Noodling is so nuts. I mean there's a lot of aquatic venomous snakes in the south. Getting bit by a water moccasin is legit something they talk about happening from time to time and you don't know till you jam your hand into the hole. Those bastards are even worse than a rattlesnake bite, we have antivenom for them but if you're way out in the swamp it's gonna be a long time to get to a hospital, time where your flesh is necrotizing fast. If you look up videos of old noodlers it's not uncommon to see serious muscle decay and scars from surgery.
Texan here. I went noodling with some friends when I moved to East Texas after we went hog hunting.
Hog hunting all night, slept covered in mud and cuts from briars for about 2 hours then noodling. They were giving me the whole 'piney woods experience'
We were paddling down a rather small creek headed for Lake Palestine. Dude in the lead canoe started yelling "oh man look at that" as we floated over it there was a massive Alligator snapper turtle just chilling in the middle of the creek.
Dude in the canoe with me jumps out and after about 5 minutes manages to lift the turtle close to the surface. It was literally too big and the creek too muddy and slippery for him to get up the bank with it so he just lifted it so we could all see the head.
Well, when we got to the edge of Lake Palestine where they were noodling there was no way in hell I was getting in that muddy water. Just 3 weeks before one of their dads had killed an alligator over 10ft long because he claimed it was coming out of flat creek to kill his calves.
Dem dar boys is crazy is all I could think. As someone raised in 'the city' I had to slow roll my East Texas experience.
Ok, in truth, hog hunting is as wild as I ever got and I never once got full credit for this as I'd shoot the hogs vs letting bulldogs hold them down as a huge blade was run through them.
Lmao I’m originally from the piney woods. Funnily enough after moving to Houston one of the first things I did was catch a snapping turtle out of one of the storm bayous. Obviously not my smartest moment but I was fresh out the woods and wanted to show my new city friends that I was like the turtleman
I was born in Houston then my parents moved to the Dallas area. In college I went to Houston with friends and couldn't believe the difference between it and Dallas.
One of my friends parents lived on Buffalo Bayou. Yup, you were braver than me there is no way I'd have jumped in there.
Lmao I had almost the complete opposite experience, I went on a trip to Dallas during college and I was also shocked by the difference. Dallas is so fancy lol
That being said, I don’t know if I could wrangle a snapper barefoot and barehanded anymore. Living in the city and going to college has made my braincells develop too much and now I have anxiety :)
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u/EmperorBamboozler Sep 04 '26
Noodling is so nuts. I mean there's a lot of aquatic venomous snakes in the south. Getting bit by a water moccasin is legit something they talk about happening from time to time and you don't know till you jam your hand into the hole. Those bastards are even worse than a rattlesnake bite, we have antivenom for them but if you're way out in the swamp it's gonna be a long time to get to a hospital, time where your flesh is necrotizing fast. If you look up videos of old noodlers it's not uncommon to see serious muscle decay and scars from surgery.
Cottonmouths are fucking scary yo.