You can Noodle turtles and catfish but it's dangerous, very dangerous! I believe they do it a lot in Oklahoma and Missouri. You are wading in the water, usually water you can't see anything in, muddy waters, and sticking your hands into holes under the backs trying to catch them with your bare hands. Noodlers get injuries all the time and some have even died when the water is too deep and they stay stuck or get sucked in. It's only legal in a few states and most of the time it is passed on from father to son. Many mothers are not too keen on their sons taking part in this strange fishing method.

If you "Noodle" a snapping turtle, you will lose your fingers, your hand, or whatever appendage you are trying to use.

1) "Noodling Noodling is the practice, and some would contend sport, of fishing for catfish using only one's bare hands. Noodling may be called grabbling, graveling, hogging, tickling depending what southern state you're in (Kentuckians call it dogging, while Nebraskans prefer stumping.) Despite these colorful idioms, it's better explained by the name 'handfishing,' however this term is less popular among those who participate in noodling. Only four states in the United States have laws permitting handfishing: Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee. The term noodling, although today is used primarily towards the capture of flathead catfish, can and has been applied to all hand-based fishing methods, regardless of the method or species of fish sought. Noodling as a term has also been applied to various unconventional methods of fishing, such as any which do not use bait, rod & tackle, speargun, etc.; but this usage is much less common. This is easily explained by noting the origin of the term noodling, the word noodle is slang for a foolish person. How to Noodle Although simply enough, noodling is fishing with only the use of your hands, the process of noodling is more complicated. The choice of catfish as the prey is not arbitrary, but comes from the circumstances of their habitat. Flathead catfish live in holes or under brush in rivers and lakes and thus are easy to capture due to the static nature of their dwelling. To begin, a noodler goes underwater to depths ranging from only a few feet to up to twenty feet. Placing his hand inside a discovered catfish hole, a noodler uses his arm as bait to entice the fish. If all goes as planned, the catfish will lunge and latch into the handfisherman's hand and arm. From here most noodlers have 'spotters' who help them bring the catfish in, either to shore or to their boat. The first order of business after catching a catfish is to get them unstuck. When a catfish bites onto a noodler it holds on for quite a while, believing it has caught some food. With gills and teeth scraping and cutting into the handfisherman's skin, the spotters helps to secure the fish by other means and then proceed to ease the catfish's grip off of the noodler's arm. With some of the bigger fish caught weighing in at up to 50-60 pounds, very few noodlers are strong enough (or brave enough) to attempt noodling by themselves. Although carrying the fish after they have been subdued is little problem, trying to secure the fish and remove them from one's arm at the same time can be quite the challenge." Source and further information: http://knowledgerush.com/kr/encyclopedia/Noodling/ http://okelleyfamily.com/catfishnoodlinginformation/index.html 2) "Noodling can result in superficial cuts and minor wounds to the noodler. This can be reduced by wearing gloves and other protective clothing. Losing fingers is also a risk, whether from the bite or infection. Most holes are deep enough that diving is needed, so there can be a danger of drowning. A person with confident swimming abilities may be caught off guard by the sudden added strain of carrying a large fish to the surface. Spotters can alleviate this danger, but it is still present. A wounded noodler ten to twenty feet underwater might not be able to return safely to the surface, and drown. Clothes may get tangled or snagged on roots or rocks, so some noodlers wear only shorts. The largest danger posed to noodlers are other forms of aquatic life found in catfish holes. Far more dangerous than catfish are alligators, snakes, beavers, muskrats and snapping turtles, who will take over abandoned catfish holes as homes of their own. These animals are always on the mind of experienced noodlers." Source and further information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noodling "Lifting the turtle with the hands is difficult and dangerous. Some snappers can — and will — stretch their necks halfway back across their own carapace to bite." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_Snapping_Turtle "The Alligator Snapping Turtle possesses the second strongest bite strength of any animal in the world, and can be quite aggressive when cornered. These turtles must be handled with extreme care." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alligator_Snapping_Turtle "Blood dripped from my arm where the catfish's spines had brushed me. "What happened?" asked Three-Fingered Jack. "Something bit me," I said, breathlessly. "A snake or a snapping turtle, maybe. I'm done noodling." "Ah, c'mon, Stupid," Nubbins said. "We're going over to the Hole-tel on Barksdale Lake. Ain't no snakes or snapping turtles there. Only real big catfish." I counted my fingers. Ten. I still had all ten. My noodling adventure ended then and there." http://sports.espn.go.com/outdoors/general/columns/story?columnist=sutton_keith&page=g_col_sutton_noodling Further information: - "Keep on noodlin'": http://www.snopes.com/photos/animals/noodling.asp - "Why is catching fish with your hands called "noodling"?": http://www.answerbag.com/q_view/85337 The Turtle Man of Kentucky "Ernie Brown Jr., known as The Turtle Man, entertains his fans by catching snapping turtles with his bare hands out of farms ponds in Central Kentucky." Jerry Scythes Turtle hunting and noodling http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7bOs8Z0jY78 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZo6EdEUwWI