Illegal "noodlers" take a hit in west-central Missouri

State officials removed dozens of structures designed to put big catfish at poachers' mercy.

JEFFERSON CITY-Sept. 9 was a bad day for catfish poachers in west-central Missouri, but it was a good one for legitimate anglers. On that day, the Missouri Department of Conservation removed 48 illegal noodling boxes from Truman and Montrose lakes.

Conservation agents Kevin Dixon and Andy Bullock discovered several of the boxes in August, when drought lowered the lakes' water level. At about the same time, anglers began reporting finding noodling boxes. The agents used the Conservation Department's helicopter to check for more of the illegal structures and found plenty.

"Noodling" is another word for hand-fishing - catching catfish by wading or reaching into the water and catching them manually. The use of any device, such as a hook, gaff or rope, for hand-fishing is illegal. So is placing structures in lakes or streams to attract or catfish or taking fish from such structures, commonly called noodling boxes.

Catfish are susceptible to noodling because they retreat to underwater cavities during the spawning season to protect their eggs. This habit enables noodlers to find large catfish. The same cavity may produce several catfish, each weighing upwards of 50 pounds, in one season.

Conservation agents staked out some of the illegal boxes they knew about and arrested several people using them. When the peak noodling season had passed, the Conservation Department removed the remaining boxes. Ten conservation agents and 21 other Conservation Department workers took part in the operation. Some of the boxes were so large that pontoon boats, winches and heavy equipment were required to remove them.

Several of the noodling boxes removed from Truman and Montrose lakes were made with huge tires from earth-moving equipment. An opening cut into the tread surface of each tire created an entry hole. The center of each tire was covered with sheet metal, completing the trap.

Other designs used large, round cable spools, square boxes made of plywood, bathtubs and water heaters.

Agents found many noodling boxes of similar design in clusters, leading the agents to believe a few poachers placed most of the boxes.

Catfish have plenty of natural nesting cavities. The only purpose for noodling boxes is illegal hand-fishing. Placing noodling boxes in public waters is littering. Both littering and illegal hand-fishing are Class A misdemeanors with penalties of up to $1,000 and a year in jail.

-Jim Low-