If I were to flip you the bird left-handed, which I sometimes do to mix things up, you’d notice that my middle finger is crooked, with a bulged knuckle. Why does it look like that? Catfish noodling.

Noodling is when people catch catfish using their hands as both the bait and the hook. It is legal in only 17 states in the U.S. Thousands of people from all over the world make the pilgrimage to ...

Who needs a fishing line when you can just use your hands to grab a catfish? There are still plenty of states where it is totally legal to use your bare hands to nab a catfish out of the water.

And now to Louisiana, where some people like to fish by sticking their arms into murky water, feeling around for catfish and grabbing one by the mouth. It's called noodling, and a new law legalizing ...