FORGET FISHING! MISSOURI NOODLES!

Sometime ago, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch ran an article on noodling,
a form of hand fishing here in Missouri. What caught my attention was
not only the name of the sport, but that it had become a question of
"rights" between noodlers, the State's Department of Conservation and
non noodling voters.

Noodling is used to catch cat fish. It requires no hook, bait or fishing line, only fingers. The hand is placed in water, fingers wiggle and voila, the fish is attracted and caught. According to the state's department of conservation, the practice was depleting catfish. To get the bloggers under control, and hoping to restock cat fish, the state tried issuing licenses for noodling in 2005.

Noodlers claimed the licensing procedures were not about concern for the fish but because of economic pressure from conventional cat fishing interest. And besides this was depriving noodlers of their constitutional right.

As a result, in March, the Missouri House Agribusiness Committee approved House Joint Resolution 20, to allow voters to amend this State's Constitution to provide a two month season for "hand fishing," noodling or whatever name it is called, there are about a dozen different names depending on the area where it is practiced.

The article I read did not explain how all this came about. I bet it took a grass roots lobbying effort by noodlers to have HJR20 passed. Now we will all be able to vote to have an Amendment to the State Constitution that would include provisions for Noodling. Would that efforts for education or health care would be as effective.