I’ve noodled for catfish in the Brazos River, so I know exactly what she’s reaching into that hole hoping to find. But I can tell you right now, I never pulled out anything even close to this size. Noodling is about as basic as fishing gets. No rod, no reel, no bait. You reach into an underwater hole where a catfish is hiding, wait for it to bite your hand, grab hold and try to get it to the surface. People have been doing some version of this for centuries. One of the earliest written accounts in America dates all the way back to 1775, when Native fishermen in the South were described diving under river rocks and catching large catfish by hand. Texas didn’t officially legalize hand-fishing for catfish until 2011, but it had already been a favorite way to fish for generations. Would you stick your hand in there?