nft: mo noodling news

seclark · 03-22-2007, 07:03 AM

jerkoffs.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/new...0?OpenDocument

Noodlers decry Mo. plan to end hand-fishing experiment
By Alan Scher Zagier
ASSOCIATED PRESS
03/22/2007

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- A five-year experiment to determine whether to legalize noodling in Missouri could end three years early.

Citing renewed threats to breeding-age fish, state conservation officials are no longer issuing permits to fish for catfish by hand, a practice known as noodling. The suspension could be made permanent as soon as next month.

"They're catching too many, so we can't catch any," said Howard Ramsey, of Paris, Mo., president of Noodlers Anonymous, in a reference to Missourians who prefer to keep their hands outside the water when fishing.

Noodlers use their bare hands to poke around underwater caves and crevices for fish with sharp teeth that can weigh up to 100 pounds. As often as not, they come up with a handful of snakes, beavers or snapping turtles by mistake.

The way Ramsey sees it, "If you don't come up bloody, you ain't hand fishing."

State law allows those who fish using lines, jugs or rods and reels to catch and keep up to 20 catfish daily. Noodlers are asking the state to allow hand-fishers to keep only five fish each season -- compared with the experimental limit of five each day.

An estimated 2,000 Missourians fish by hand, according to Ramsey, compared with nearly half a million who fish using traditional methods.

Steve Eder, fisheries division chief for the Missouri Department of Conservation, said the experiment should end early because scientists have found higher-than-expected mortality rates among catfish in state waters. He also suggested that further limits could be imposed on all types of catfish harvests.

"We're probably going to be more conservative in our harvest restrictions on catfish," he said.

The Missouri Conservation Commission approved an experimental hand-fishing season for six weeks during summer 2005, limiting such fishing to specific parts of the Fabius, St. Francis and Mississippi rivers.

Ramsey said 159 permits have been issued over the past two years, with a total of 27 catfish caught by hand. State officials alerted permit-holders to the proposed changes in a March 16 letter.

Noodling is legal in at least a dozen states, including neighboring Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Illinois. Elsewhere, the practice is a misdemeanor crime.

Legislation to lengthen Missouri's hand-fishing season and expand it to other bodies of water has previously passed both the state House and Senate but never made it into law.

State Rep. Steve Hobbs, R-Mexico, said he plans to renew those legislative efforts and take his complaints directly to Gov. Matt Blunt once the Legislature returns next week from its spring recess.

"I'm very disappointed," he said Wednesday. "Conservation has never been a willing participant in this experiment. They had their minds made up way before any study was done."

A Conservation Department committee will consider the proposal to restore a permanent ban at an April 3 meeting in Jefferson City. Final approval rests with the four-member commission, which could consider the measure at its own April meeting, Eder said.

PastorMikH · 03-22-2007, 07:10 AM

They might end the season but they won't stop noodling in MO. Though I've never tried it myself (and don't plan on it), I knew numerous people that noodled in Missouri. Trust me lawmakers, it happens a lot more than anyone realizes and hasn't hurt the fish populations for 75 years so far.

seclark · 03-22-2007, 07:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PastorMikH

They might end the season but they won't stop noodling in MO.

this is true...
sec

PastorMikH · 03-22-2007, 07:14 AM

Noodling may cause the fish population to lose some of the higher end of their reproductive pool but it also serves to weed out the lower end of the human reproductive pool.

seclark · 03-22-2007, 07:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PastorMikH

Noodling may cause the fish population to lose some of the higher end of their reproductive pool but it also serves to weed out the lower end of the human reproductive pool.

ouch...
i spent a month in the hospital for complications of a ruptured appendix. the day before i was admitted was spent noodling. i got 2flathead catfish over 50lbs and had scabs up and down my right arm. everyone in the hospital kept asking me if i was in an auto accident.
sec

kepp · 03-22-2007, 07:21 AM

I tried it once with some friends who did it all the time. It's pretty nerve-racking shoving your hands below muddy water under the river bank not knowing if you'll find a fish of a snapping turtle.

Pennywise · 03-22-2007, 07:22 AM

It's called grappling down here in these parts.

Crazy bastards.

seclark · 03-22-2007, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PennyWise

It's called grappling down here in these parts.

Crazy bastards.

says the snake hunter.
sec

Pennywise · 03-22-2007, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seclark

says the snake hunter.
sec

Well I damn sure ain't gonna get in the water with them and poke around.

I guess the cottonmouth population in Missouri isn't too bad.

I'll get on the 2006 PRCA bucking bull of the year before I'm doing that shit.

PastorMikH · 03-22-2007, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by seclark

ouch...
i spent a month in the hospital for complications of a ruptured appendix. the day before i was admitted was spent noodling. i got 2flathead catfish over 50lbs and had scabs up and down my right arm. everyone in the hospital kept asking me if i was in an auto accident.
sec

The fish sure tried to help us!!!

Chiefs_Mike_Topeka · 03-22-2007, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kepp

I tried it once with some friends who did it all the time. It's pretty nerve-racking shoving your hands below muddy water under the river bank not knowing if you'll find a fish of a snapping turtle.

I know of an old guy in my hometown that noodled all the time; he lost his middle, ring and pinkie fingers on his right hand when he was snapped by an alligator snapping turtle. Crazy old bastard still did it though.

Chiefs_Mike_Topeka · 03-22-2007, 07:28 AM

For those that don't know: here is an alligator snapping turtle. They get upwards to 250lbs.

Pennywise · 03-22-2007, 07:28 AM

This dudes face says it all.

Radar Chief · 03-22-2007, 07:29 AM

Quote:

Noodlers use their bare hands to poke around underwater caves and crevices for fish with sharp teeth that can weigh up to 100 pounds. As often as not, they come up with a handful of snakes, beavers or snapping turtles by mistake.

If they’re gonna just start make’n shit up they could at least make it believable.

This does happen, but is comparatively rare. To try and make it sound as if it’s a 50/50 crapshoot is play’n us all for fools.

MOhillbilly · 03-22-2007, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PennyWise

This dudes face says it all.

toliet face

03-22-2007, 07:03 AM
seclark MVP Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: nemo Casino cash: $-410100	nft: mo noodling news jerkoffs. http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/new...0?OpenDocument Noodlers decry Mo. plan to end hand-fishing experiment By Alan Scher Zagier ASSOCIATED PRESS 03/22/2007 COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- A five-year experiment to determine whether to legalize noodling in Missouri could end three years early. Citing renewed threats to breeding-age fish, state conservation officials are no longer issuing permits to fish for catfish by hand, a practice known as noodling. The suspension could be made permanent as soon as next month. "They're catching too many, so we can't catch any," said Howard Ramsey, of Paris, Mo., president of Noodlers Anonymous, in a reference to Missourians who prefer to keep their hands outside the water when fishing. Noodlers use their bare hands to poke around underwater caves and crevices for fish with sharp teeth that can weigh up to 100 pounds. As often as not, they come up with a handful of snakes, beavers or snapping turtles by mistake. The way Ramsey sees it, "If you don't come up bloody, you ain't hand fishing." State law allows those who fish using lines, jugs or rods and reels to catch and keep up to 20 catfish daily. Noodlers are asking the state to allow hand-fishers to keep only five fish each season -- compared with the experimental limit of five each day. An estimated 2,000 Missourians fish by hand, according to Ramsey, compared with nearly half a million who fish using traditional methods. Steve Eder, fisheries division chief for the Missouri Department of Conservation, said the experiment should end early because scientists have found higher-than-expected mortality rates among catfish in state waters. He also suggested that further limits could be imposed on all types of catfish harvests. "We're probably going to be more conservative in our harvest restrictions on catfish," he said. The Missouri Conservation Commission approved an experimental hand-fishing season for six weeks during summer 2005, limiting such fishing to specific parts of the Fabius, St. Francis and Mississippi rivers. Ramsey said 159 permits have been issued over the past two years, with a total of 27 catfish caught by hand. State officials alerted permit-holders to the proposed changes in a March 16 letter. Noodling is legal in at least a dozen states, including neighboring Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Illinois. Elsewhere, the practice is a misdemeanor crime. Legislation to lengthen Missouri's hand-fishing season and expand it to other bodies of water has previously passed both the state House and Senate but never made it into law. State Rep. Steve Hobbs, R-Mexico, said he plans to renew those legislative efforts and take his complaints directly to Gov. Matt Blunt once the Legislature returns next week from its spring recess. "I'm very disappointed," he said Wednesday. "Conservation has never been a willing participant in this experiment. They had their minds made up way before any study was done." A Conservation Department committee will consider the proposal to restore a permanent ban at an April 3 meeting in Jefferson City. Final approval rests with the four-member commission, which could consider the measure at its own April meeting, Eder said.
Posts: 13,447

03-22-2007, 07:10 AM	#2
PastorMikH Will KC ever be better? Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Land of Red Dirt & Necks Casino cash: $9905087	They might end the season but they won't stop noodling in MO. Though I've never tried it myself (and don't plan on it), I knew numerous people that noodled in Missouri. Trust me lawmakers, it happens a lot more than anyone realizes and hasn't hurt the fish populations for 75 years so far. __________________
Posts: 20,454

03-22-2007, 07:14 AM	#4
PastorMikH Will KC ever be better? Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Land of Red Dirt & Necks Casino cash: $9905087	Noodling may cause the fish population to lose some of the higher end of their reproductive pool but it also serves to weed out the lower end of the human reproductive pool. __________________
Posts: 20,454

03-22-2007, 07:21 AM	#6
kepp MVP Join Date: Aug 2005 Casino cash: $3549212	I tried it once with some friends who did it all the time. It's pretty nerve-racking shoving your hands below muddy water under the river bank not knowing if you'll find a fish of a snapping turtle.
Posts: 14,732

03-22-2007, 07:22 AM	#7
Pennywise Freckles Playboy Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Derry, Maine Casino cash: $-440000	It's called grappling down here in these parts. Crazy bastards. __________________
Posts: 9,408

03-22-2007, 07:28 AM	#12
Chiefs_Mike_Topeka Rest in Peace Zachary Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Topeka Casino cash: $10005025	For those that don't know: here is an alligator snapping turtle. They get upwards to 250lbs. Attached Thumbnails
Posts: 1,970

03-22-2007, 07:28 AM	#13
Pennywise Freckles Playboy Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Derry, Maine Casino cash: $-440000	This dudes face says it all. Attached Thumbnails __________________
Posts: 9,408