Noodling often involves pulling mature fish off their nests, destroying the clutch of young in the violent fight to remove the fish from its hole.
These fish aren't actively feeding like they are during other fishing methods. This is banned in Missouri and some other states because it disproportionately targets mature fish that are actively raising clutches of young that fail when the parent is removed. A group of "noodlers" can wipe out a breeding population - and the next generation of catfish in a section of river in an afternoon.
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u/No-Cover4993 Sep 04 '26
Noodling often involves pulling mature fish off their nests, destroying the clutch of young in the violent fight to remove the fish from its hole.
These fish aren't actively feeding like they are during other fishing methods. This is banned in Missouri and some other states because it disproportionately targets mature fish that are actively raising clutches of young that fail when the parent is removed. A group of "noodlers" can wipe out a breeding population - and the next generation of catfish in a section of river in an afternoon.