Have you ever heard of "noodling"? It is a very unique way of fishing with your bare hands.

During a recent outing on Toledo Bend, Russell Smith of Florien, Louisiana snagged a 41-pound female catfish during the spawn. This has to hurt. I can only imagine. You will never find me noodling. I promise you. No noodling.

But it is quite popular in these parts. To become a great noodler, you have to learn how to find catfish holes. Then you stick your hand in these holes and wait for the catfish to bite your hand. And yes this does hurt.

But you can catch some pretty big fish.

Noodling is illegal in many states because these fish will bite anything and they will bite hard. You can lose fingers taking part in this hobby.

In fact, noodling is only legal in 14 states. There are also restrictions in many of the states with regard to the size and species of fish you can catch while noodling.

Here are the states where it's legal to noodle:

Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

Toledo Bend Reservoir is known across the globe for bass fishing, but it is also known by many anglers for catfish noodling. Many say this is the most exciting and dangerous way of catching monster catfish at Toledo Bend.

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