Who needs a fishing line when you can just use your hands to grab a catfish?

There are still plenty of states where it is totally legal to use your bare hands to nab a catfish out of the water.

What Is Noodling?

Noodling, also known as “hand fishing,” “grabbing,” “hogging” or “tickling,” is a means of catching a catfish using your hands insread of the traditional rod and reel.

These aren’t just some tiny fish lazily swimming about either. Most of the fish you’d grab while noodling are massive creatures who are none too happy you’re snatching them from their homes.

Many of them are waiting in underwater holes where they are settling in to spawn, too.

How To Get Started Noodling

It doesn’t take much other than strength, bravery and determination to noodle for catfish, which can sometimes weigh over 50 lbs.

Field and Stream explains the steps for noodling as:

Is Noodling Dangerous?

You’re sticking your hand in a hole (that you sometimes can’t even see) and letting another creature bite down on your arm. Of course, there is some risk involved.

Broken fingers and knuckles are the most common injuries, with more serious consequences possible as well.

A 2020 thesis given by a student at the University of Central Oklahoma described situations where arm amputation was needed. The student also outlined the risks of “spining” from the catfish, where the fish’s large spine could potentially pierce the chest cavity of the person doing the grabbing.

But the risk isn’t solely on the human. The Missouri Department of Conservation says noodling could potentially hurt catfish populations due to its high success rate.

The department believes fish that are preparing to spawn are getting grabbed from rivers and streams at a higher rate than they can replenish the population.

States Where Noodling Is Legal

Noodling is currently outlawed in Missouri. The Department of Conservation estimates there are approximately 2,000 people still practicing illegal hand fishing, with that number potentially jumping to 13,000 if it were legalized.

When TheMeatEater.com published a beginner’s guide to noodling, the website found 16 states where it was legal:

• Alabama
• Arkansas
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Kansas
• Kentucky
• Louisiana
• Maryland
• Mississippi
• North Carolina
• Oklahoma
• South Carolina
• Tennessee
• Texas
• West Virginia
• Wisconsin

The report noted that at least 12 of these states legalized noodling between 2001 and 2018, signaling a rise in popularity of the sport.