Its not so much the contour of the bottom but more of anywhere you can find a hole large enough for a fish to get in whether it be under concrete, old bridge wood, river banks ect. Clay banks tend to have large holes here and there but it take a lot of time and effort to find them as it does nature to create them. Most noodlers' holes are sacred to them because they had to find them on their own. Ive spent days and days searching the waters and enjoy it very much. The rewards are great if you put in the effort. Like lots of things in life you gota work at it to become succesful!

Any silty, sand, mud, gravel, or clay with large rock, concrete, or metal overhead. They don't necessarily like rock on rock... although I have had limited success in that scenario. I'm talking about big fish... not little channel cats, they'll spawn in just about anything they can get their bodies in. I look for a muddy/clay bottom with hard cover overhead for the larger fish. If you can dig it out with your hand, its good bottom. Larger slabs of concrete and rock will hold bigger fish... boat ramps are prime targets.

Yes big fish..we aint talkin bout no channel..althoughr that 5 lb blue will give u a pretty feirce bite lol

Yes... beware of the blues! LOL. You can always tell when a blue is in a hole just by the way they act. Channels will nip, blues just tear you up, and flatties usually require a little more coaxing. I like catching blues, just because of their aggressiveness, but they usually get a free pass back to the lake.

I'll be noodling rattlesnakes and raccoons if we don't get any meaningful rain in the next week or so.

That's my favorite part too, finding the holes. I like the anticipation of what's going to be in there when you find a new one... especially when its all wallowed out at the entrance and you stick your arm in there and it just keeps dropping and going back in further.

Curious what is the risk of getting on a water snake or one of those big dam turtles that look like little dinosaurs with a finger removing chomper?

Not trying to scare anyone but seriously, there are a ton of gators down there on Choke, and big ones that I've seen that looked as big as my 14' boat, and they are some territorial critters.
Not many noodlers down in them parts, probably for a reason, at least not many that I know of, and getting into their environment it would probably be wise to be extra cautious.
Be careful guys is all I'm saying!

I remember the day the boat sank like it was yesterday. Not only did the guy with the boat dock let us use his dock but he also cooked us dinner and had a few with us. If you want to come back down and try it again just give me a shout.

Still managed to pull over 500lbs of camo cat the next day. Lookin forward to the sequal. Need to do a little rewrite though.lol

Really depends on the kind of structure your fishing and where that structure is located in my opinion. I'll explain. You may encounter turtles or snakes anywhere when your in the water, but some places are more prone than others. If you are in the main body of water in a lake, you will usually encounter snakes, but I see few cottonmouths. In the backwaters however, those sightings will increase. In a remote river or creek and you are pretty much guaranteed to have to deal with them. Especially if your in brush piles or log jams and bank holes on undercut bank. Rock and concrete in the lakes seldom during the day, but increasing after dark. Turtles i've found just about everywhere. This is why I like to use a 3 or 4 foot dowel rod to check the hole first. Although last time I checked Texas still does not allow this. I'm tough as the next guy, but no need to lose a digit if you can prevent it. Hope this helps. Oh yeah, if you learn the difference between the common water snakes and the cottonmouth, you can have a little fun chunkin the nonvenomous type at your buddies.

Thank you. I have some river access and I am sure some of those holes from childhood are still there. I just never noodled much cuz I am to much sissy lala. I worry way more about the turtles than the snakes, there are a few of those big uns that will sit with their mouths open there. Not many but I really would like to keep my fingers. A stick, hmmm

If it makes you feel any better, I've been doing this for about 24 years. And I mean doin it. Day, night, all types of water scenarios, etc. I have never been bitten in the water by anything other than a fish and my wife. I've been bitten twice by a copperhead, once while squirell hunting. Took of rubber boot to remove acorn and snake bit ankle. The other while Scouting for deer when I slipped going up creek bank. Snake bit the web between my thumb and forefinger. Had a copperhead hit me in the wallet after setting on him for over an hour calling in a gobbler one time. Never in the water. Close calls a few times though.

Yall think the water is warm enough yet to start?