Catfish Beware: Noodling Season is Here

JACKSON, Miss. — Today you can grab buddies head into the water because it is the first day of grabblin, hand grabbing, noodling, or whatever you want to call it season. Basically you catch catfish with your hands.

The concept of catching a catfish with your hands sounds simple enough, but the process is a little more complicated. The “noodler” will search for a catfish hole and then place his hand inside. If everything goes as planned the catfish will latch onto the fisherman’s hand, or sometimes arm as a defensive mechanism in order to escape the hole. Then the fisherman is able to pull the catfish out of the water. The typical weight for a flathead catfish caught by noodling is about 40 pounds.

A valid sport-finishing license is required to go hand grabbing. The season ends July 15.