Conservation agents thwart illegal catfish noodling

Catfish noodling, or hand-fishing, is illegal due to potential harm to fisheries, according to studies done by the Missouri Department of Conservation in the state’s waters.










"People don’t realize that when they’re taking one brood fish off the nest they’re killing thousands of eggs," said Conservation Agent Alan Bradford, who made arrests this summer for noodling in Grindstone Creek in Daviess County.

But the method also prompts junk to be tossed into public lakes as accessories.

Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) agents in recent weeks pulled 142 noodling boxes or containers from Truman Lake. Agents found water heaters, pipes, metal tanks, plastic barrels, wooden boxes and old tractor tires modified for hand fishing.

In noodling – also called grabbing – catfish are taken off spawning nests by yanking them out of cavities where they lay and protect eggs. Poachers who target spawning catfish in lakes create underwater cavities that lure fish by tossing containers into shallow water. Then they wade to containers and remove fish.

A two-foot drop in Truman Lake this summer and better water clarity made noodling containers easier to see from boats, said Conservation Agent Rob Farr of Benton County. Agents also use side-scan sonar and observations from helicopters to locate containers and sometimes to nab poachers. Some noodlers were caught and issued citations this summer, and agents are still watching some sunken containers for activity.

"With the water low, we’ve had quite a lot of success finding these things during the last month and a half," Farr said.

Agents in Northwest Missouri this summer also issued citations for illegal fishing methods to several noodlers who were grabbing large catfish from natural cavities under banks. This was in small, easily-waded streams.

Catfish reproduction and populations in small rivers can be easily harmed by removing brood fish from nests.

Conservation Agent Eric Abbott made arrests on the Tarkio River in Atchison County where the river was only 20 yards wide. Noodlers possessed flathead catfish topping 40 pounds.

"It’s sad because most of the folks doing this don’t realize they’re taking the brood fish, and that it takes many years for these fish to grow that size," Abbott said. "The fishery cannot stay healthy when those fish are taken year after year."

Noodling removes fish that would otherwise be available to anglers using legal fishing methods such as rod and reel or set lines.

Flathead catfish are most commonly targeted, in part because large males will stay on nests to defend eggs, even when disturbed. Females lay eggs in a cavity and then the males, often up to 50 pounds or larger, fan the nests with a swimming motion to keep eggs clean and alive. They also keep predators away that would eat eggs, such as small fish.

When agents pulled noodling boxes and tanks to near the shoreline at Truman Lake this summer, many containers had eggs and fish inside. The male flatheads stayed inside, protecting the eggs rather than swimming away, said Mike Burton, Protection district supervisor.

"We had to dump them out since the fish would not leave," Burton said. "That’s how fiercely they wanted to guard the nest."

Anyone spotting illegal fishing activity, including noodling or dumping containers into lakes, can contact their local conservation agent or call Operation Game Thief at 1-800-392-1111, 24 hours a day. Callers may remain anonymous and rewards are available for information leading to arrests.

Citations are issued to those caught hand-fishing, a Class-A misdemeanor that is punishable by up to a year in jail and fines up to $1,000. The loss of hunting and fishing privileges is also possible.

"They’re targeting key fish," said Tory Mason, a Fisheries biologist in northwest Missouri. "Noodling can wipe out a large portion of the spawning population in some areas."

And here we have national shows called 'Hillbilly Handfishing' that are promoting this illegal activity.

2SciCrazed wrote:

And here we have national shows called 'Hillbilly Handfishing' that are promoting this illegal activity.

Holey Rock of Texas wrote:

yeah i think it is totally wrong with animal planet promoting this cr@p. animal planet is nothing more than realty tv now. its sad!!!

i have been saying this since day one tho and animal planet fails to mention why these catfish are siting in these caves.

Animal Planets quality has definitely gone down.

AP used to be my favorite channel to watch but not anymore. I rarely watch anything on there since a few years ago. It seems to me that they are desperate for shows and ratings since Steve Irwin's death which was there biggest draw. He may have seemed like a nut case but boy what a character he was. I miss him. He was the founder of a never before known species of turtle in Australia that is now named after him. What they have on now is cr@p and not even worth watching. Shame on you Animal Planet!

I miss all the really interesting documentries, now its migits and pitbulls. No offense to the little people out there.

whisper wrote:

AP used to be my favorite channel to watch but not anymore. I rarely watch anything on there since a few years ago. It seems to me that they are desperate for shows and ratings since Steve Irwin's death which was there biggest draw. He may have seemed like a nut case but boy what a character he was. I miss him. He was the founder of a never before known species of turtle in Australia that is now named after him. What they have on now is cr@p and not even worth watching. Shame on you Animal Planet!

KingBichir wrote:

I miss all the really interesting documentries, now its migits and pitbulls. No offense to the little people out there.

dnphillips08 wrote:

Animal Planets quality has definitely gone down.

Thanks God for the National Geographic channel. I watch that all the time now.

yeah nat geo is great. i also watch the history channal and discovery sometimes. i almost never watch AP now when i use to watch it all the time!!!

[quote="Holey Rock of Texas"]yeah nat geo is great. i also watch the history channal and discovery sometimes. i almost never watch AP now when i use to watch it all the time!!![/quot................( never could figure out how to do the quote thing LOL)

Ya know, I had always wondered what the big deal about noodling was...I didn't realize it was taking fish off a nest of eggs! I now have a whole new respect for those try to stop the poaching of these fish.

Meredith wrote:

Ya know, I had always wondered what the big deal about noodling was...I didn't realize it was taking fish off a nest of eggs! I now have a whole new respect for those try to stop the poaching of these fish.

I thought the show on AP was cr@p so I never really looked into what they were actually doing. Now that I know they are taking fish off nests that makes me hate the show even more. Quite pitiful that AP is running a show like that.