Crazy Catfish Hunters - Okie Catfish Noodling

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Beverly Bright, Yahoo! Contributor Network
Jul 8, 2008 "Share your voice on Yahoo! websites. Start Here."

Okie Catfish Noodling Tournament

Neighborhood: Green Country
Pauls Valley, OK 73075
United States of America

Pauls Valley, Oklahoma is home to the most unique brand of fishing - noodling. The 9^th annual Okie Noodling Tournament and Fish Fry, sponsored by Bob's Pig Shop (it is a restaurant) will kick off on July 12^th and Paul Henderson, owner of Bob's Pig Shop, expects this year to be bigger and better than ever before. The big event will kick off at 5 p.m. with a fish fry and catfish weigh-in. At that time visitors can get a close-up look at some of the largest catfish they will ever see in their entire lives. The winner of the 2007 contest was Chad Lamb with a fish that weighed in at 60.2 pounds! Henderson expects that record to be broken in the 2008 tournament.

At 6 p.m. visitors can see noodlers in action as men and women plunge to the bottom of a glass tank to retrieve large catfish using nothing but their bare hands. Live music, noodling awards and the Noodling Queen competition will round off the evening and festivities will end around 11 p.m. or whenever the crowd leaves.

Awards are given for largest "natural" catches, largest "natural" stringer catches, largest "scuba" catch, largest "scuba" stringer catch and 1^st, 2^nd and 3^rd runner-up. All awards come with bragging rights!

History:

Oklahoma catfish noodling was introduced to the world with the 2001 movie "Okie Noodling", called "a-hoot-a-minute movie" that showed men hopping into muddy waters of a river or lake and probing the nooks and crannies along the shore for giant bottom feeders that can tip the scales at 60 pounds or more, using nothing but their bare hands and arms as bait and hook! A sequel to the original documentary will be introduced on July 12 on DVD, titled "Okie Noodling II" starring the original catfishers with mostly underwater filming action.

Cautions:

Not for the faint of heart, noodling is a dangerous sport. Most noodlers working in deep water have helpers with them to assist when the noodler gets in trouble. Some noodlers have missing fingers caused by snapping turtles residing in the underwater holes and one noodler gained the nickname of
"Nubbins" as the result of losing fingers. Snakes can also be found in the underwater holes! If you truly seek the ultimate in fishing thrills, you will find it in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma.

Registration:

Anyone interested in competing in the noodling competition must register before 7 p.m. Friday, July 11, and submit an entry fee of $25.00. Registration may be done over the Internet by logging on to www.okienoodling.com or by calling Bob's Pig Shop at 405-238-2332. Or, for a fun outing plan to attend the party at Bob's Pig Shop, 829 N. Ash, Pauls Valley, Oklahoma on Saturday, July 12, 2008.

Published by Beverly Bright

Beverly worked in Architectural drafting/design for 40 years (industrial/commercial) and owned her own business for 17 years. Retired, loving life in the country! Beverly enjoys learning, research, and has... View profile

Resources

www.okienoodling.com

Crazy Catfish Hunters - Okie Catfish Noodling

Here Fishy, Fishy, Fishy

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