From bikini babes to father and son teams: Portraits of the nation’s best 'noodlers' - who catch giant catfish using only their bare HANDS
Every year, thousands gather in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma for the truly odd Okie Noodling Contest: the culmination of 24 frantic hours where brave folks from across the region get wet and muddy as they shove their fists into lakes and rivers in the hopes they'll pull it back out with a prizewinning catfish.
The bizarre sport, which pits bikini-clad babes against weathered old southern gentlemen and everyone, goes by a few names including catfish fisting, cat-fisting, handfishing and noodling. But regardless of what you call it, it boils down to one thing.Who can nab the biggest monster among the titan freshwater fish?
Noodlers wave their arms around in a catfish hole. If all goes according to plan, the fish will latch onto the arm as a defensive measure and the noodler can bring the fish in. The arm-as-bait method means the sport isn't for the faint hearted.
In the most recent contest, the brave soul who fisted the largest catch was an intrepid 19-year-old woman named Lucy Millsap who drove her 72-pound flathead catfish three hours to show-off at the contest and ultimately take first prize and $1,500.
This series of beautiful photos from photographer Matt Rainwaters showcases the surprisingly diverse fan base of the distinctively southern sport as well as their prize handfishing catches.
Scroll down for video
Not just a man's sport: These bikini-clad noodlers prove that catfisting is a sport for everyone--man, woman or child. In fact, the current title holder of the Okie Noodling championship is 19-year-old Texas girl Lucy Millsap
Dangerous: A father-son team shows off their impressive catfish catch, which noodlers catch by coaxing fish that approach 100 pounds to chomp down on their bare arms
'I love photographing interesting people and odd festivals (I had a lot of success with an earlier project on competitive facial hair titled BEARD),' said photographer Matt Rainwaters
The sport is described as a centuries-old tradition by noodlers. Urban Dictionary's most popular entry for the term 'noodling' is: 'A form of fishing in which a crazy person runs into a lake and searches for holes on the bottom with his foot. Then he inserts his finger into the hole and lets something bite it. Hopefully, it's a catfish.'
For the love of cat-fisting: A noodler risks losing a hand to giant alligator snapping turtles or even their lives to poisonous water snakes
Wild: Noodlers wave their arms around in a catfish hole. If all goes according to plan, the fish will latch onto the arm as a defensive measure and the noodler can bring the fish in. The arm-as-bait method means the sport isn't for the faint hearted
Use your noodle: Handfishing has gained in popularity thanks in part to a celebrated documentary on the subject called Okie Noodling directed by Oklahoma native Bradley Beesley
'They are people that respect and revere these catfish,' Beesley said. 'It's easy to go out, use a gun and shoot a deer. It's something else to catch the fish on its own terms.'
- Watch this hilarious Brazilian scary 'lost girl' prank
- Baby born with rare disorder causing two faces
- GRAPHIC: Footage of sunken boat containing bodies of...
- Well that went well... Son gets a beating while pranking his...
- Official Trailer: Welcome to New York, Gerard Depardieu
- Teacher suspended for ten days for lifting boy by his neck
- Terrifying moment a diver fights off a great white shark!
- Inside Dolly Parton's 1980s New York Penthouse
- Girl clobbers her rival in the head with SHOVEL
- Iggy Azalea performs Fancy on Jimmy Kimmel Live
- Meet Unicat. The world's toughest campervan
- Oops! Cyclist celebrates prematurely on Tour of California
- 'She was going to kill me for my car!': Elderly woman 'run...
- Disturbing video footage shows father throw his two-year-old...
- 'If I have one more drink I'll die': Grammy-nominated...
- Power, prostitutes and alcohol-fuelled orgies: But will DSK...
- Mexico divided: Stark photos show urban wealth and poverty...
- Police search family home of girl, 13, who went missing 25...
- Girl, 10, 'raped by eight-year-old classmate while his...
- Teenage girl found dead in hotel room after leaving prom...
- Watch: See these Good Samaritans stop to help a crying girl...
- 'Planes don't just disappear': Former Malaysian Prime...
- Pro surfer and model investigated for attempted murder of...
- World's largest ever lawsuit seeking...
commonsense, New York, United States, 52 minutes ago
There isn't a single babe, let alone a bikini.