Hanna is a fish-catching machine!
When most people think of hand fishing for catfish, aka noodling, it brings up images of the deep south and swampy, stumpy backwaters. However, the practice is legal and still practiced in a few states north of the Mason-Dixon line. One of those states that few people know about is Illinois.
Yes, it is legal to noodle for catfish in the Land of Lincoln. One of the more prominent catfish noodlers out there is Hannah Barron of Alabama. Every year she posts videos of her and her family's catfish noodling adventures, garnering a legion of fans on social media with her signature southern drawl and personality as a simple southern girl who loves to hunt and fish.
The Barron family enjoys noodling so much, they take a trip to Illinois every season once the fishing cools down in Alabama. Hannah wrestles up several large cats on this trip, which you can see in the video below.
Now that looked like a ton of fun. We may just be adding catfish noodling to our angling bucket list for some day. While their trip this year did not produce the same giants as last year, anyone would count this as a successful and memorable catfish trip.
It really is a testament to how much this family loves noodling when Hannah's father heads into the water against doctor's orders to keep his arm dry after surgery. Catfish noodling may not a style of fishing for everyone. It involves diving into murky and muddy waters and sticking your arms into dark, muddy places where a plethora of creatures may be lurking.
If you have been following Hannah's adventures for a while, you know that she has never been one to shy away from this though. Earlier this year, she noodled up a 61-pound blue catfish nearly half her size that tried to take her underwater for a death roll. She laughed it off.
Nice job wrangling up some nice flatheads here Hannah! We look forward to seeing what you catch on your next noodling adventure!
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, be sure to follow him on Twitter and check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels.
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