Easy to catch them during the spawn you just hit spots like low water dams on the brazos where they cant get any further up river. In places most boats cant reach.
Plenty of study's out there say noodling has little or no effect. Trotlines and juglines are the real problem.
Evaluation of the Flathead Catfish ...with Emphasis on the Effects of Noodling

I am a huge proponent for Big Fish conservation regardless of which means you use to catch them. All big fish should be respected and protected in my opinion. My issue with noodeling is pulling the biggest fish off their nests which destroys that fish’s genes being passed on for that year. They don’t make more eggs instantly and re-spawn. Doesn’t matter if it’s a blue or a Flathead, when you pull a big fish off it’s nest then the nest is destroyed and that fish’s genetics are erased for that year. A study done over 3 yrs isn’t going to have any value for understanding long term effects of destroying a big fish’s nest. To me this is very easy to understand but for a certain number of folks like yourself I don’t think you care much about the resource and look for reasons to justify harvesting big fish. I’m against harvesting big fish by any and all means and I’m 1000% against pulling a big fish off its nest and destroying its ability to pass on it genetics that year. It’s your right to keep taking big fish and defending the harvest of them and it’s my right to try and change that mentality especially for new guys coming into our sport. I was brought up to defend what I love and I’m going to continue to educate our youth about big fish conservation and responsible harvest even if it drawn criticize by folks with your mindset. I believe I am having a positive impact on the catfish world and the next generation of catfish anglers coming up.

I don't noodle but do run juglines on Lewisville a few times a year respectfully. All are tagged and legally built and collected when I'm done. That being said my goal is to put some fish in the freezer and I only keep the smaller ones. All bigger blues go back in the lake to make babies as well as every single flathead. Flatheads are scarce to come by and no matter how I'm fishing be it rod and reel or what I don't keep them. My fishing buddies get mad at me when they catch a flathead and throw it in the livewell then when their not looking I take it out and put it back in the lake. That being said the idea of pulling a big flathead off the nest in my personal opinion is just wrong....

Guys, I gotta say, I am pretty skeptical about studies. If I learned anything in college, it was that you can spin whatever idea or opinion you want with a study, poll, paper, thesis, etc, etc. After reading some of the info that sapalmer linked in his response, I'm even more skeptical. In the noodling study done at Ross-Barnett reservoir in the two years studied(2007 and 2008), the author claims there were an average of 3,000 flatheads caught with a retention rate of approximately 90%. That would be well over FIVE THOUSAND fish harvested in a two year span. Five thousand LARGE flatheads. The study explains that most of the fisherman didn't "appear to be size-selective" in their harvest but I have never met or heard of a noodler that wasn't "size-selective" in the fish they were trying to catch. Come on, let's get real. You couldn't convince me that data is anywhere close to accurate if you hit me on the head with sledge hammer. Most of that harvest and catch data was gathered doing a "roving creel survey" method in which parties of fisherman were "interviewed" about their catches. Ya think there was a little, uh, exaggeration going on with a few guys?!

I'm with Chris and, I believe, the majority of guys on here. The long term effects of noodling aren't being properly studied, although there have been people doing it for a long time. If you'll take a minute and think about it, how often do you see pics of giant flatheads lately? I mean, when I was kid, those pics were a dime a dozen and you saw them all the time. And you'll still see them occasionally but, it seems to me that there are a lot less of them nowadays. Lucky for us, I think noodling is a pretty small demographic in these parts.

You know, I don't have a problem with someone catching a fish with their hands. Just do it in September or October, and keep smaller fish! You would prove to me and everyone else what a real expert noodler could really be-a highly accomplished, conservation-minded, expert in his field. And he/she would be highly respected by us rod and reel guys. Come on noodlers, show us what you've got!!

My family has been trotlining Tawakoni since it opened and yes we
kept the big ones back then and as another post stated about fishing
to eat that's what we did and the big ones were our trophies. We have boxes
of pics with lots of big fish but now I don't keep anything over 10-15 lbs.
No need for it as we catch plenty of 2-5 lbers . That being said as much
as we fish during April and May I have never had to worry catching over
the slot limit at Tawakoni on bigger fish ..even with the limit changing
this yr to 5 we won't have a problem. I think there is some exaggeration on
lots of people keeping above slot size limit that is Law just to push a agenda.
Can't see anyone that catches more fish than us during April and May and
and having that many big fish in boat at 1 time. Now that may happen in
later months but I haven't seen it.

I’ve seen numerous big fish kept out of Twok and cleaned at the cleaning station at Anchor Inn first hand. Not exaggerating at the slightest. I’m a friendly person so I stop to talk to every catfisherman I see on the lake or at the ramp and ask how the fishing is and what they caught so I see it going on at every fishery we go to throughout the year. If I wasn’t witnessing these things and think it wasn’t an issue I wouldn’t waste my time standing up for big fish and drawing criticize from guys. I certainly don’t enjoy being attacked by those types but I’m not afraid to stand up for what i think is right. Go on Catfish America group on Facebook and you’ll see countless big fish being kept and comment after comment cheering them on and defending and encouraging what they are doing. You can ask most any guide on Twok how their big fish season went this year and their big fish numbers were way down. And yes I do have an agenda which is to promote big fish conservation as well as responsible harvest.

I think y'all missed the point of this thread.

It was a very well done April fools joke.

I have to admit it got me, hook line and sinker!

I didn’t get the joke because I didn’t watch the video. As soon as I saw it was for wet noodles I was out.

You won't get the laws changed. It was done through the legislature and there is nothing TPWD can do about it. The only way to get it changed is to go back through the lege and I've been told firsthand by TPWD and high-level politicians there's a 0.0% chance of changing it.

State Legislation changes all the time. New politicians come and go and new bills are introduced and old bills are repealed. Close to 700 pieces of new legislation are introduced every single year here in Texas. What was passed 10 yrs ago can be repealed today. Writing state legislators and Senators is the first step and educating anglers is another. I have done both. While our current Representative Michelle Beckley is pretty much worthless in my opinion, she won’t hold that office for long. Senator Jane Nelson on the other hand was much more responsive when I wrote her which I thought was encouraging. Saying that it’s never going to change is just not right in my opinion. I’ve taken enough Government courses in college to learn that there are a number of steps you can take to get legislation changed. The first being getting to know your local legislators and State Senators that represent your district. I’ve gotten to know Michelle Beckley enough to know she is only worried about getting voting laws changed so Democrats can win more Texas elections. The next Representative might just be related to a catfish angler who is into big fish conservation. Who knows, maybe they will be related to one of the Jr Anglers at one of my events and decide those fish need to be protected. Number 2 is to increase your political awareness. Something that most folks don’t spent the time to do. Number 3 is to offer your opinion. I’ve offered mine to both my State Legislator and my State Senator regardless of what it’s worth. Number 4 is to oppose or support the legislation in question which I have done. Number 5 is to get new legislation introduced which isn’t easy with someone like Michelle. Even if you think it’s pointless I think It’s important to share your experience with Legislators and Senators and change can and does happen. Is it easy? No, but it does happen. Sticking your head in the sand certainly won’t implement change. Laws are constantly changing like bow hunting for catfish, hunting for hogs from helicopters, or medical marijuana legalization. Change is the one thing in life that is constant.

"Michelle Beckley enough to know she is only worried about getting voting laws changed so Democrats can win more Texas elections."
and republicans are only interested in getting laws changed so they can win more elections. Same things that make you laugh make you cry.
I opposed the bowhunting for catfish and was on board with TPWD to protect big blue cat about 20 years ago, little good did it do until plenty of folks got involved, so the more the merrier.

This is my point exactly. Educate the youth and change happens. As far as the 2 politicians I’m speaking of, when I wrote to Michelle Beckley I got a generic letter back that didn’t have any real concern for one of the people she was supposedly representing. It was typed and her signature was a stamp. When I wrote Senator Jane Nelson I got a hand written letter signed by her and she said she was considerate of my concerns. Far better response in my personal experience and it felt like she actually cared while I’m fairly certain Michelle Beckley never even read my letter. .

The last big fish I kept was May 1, 1989 Jacky so I have been on Big Fish conservation just about as long as anyone.

You fight the good fight. You have a long road ahead of you.

I've spent a lot of time on both the TPWD and Lege side of this issue and it's a hot mess all the way around. The state has had zero credible data to support that it harms populations. Anybody can see that pulling a spawning fish off a bed is not good but there's no data to support that (and they are monitoring it). Even in the presence of credible data, the only way the law can be changed is through the lege and TPWD won't touch it.

Noodling was legalized because of $$$. One of the wealthiest oil men in Texas wanted it legalized so it happened. You can rest assured every politician both new and future will have their hands in his pockets and it will remain legal as long as he and his kids want it to be legal.

Change sometimes happens slowly but it is inevitable. When I was a kid close to 100% of big fish were kept for diner. Bass, catfish, it didn’t matter. Slowly over time the paradigm has shifted to where the majority are now returned. This paradigm wasn’t shifted in the halls of the State Capital. It was fought in the hearts and minds of the youth such as myself by anglers like Jimmy Houston and Bill Dance who put forth the effort to educated my generation on the importance of big fish conservation. Those guys had a huge impact on my life and I know the big reason conservation is where it is today is because those guys were willing to stick their necks out. Sure there are still lots of folks who don’t care about conserving they big fish for the future generations but I have confidence that conservation will continue to grow and will someday spread to the Flathead just like it has for Blues. The old rich oil man will be dead and gone some day and it might just be his sons who decide that enough is enough and throw their weight behind conservation. To say it can never change is not the way I am wired. It can and it will change but it takes time.