance counselor probably knew that it's just now moving toward something you could make a living at. :)

    Pongboy -- Yeah, it would make a good Fear Factor thing, especially if they played up the "maybe there's a poisonous snake" angle.

    ManMakesStuff-- Did you ever do this? I need to talk to someone with firsthand experience.

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  9. If you think noodling is crazy, check out ferret legging!

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