Catfish noodling Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Catfish noodling - Research Paper Example To be specific, those who indulge in noodling must know swimming and other techniques related to it. Similar to other sports items, noodling requires team effort. Robert Z. Cohen states that, â€Å"Noodling has become so popular in the South that the Okie Noodling Festival is held annually at Pauls Valley, Oklahoma† (29). One must not misunderstand that noodling is a simple technique. Instead, noodling requires physical fitness, experience, and basic knowledge on flathead catfish. Besides, these who indulge in this activity make use of their bare hands, but no other tools. If the flathead catfish is spotted within deep rivers/lakes, the process of noodling becomes more interesting. Some experienced noodlers catch fish which are living in underwater caves. So, one cannot ignore the sports value of noodling because the same is a group activity. One can see that the spread of noodling is limited to the scenario of American South. To be specific, noodling is an activity with immense cultural/traditional value. Tim M. Berra states that, â€Å"Local people in the southern United States may capture flat-heads by noodling† (159). The noodlers select others as spotters to spot and chase catfish. The partnership between a noodler/noodlers and spotter will be long-lasting because an experienced spotter can be helpful for a noodler. So, one can see that noodling leads to proper socialization and cohesion among members within the group. As noodling is limited within a specific geographical area (say, American South), it possesses certain cultural characteristics which is symbolic of traditional style of fishing. So, one can see that the socio-cultural significance of noodling is related to its characteristics as a group activity and as a traditional fishing technique. On the other side, modern fishing methods like angling does not require this much effort to catch fish. As the noodlers make use of their hands to catch