The Liberal Gun Club Forum

Simmer down wrote:http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... 61336.html

DALLAS—Brady Knowlton believes it's his inalienable right as a Texan to shove his bare hand into the mouth of a 60-pound catfish and yank it out of a river.

But wrestling a flapping, whiskered giant as it latches onto your arm with its jaws isn't among Texas's accepted methods of capturing fish. It is, rather, a class C misdemeanor, with fines of up to $500.

Paladin wrote:Whatever you do don't look up snoodling.

whitey wrote:

Paladin wrote:Whatever you do don't look up snoodling.

LMFAO, yes, I looked it up.

Q: How would legalizing hand fishing hurt our catfish numbers?

A: Research shows that legalizing hand fishing could severely deplete local catfish populations and put the abundance of a top Missouri game fish at risk.

Catfish are very vulnerable during the nesting season (June – August) because they lay their eggs in natural cavities and then do not leave the nest. If they’re taken away, their eggs quickly die. Catfish on the nest are not vulnerable to being caught by traditional sport-angling methods.

Our research shows that less than 25 percent of catfish migrate from large rivers to smaller tributaries. This degree of migration depends on seasonal water levels. Hand fishers have easy access to these smaller wading streams and the nesting cover catfish use, making these catfish especially vulnerable. If depleted, catfish populations in these tributaries would have great difficulty reestablishing their numbers. A survey of hand fishers conducted by the University of Missouri–Columbia Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism reported that 90 percent of hand fishers prefer to fish in smaller rivers or streams, which are most vulnerable to over harvesting.

Catfish are long-lived (reaching ages of 25 years or more), are relatively slow growing, and can reach weights exceeding 75 pounds. They also lay many fewer eggs than other sport fish. Larger, older catfish are more effective breeders. Research shows that selectively removing larger “trophy” catfish, which noodlers prefer, could reduce local catfish numbers.

In north and west-central Missouri, in particular, streams have been greatly altered over the past 100 years, reducing catfish habitat. Hand fishing would place more pressure on these local catfish populations, which already have high harvest rates from current fishing practices.

Surveys show that hand fishing tends to be highly successful. Increasing the number of noodlers could further threaten local catfish populations.

According a survey of hand fishers conducted by the University of Missouri–Columbia Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, hand fishers report being successful at capturing a catfish 60 percent of the time. That is an extremely high success rate.

Hand fishers reported their average catch weighed approximately 20 pounds, which they considered to be a minimum-size catch. They preferred to catch larger, trophy-size 50-pound flathead catfish.

rolandson wrote:

whitey wrote:

Paladin wrote:Whatever you do don't look up snoodling.

LMFAO, yes, I looked it up.

oh jesus i think i am going to be sick

snoodling is where you catch fish by hand right.... RIGHT?

Simmer down wrote:My brother told me about going noodling with a redneck friend of his. The guy put out 55 gal barrels then for years after makes his rounds and grabs for fish hiding in them. My first thought was catching tetanus for sure jamming an arm inside of rusted underwater drums. Catfish teeth are like strips of steel velcro and they lock down on the grubby fist & now bleeding forearm being shoved down their pieholes. Then you just wrestle them out of their condos into the jonboat.

The biggest catfish I've seen was about 5-6 ft long pulled out on heavy line in a deep spot in a creek. It looked prehistoric. Jethro was mighty proud of it.

mark wrote:1. I hate you, Paladin.

2. I pulled this off the interwebs.

Q: How would legalizing hand fishing hurt our catfish numbers?

A: Research shows that legalizing hand fishing could severely deplete local catfish populations and put the abundance of a top Missouri game fish at risk.

Catfish are very vulnerable during the nesting season (June – August) because they lay their eggs in natural cavities and then do not leave the nest. If they’re taken away, their eggs quickly die. Catfish on the nest are not vulnerable to being caught by traditional sport-angling methods.

Our research shows that less than 25 percent of catfish migrate from large rivers to smaller tributaries. This degree of migration depends on seasonal water levels. Hand fishers have easy access to these smaller wading streams and the nesting cover catfish use, making these catfish especially vulnerable. If depleted, catfish populations in these tributaries would have great difficulty reestablishing their numbers. A survey of hand fishers conducted by the University of Missouri–Columbia Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism reported that 90 percent of hand fishers prefer to fish in smaller rivers or streams, which are most vulnerable to over harvesting.

Catfish are long-lived (reaching ages of 25 years or more), are relatively slow growing, and can reach weights exceeding 75 pounds. They also lay many fewer eggs than other sport fish. Larger, older catfish are more effective breeders. Research shows that selectively removing larger “trophy” catfish, which noodlers prefer, could reduce local catfish numbers.

In north and west-central Missouri, in particular, streams have been greatly altered over the past 100 years, reducing catfish habitat. Hand fishing would place more pressure on these local catfish populations, which already have high harvest rates from current fishing practices.

Surveys show that hand fishing tends to be highly successful. Increasing the number of noodlers could further threaten local catfish populations.

According a survey of hand fishers conducted by the University of Missouri–Columbia Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism, hand fishers report being successful at capturing a catfish 60 percent of the time. That is an extremely high success rate.

Hand fishers reported their average catch weighed approximately 20 pounds, which they considered to be a minimum-size catch. They preferred to catch larger, trophy-size 50-pound flathead catfish.

http://mdc.mo.gov/fishing/regulations/s ... o-noodling