Missouri Ends Hand-Fishing Experiment

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) _ Missouri conservation officials vote to end the experiment with hand fishing after just two years, citing threats to breeding-age fish. <br/><br/>The practice also known as noodling

Friday, April 20th 2007, 9:19 pm

By: News On 6

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) _ Missouri conservation officials vote to end the experiment with hand fishing after just two years, citing threats to breeding-age fish.

The practice also known as noodling is legal in at least a dozen states, including neighboring Kansas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Illinois.

The Missouri Conservation Commission voted unanimously at a meeting yesterday in Lebanon to immediately end an effort to decide whether to legalize noodling.

Noodlers use their bare hands to reach into logs and crevices and grab for fish that have sharp teeth and can weigh up to 100 pounds.

It's not a sport for everyone; noodlers also wind up pulling out snakes, beavers or snapping turtles by accident.