I'll admit that I was concerned that fish and fishing would not prove to be as fascinating a subject as cocktails were, but that was before I discovered catfish noodling. And though I feel like I ought to move on to another aspect of this week's topic, there is some more cat wrasslin' out there to deal with first:

"Some folks say noodling is stupid," the man told me as he doctored his arm. "And maybe they're right. But for a poor ol' country boy like me, it's the cheapest thrill there is. That there's the biggest catfish anyone around these parts has seen in a long time. And I caught it bare-handed. It don't get no more excitin' than that." This is another story by Keith Sutton, who wrote the ESPN noodling article I linked to yesterday and appears to be to the sport what Hemingway was to bullfighting. He also appears to have only one set of noodling photos.

Speaking of noodling photos, some of the pictures which come up repeatedly when you do an image search for catfish noodling are not really photos of catfish noodling at all, at least not domestic noodling. So says Snopes anyhow, which is good to learn because they had me a little wary of ever swimming in a lake again for fear of bein' et.

Which was a fate feared by our frontier forefathers as well, it seems. "The story of noodling on the American frontier became intertwined with the legends associated with catfish, such as their supposed gargantuan size and propensity to eat small children."

Last, but most definitely not least, good news for all you lady readers out there who may have gotten the idea that this was strictly an old catfish-grabbing boys club that would forever be off limits to the purty likes of you. According to Wanda Garner of Women Anglers, "I have been told that many women participate, including Kristi Addis, former Miss Teen USA 1987, who told pageant judges that grabbling for catfish was one of her favorite pasttimes." And if such hearsay isn't enough proof for you, I've saved the very best for last: "Catfish Grabblers is now bringing you the first and only Girls Gone Grabblin' video ever produced. Be one of the first to watch and be amazed as 35 Southern women bring you the thrill of catching catfish weighing up to 44lbs. with their hands and wrestling them to the bank ... There is also a great music video featuring a special song performed by Stacy Wilson just for Catfish Grabblers." Goddamn right I just ordered it.