Noodling

Noodling is fishing for catfish using one's bare hands or feet, and is practiced primarily in the southern United States. The noodler places their hand or foot inside a discovered catfish hole in order to catch the fish. Other names for the same activity are used in different regions, primarily in the South and Midwest, and include hogging, dogging, grappling, grabbling, and tickling.^[1]

The term "noodling", although today used primarily towards the capture of flathead catfish, can and has been applied to all hand fishing methods, regardless of the method or species of fish sought. The origin of the term is unknown.^[2] Noodling as a term has also been applied to various unconventional methods of fishing, such as any which do not use bait, rod and reel, speargun, etc., but this usage is much less common. The term has also been applied to the similar capture of snapping turtles.^[3]

Due to concerns over the safety of noodlers and sustainability of fish populations, the technique is illegal in some states where it was once traditionally practiced. As of 2002^[update], it was legal in some form in fourteen states, sometimes with restrictions on the species or sizes of fish, and on the specific methods that may be employed: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana,^[4] Maryland,^[5] Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Wisconsin.^[6] It has since been legalized in Texas^[7] and West Virginia.^[8]