Noodlers fight for acceptance
The sport of hand fishing has been banned in Missouri since 1919.
Published Dec. 10, 2004
An underground group of fisherman says it has dealt with discrimination from Missouri lawmakers for years.
Hand fishers, also known as noodlers, have not been allowed to practice their craft in Missouri since 1919, but if a newly proposed state Senate bill passes, the sport will become legal.
Noodling is an ancient fishing method in which the fisherman wiggles his or her hand underwater near a bed of fish in hopes that a catfish will bite or, even better, swallow his hand. The fisherman then pulls the catch, which can weigh up to 250 pounds, out of the water.
"There are a decent number of people who noodle," said Jerry Dowell, chief of staff to John Cauthorn, the Republican senator who is sponsoring the bill. "They believe it's a sport."
Harold Ramsey of Paris, Mo., the president of Noodlers Anonymous, said the sport has been a tradition among his family for generations. He started noodling as a 12-year-old, when his father taught him how to snag catfish barehanded.
"It's kind of a tradition in Missouri," he said. "Most of the time it's just passed down, otherwise you don't learn how to do it unless you're really interested in it."
Mark Morgan, assistant professor of parks, recreation and tourism, became fascinated by noodling after he attended a tournament in Oklahoma, one of the 11 states in which hand fishing is legal. With Ramsey's help, Morgan surveyed 100 anonymous noodlers to learn more about the people who participate in the sport.
Morgan said he wasn't able to collect data about how the clandestine practice affects Missouri's catfish population, but the Missouri Department of Conservation is working on changing that.
Denise Garnier, the department's assistant director, said the department will discuss a proposed trial season and a five-year research study to examine the effects of hand fishing next week.
"We're looking at how to best determine if there is or is not an impact," she said. "I hope the legislature will see that we've really worked a lot with these folks."
The Department of Conservation has been opposed to similar noodling bills that failed in previous legislative sessions because of concerns the practice is detrimental to the catfish population. Garnier said because noodlers catch such large, effective reproducing fish from their habitat during the nesting season, it might be significantly reducing the catfish population.
Ramsey said a declining number of catfish should not be a concern since there are only about 2,000 active noodlers in the state.
"The bill should have passed last year," he said. "We've proven we can get the bill out of the Senate chambers and into the House."
Even though the practice is not yet legal and arguably awkward, one anonymous noodler quoted in Morgan's study isn't going to stop hand fishing anytime soon.
"I feel like we can win this battle one noodler at a time," the noodler wrote. "This has been a family tradition since I was old enough to get in the creek. I love it."