'Noodling' nothing to do with soup

Movie reveals the rare art of hand-fishing

ROSS RAIHALA, THE OLYMPIAN

Originally published Friday, March 1, 2002

Imagine wading into a muddy creek, blindly thrusting your hand into the murky waters and poking around until a 40-pound catfish clamps its razor-sharp teeth onto your wiggling fingers.

Now imagine doing it for fun.

Bradley Beesley followed three groups of rural Oklahomans who did just that.

Some people call the sport "hand-fishing," but those who actually muck around in the waters prefer the more casual term "noodling."

That brings us to "Okie Noodling," Beesley's alternately frightening and amusing documentary on the act of noodling and the men who love it.

The Oklahoma-based filmmaker will be on hand to present the documentary Sunday night at the Capitol Theater in Olympia. Beesley is known for his work with the cult band the Flaming Lips, who provided original music for "Okie Noodling."

Beesley plans to answer questions from the audience after the screening in Olympia.

And, one would imagine, the first question will be: "Why, exactly, would anyone want to noodle in the first place?"

"Well, when I first started shooting these guys, I said I would never do it myself," said Beesley during a phone interview from his home in Oklahoma. "But two weeks later I did. And I love it.

"You know, it's just indescribable unless you've tried it. There's something about sticking your hand in there and not knowing what will happen. That anticipation is pretty cool."

As "Okie Noodling" reveals, not much has been written about noodling and its history.

Instead, the skill has simply been passed from generation to generation. And noodling is limited to a fairly small geographical area, as only the states of Oklahoma, Tennessee, Mississippi and Louisiana allow hand-fishing.

Beesley learned of noodling after attending a family reunion and noticing the scars up and down the arm of a distant cousin -- noodling wounds.

The filmmaker spent nearly three years conducting informal research on the topic and attempting to find noodlers, who tend to keep quiet about the fishing holes that provide the biggest catches.

"They were pretty leery about letting anyone go out with them," said Beesley, "let alone some young guy with a camera."

But his persistence paid off and Beesley ended up filming a series of noodlers, including Jerry "Catfish" Rider, a janitor who was briefly the most famous noodler in the country thanks to a "David Letterman Show" appearance (part of which is shown in "Okie Noodling," which helps to verify that the film isn't just an elaborate hoax).

The best noodlers can claim a sort of second sense when it comes to ferreting out the places catfish hide -- not to mention avoiding snakes, snapping turtles and angry beavers.

But when it comes down to it, noodlers don't catch the fish as much as the fish catch them. A catfish pretty much needs to chomp on a noodler's hand in order for it to be grabbed by the gills and hoisted out of the water.

And "Okie Noodling" is filled with such scenes, with grizzled men ducking beneath the surface of the water and emerging with mammoth, squirming catfish.

Thus far, Beesley has found critics and audiences share his enthusiasm for the sport.

Film Threat wrote that it "does seem (like) an incredibly ridiculous subject for a (documentary), but by the end, you will be charmed by every one of these men and the skill and honor they possess in pursuing this lost art."

Audiences at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas, were certainly charmed when they chose it as the festival's Best Documentary. (It was a runner-up for the Jury Award as well.)

Beesley, meanwhile, said making "Okie Noodling" changed his life.

"The two summers (spent filming) were the best summers of my life," Beesley said. "I felt like I was 12 years old again.

"Toward the end of the production, I would lay in bed at night and think about noodling. And I would end up spending more time out there looking for fish myself and giving them the cameras."

Ross Raihala covers music and entertainment for The Olympian and can be reached at 360-754-5406 or rraihala@olympia.gannett.com.

'Okie Noodling'

- What: A documentary about the odd practice of hand-fishing. Director Bradley Beesley will be on hand for the screening and will answer questions from the audience.

- When: 7:30 p.m. March 3.

- Where: Capitol Theater, 206 Fifth Ave. E., Olympia.

- Tickets: $5 or $3 for Olympia Film Society members.

- For information: Call OFS at 360-754-6670.

The Olympian Copyright 2002

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