HILLBILLY HANDFISHING IN SOUTHERN IL
Who says you need a fishing pole to catch catfish? Not the boys from Southern Illinois. When Jason and Craig Miles from Crappie Masters Guide Service invited me down to Rend Lake in Southern Illinois for some handfishing, I jumped at the chance. Handfishing for catfish, or noodling, has grown in popularity recently due to reality shows. But these guys have been doing this for years. The plan is simple— crawl around in the mud and stick our hands in dark holes until the catfish bites it, then pull him out. Sound fun, right? Actually 
it’s a blast!
The Miles brothers hosted a handful of outdoor writers for a day of noodling on Rend Lake. We were joined on the adventure by Jason Johns, owner of Boneyard Fishing, and Nick Shafer, guide and owner of Crappie Predator Guide Service, as well as a handful of other outdoor writers. After we all geared up with old jeans and tennis shoes, we were off to the lake in search of giant flathead catfish. The boys had a few of their favorite spots picked out, with a huge slab of submerged concrete first on the list. We all entered the water and surrounded the slab, which was only in about three feet of water. There were two holes where the catfish could enter and leave so we needed to block the entrances to keep them from swimming out. As Craig and Jason blocked one side, I crawled through the mud just keeping my head above water, and stuck my hands under the concrete. I felt something brush against my hand, first smooth skin, then a fin, then a tail. There was a big cat in there. The boys tried to scare to fish towards me from the other end of the hole, and after about ten minutes I felt the fish again. This time I pushed down on his head with one hand and reached towards his mouth with the other. When I felt him bite down on my hand, I squeezed hard on his lower jaw and drug him out of his sanctuary. I needed two hands to pull him up out of the water, as he was thrashing from side to side. This twenty-five pound flathead was coming to dinner.
Another spot that we tried was a stretch of concrete piles submerged in about 5-7 feet of water. “This used to be an old road,” notes Jason Miles. “The giant chunks of concrete make great holes for the big cats.” With the holes in deeper water, we had to dive down and grab the edges of concrete, locate the holes, then stick our 
hands in. Now it got really interesting. I’m now completely underwater and sticking my entire arm into the crevices in the concrete, which was pretty cool letting my sense of touch take over completely. I could actually feel the smooth depressions in the mud. “That’s how you know a catfish has been using that hole, said Jason Miles, “The catfish back into the holes and fan their tails to create a spot to lay.” We didn’t pull any fish out of that spot, and suspected some other “hawgers” had beat us to it.
We also tried working the rip-rap rocky shoreline along the road, and pulled a few small channel catfish from their hiding places. The last spot of the day was actually our first spot. The boys knew there was another big fish in there. Kristen Monroe, another outdoor writer, pulled a thirty-five pound behemoth from the hole at around 6:30. That topped off the day and we all headed over the wash off the mud and enjoy a fantastic fish fry at the Boneyard Lodge hosted by Jason Johns, owner of Boneyard Fishing.
Prime time for noodling is June through July, when the flatheads seek out these holes to spawn, usually in rock formations or old chunks of concrete. “When the water level is low,” explains Craig Miles, “We have access to hundreds of holes on this lake.”
If you are up for an adventure that involves crawling in mud and sticking your hand in dark holes trying to grab something bigger than your kids, then put this on your “bucket” list. By the way, these guys are also killer crappie fishing guides. To learn more or to book a trip, visit www.rendlakecrappiemasters.com
Don’t forget to check out the photo gallery below!
