Sondra Rankin's Blogspot
Noodling 101
Sondra Rankin
Fearless Promo
Ok. Bass fishing. That's what I do. We all know this! We also know that myself, Sondra Rankin, is always up for a challenge. Challenge, I look dead in the eye.
However, I've added another specie to my list. Catfish. Big, 50-60lb catfish. How do I catch these guys you might ask? WITH MY HAND!!! Noodling, Grabbling, Holing, Tickling... All mean one thing. Bite me!
I just got back from Oklahoma on a filmed shoot with Angie Hilgenburg, with UnReel Outdoors T. V. We shot for two days with THE Sharkman, "Manny Puig" and his camera man, Mark. I don't even know where to start. The days that followed my arrival are merely a millisecond in my mind.
Let's see. I fly into Tulsa last Thursday not really knowing WHAT I'd gotten myself into. I've always wanted to "noodle", but I will be the first to admit, I was a little intimidated. There's just something about diving into water filled with Water Moccasins, CottonHeads, and every type of bacteria known to man that shall I say, is absolutely disgusting, in mild terms! But I do this. I do this with great pride and dignity. I was chosen for a guided trip of a lifetime with Pup, the reknowned noodler of the world! I had to suck it in and DO THIS! There is no obstacle unchallengeable. However, I soon find perhaps there is.
After meeting the crew the evening I flew into town, I'd prepared for a couple days of complete insanity. First, I must describe a bit what we're doing. We're walking the banks, feeling underneath rocks, submerged logs, and holes, searching for the flesh of a catfish. We use sticks to encourage a bite or to find a fleshy substance and work from there. Sure, there is a thought in the back of my mind that snapping turtles, beavers, and snakes could be lurking in the great abyss below, however, I stay focused. Knowing that one substance beneath ONE rock could hold a 50lb cat, just waiting for my hand as it's prey. Mind over matter, I reassured myself.
We meet up the following morning with our guides for the day. I had Manny, "The Sharkman", (seen on the Animal Planet, Discovery Channel, Wild Boyz, and Jackass), Angie Joy, Reknowned Female of the outdoors, and an all hot female crew with me to experience my first day on the water.....As a Grabbler! Truly, forces to be reckoned with. I will say these guys had absolutely NO FEAR whatsover, and I was just along for the ride.
The first rock we stumbled across was about chest deep with water. I was reluctant, but at the same time, excited to reach and feel for what was waiting beneath the surface. Our guides had found that there was a 15-20lb cat guarding her eggs below. We girls that were on the expedition each had our turn to wrestle this beast from the water to the surface. When it was my turn to try, there was fear, yes, but there was determination altogether. I thought deeply, submerged myself below the cold waters and reached my hand into the small diameter hole. Holding my breath I felt for flesh. I felt for something moving. Then suddenly, the strike. My first reaction was to pull my hand away. I jumped to the surface. I felt her. She actually bit my hand as if it were a threat to her eggs! As if I were going to eat the mere creatures she's been bedding, guarding. After the initial bite, I was hooked. She was mine. I was going back under to get her. Several deep breaths, below I go.
Several more tries to no avail. "They make it look so easy on TV"!, as always, I thought. It took more takes than I'd imagined. We had to block holes, air was short, and time was of the essence. If the fish became smart to our hands, they would no longer bite. So, the quicker we could entice a strike, the better.
I dipped down, I came up. No fish to mention. I was beginning to get so frustrated that I could hardly see the fear I'd once seen and the ultimate fight became number one priority. I wanted this fish. She would not beat me. The competitor in me arose!
Ultimately, I won. The bite, the grab, the wrestle, the emergence unto the surface with a monster of a fish deluded enough to "bite me". Ha! I win. I always do. That's why you love me!!!
Angie and the crew were just as sincere as myself. These MudCats, some Blues, became a challenge. The ultimate challenge in which we, the live bait, were the challenger. It became a game of skill and determination. It was as if we had to place our fear of the unknown into a place untouchable by our conscience. We had to completely black out the fact that as oil running in front of our faces, black as night, we were reaching our arms into a hole waiting for something to grab. I can't describe in words the insanity.
We challenged ourselves in so many ways during our trip. Mentally, physically, emotionally. I will probably be scarred from our endeavors. Not only from the wounds that erupted the surface of my skin, scars that will show themselves forever, but mentally. I was able to wade in waters infested in filth. Reach my hand in blackness unknown. I was able to defeat my mind that said absolutely no dabbling in what was in my presence.
Angie with Angie Joy Enterprises, (myspace.com/ajoy1216), showed me the absolute time of my life. This woman is a woman unlike no other. Fearless, unlike no other fearless definition by Webster. She was my model, my inspiration. I love her. Obstacles that I would've never thought I'd endure were endured. Fears that sub surfaced my exterior were brought into my reality. I do believe I'm a stronger woman from this experience. Fishing from the boat is one thing, the rods, reels, heavy line, however, using my hand as the bait is another. I've taken on the presence of prey and felt "first hand", no pun intended, the fear creatures must fear when lurking in the deepest, darkest depths below.
I would have to say, that you would have to be absolutely "Fearless" to conquer the unknown as I did in Oklahoma last week. I became one as the bait I use to make my living. I became a threat, on a personal level, to a fish that most would regard as untouchable. Horribly disgusting. I was... Fearless.
Regards,
Sondra Rankin
Photos Courtesy of Lee@kjosoutdoors.com