During the spawn, catfish will dig or enter a hole underneath a structure submerged in the water. The choice of catfish as the prey is not arbitrary, but comes from the circumstances of their habitat. Method Īlthough the concept of catching fish with only the use of the arm or foot in the water is simple, the process of noodling is more complicated. It has since been legalized in Texas and West Virginia. As of 2002, it was legal in some form in fourteen states, sometimes with restrictions on the species or sizes of fish, and on the specific methods that may be employed: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Wisconsin. ĭue to concerns over the safety of noodlers and sustainability of fish populations, the technique is illegal in some states where it was once traditionally practiced. The term has also been applied to the similar capture of snapping turtles. Noodling as a term has also been applied to various unconventional methods of fishing, such as any which do not use bait, rod and reel, speargun, etc., but this usage is much less common.

The term 'noodling', although today used primarily towards the capture of flathead catfish, can and has been applied to all hand fishing methods, regardless of the method or species of fish sought. Other names for the same activity are used in different regions, primarily in the South and Midwest, and include hogging, dogging, grappling, grabbling, and tickling. The noodler places their hand or foot inside a discovered catfish hole in order to catch the fish.

Noodling is fishing for catfish using one's bare hands or feet, and is practiced primarily in the southern United States. A man with a fish caught by noodling Map of the US states where noodling is legal in some form Enrique Serrano with a 60 lb (27 kg) catfish caught by noodling, on June 18, 2015. For other uses, see Noodle (disambiguation).

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