I am no newcomer to the sport of fishing. I spent many summers as a boy angling in the rivers of Colorado and Texas yanking rainbow trout, catfish, and the occasional old boot into the boat. I was taught that men fished with worms, women used that smelly pink putty, and only hillbillies and Native Americans would attempt to catch fish with their hands–one group significantly more successfully than the other. Despite misconceptions, hand-fishing (or ‘noodling,’ as it is known) is a fairly common practice in rural southern communities. 

The process involves sticking your hand in murky or shadowed waters, wiggling your fingers enticingly, having a catfish sink its teeth into your arm, and finally lifting the fish from the water by its gills to do with as you please. Although most people would not want to risk their limbs for the sport of fishing themselves, they love watching others do it. Noodling has gained a large media following in the past few years. The television series “Hillbilly