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Norm In Norman
10/14/2003, 01:16 PM
I just picked up my copy of Matrix: Reloaded and I got a free "Preview" DVD that has a bunch of trailers for DVDs that are coming out, Movies coming to the theater, games, CDs, etc... (and some coupons, btw). Anyway, in the coming to DVD section they have a clip from Okie Noodling.

Okie Noodling is coming to DVD.

Okie Noodling.

Is coming to DVD.

Oh. My. God.

Oklahomans have a bad enough reputation, but then they have to go release Okie Noodling to DVD.

Czar Soonerov
10/14/2003, 01:47 PM
http://members.cox.net/czarsooner/NormNoodling.jpg

Cam
10/14/2003, 01:48 PM
Man, I hope my Uncle isn't in that...

I'll never admit it if he is.

BlondeSoonerGirl
10/14/2003, 02:11 PM
Holy crap.

So everyone who buys this DVD is going to see our relatives trying to find big catfish by getting all cranked up on Meth and sticking their hand into a hole in the river?

Great.

BigRedJed
10/14/2003, 02:13 PM
Hey, anything that involves the Flaming Lips is OK with me.

Norm In Norman
10/14/2003, 02:14 PM
http://members.cox.net/czarsooner/NormNoodling.jpg


Somehow, I never saw this one coming.

SouthLink02
10/14/2003, 07:12 PM
How much was the Reloaded DVD

Penguin
10/14/2003, 08:15 PM
...I got a free "Preview" DVD that has a bunch of trailers for DVDs that are coming out...

Hmmm... You can only get that free preview DVD from one store. What could it be?

Sooner_Bob
10/14/2003, 08:56 PM
Holy crap.

So everyone who buys this DVD is going to see our relatives trying to find big catfish by getting all cranked up on Meth and sticking their hand into a hole in the river?

Great.



Hilarious . . . very true, but hilarious . . . especially if they do any filming on the South Canadian . . .

Sooner_Bob
10/14/2003, 08:57 PM
http://members.cox.net/czarsooner/NormNoodling.jpg


Great . . . that's just great . . . everytime I eat catfish from now on I'm gonna thing of this fark and laugh my butt off . . .

Czar Soonerov
10/14/2003, 09:19 PM
http://members.cox.net/czarsooner/NormNoodling2.jpg

Cam
10/14/2003, 09:29 PM
Holy crap.

So everyone who buys this DVD is going to see our relatives trying to find big catfish by getting all cranked up on Meth and sticking their hand into a hole in the river?

Great.Just to clarify, I'm 99.9999% sure my Uncle never did meth when noodling. He's just one mean sum bitch.

Norm In Norman
10/14/2003, 10:52 PM
How much was the Reloaded DVD

14.99

Norm In Norman
10/14/2003, 10:55 PM
Hmmm... You can only get that free preview DVD from one store. What could it be?

I limit my purchasing there to DVDs the first week they come out. For example, next week Matrix will be 20 bucks, but I paid 15. So not only do I save money but BB doesn't get the full amount.

At least I didn't buy it from Wal Mart.

william_brasky
10/14/2003, 10:59 PM
it's already on DVD through the website : http://www.okienoodling.com

BlondeSoonerGirl
10/15/2003, 08:30 AM
http://members.cox.net/czarsooner/NormNoodling2.jpg

I have looked at this pic 6 times and I can't stop laughing at it.

I think I'll make it the background on my desktop. Sweet.

crawfish
10/15/2003, 08:31 AM
http://members.cox.net/czarsooner/NormNoodling2.jpg
Wow...he has more chins in that picture than beano.

picasso
10/15/2003, 10:34 AM
http://members.cox.net/czarsooner/NormNoodling2.jpg


Looks like ol Norm is doing his own form of noodling in that pic.

BigRedJed
10/15/2003, 10:46 AM
http://members.cox.net/czarsooner/NormNoodling2.jpg

Just wanted to drive up Czar's bandwith bill.

Frozen Sooner
10/15/2003, 10:53 AM
http://members.cox.net/czarsooner/NormNoodling2.jpg

What, like this?

Norm In Norman
10/15/2003, 10:57 AM
http://members.cox.net/norminnorman/CzarOkieQueen.jpg

OUthunder
10/15/2003, 11:02 AM
OH BROTHER!

BlondeSoonerGirl
10/15/2003, 11:16 AM
This thread is why I love this board.

I'm feeling a little sappy today.

Norm In Norman
10/15/2003, 11:48 AM
HEY CZAR! I can see your bra through that dirty assed shirt.

Boarder
10/15/2003, 11:52 AM
You think Norm will be on the lookout for cameras at tailgates from now on? :D

Norm In Norman
10/15/2003, 12:39 PM
Eh - I don't care. OLDSOONER asked before he took that one.

Sooner_Bob
10/15/2003, 01:29 PM
"Noodlers are a dying breed not a lot of people want to stick their hand up in a hole and get bit by something" -- Jerry "Catfish" Rider

Czar Soonerov
10/15/2003, 02:00 PM
HEY CZAR! I can see your bra through that dirty assed shirt.

Norm, your finn is showing...
http://members.cox.net/czarsooner/NormCatfish.jpg

Czar Soonerov
10/15/2003, 02:03 PM
http://members.cox.net/norminnorman/CzarOkieQueen.jpg
You could have at least made me the hot one...:mad:

BlondeSoonerGirl
10/15/2003, 02:06 PM
I'd hit it.



RIP, Will.

crawfish
10/15/2003, 02:11 PM
Norm, your finn is showing...
http://members.cox.net/czarsooner/NormCatfish.jpg
That's truly...disturbing.

Norm In Norman
10/15/2003, 02:13 PM
You could have at least made me the hot one...:mad:


You mean the zombie? She was the best part of the picture. i swear, she probably said "I want brains" right before that picture was taken.

btw, I am interested to hear what you consider "hot".

sooner_born_1960
10/15/2003, 02:27 PM
I'd hit it.



RIP, Will.
That's it, BSG. Keep referring to Will in the third person. Like we don't already know.

BlondeSoonerGirl
10/15/2003, 02:29 PM
Sshhhhhhh!

I think I have everyone else fooled - don't blow it for me.

RacerX
2/20/2006, 02:13 PM
You mean the zombie? She was the best part of the picture. i swear, she probably said "I want brains" right before that picture was taken.

btw, I am interested to hear what you consider "hot".

Still waiting.:eddie:

soonerbrat
2/20/2006, 02:15 PM
wow. i didn't read this whole thread, but i will share this with you..

my cousin is on a local television show called "Hunt Sleep Fish"
i think it may have been syndicated, actually. The two episodes i've seen are of him bowhunting wild boar and noodling. quite interesting.


(i can't believe i just admitted this)

Fugue
2/20/2006, 02:16 PM
wow. i didn't read this whole thread, but i will share this with you..

my cousin is on a local television show called "Hunt Sleep Fish"
i think it may have been syndicated, actually. The two episodes i've seen are of him bowhunting wild boar and noodling. quite interesting.


(i can't believe i just admitted this)

was the boar's name Ned?

soonerbrat
2/20/2006, 02:16 PM
i don't think it was named.

Fugue
2/20/2006, 02:18 PM
i don't think it was named.

did your cousin make it squeal?
i hate it when that happens.

soonerbrat
2/20/2006, 02:23 PM
nope. one shot to the head and it was dead


and yes, i know what movie you're referring to. i'm choosing to ignore it.

Fugue
2/20/2006, 02:24 PM
nope. one shot to the head and it was dead


and yes, i know what movie you're referring to. i'm choosing to ignore it.

whaaaa? :D




i've gone noodling before :O

BoogercountySooner
2/20/2006, 03:45 PM
http://www.okienoodling.com/tournament/images/fidheyefish.jpg


The biggun!!

GDC
7/10/2006, 03:18 PM
'Big Fish': And The Winner Is...: Noodlers' scars are badge of honor
By LEIGH WOOSLEY World Scene Writer
7/10/2006

View in Print (PDF) Format


The chances of getting hurt are nearly 100 percent.

It is just a question of how badly.

"I've had broke fingers, busted lips, a busted nose," said Don Brewer of the mementos left behind by the catfish he noodles from dark, sandy holes deep beneath lake waters.

"I've been bit on the top of my head. I've had one catch me right here on the eye."

Brewer is a noodler, a fisherman who catches fish with only his bare hands. Just look at his right arm splattered with deep scars and fresh bloody gashes from his elbow all the way to his fingertips.

This is what noodlers call "tore up," and if you aren't tore up, you are not a true noodler. Or at least not a respected one.

Noodlers say the wounds are a minor sacrifice for the "thrill" or the "rush" that comes from reaching your bare -- or sometimes gloved -- hand into a hole, uncertain of what is in there.

It is fishing the pure, natural way.

"What do you need to noodle? Nothing," the 35-year-old Brewer said. "Cut yourself a willow stick, put some cutoffs on, and you're good to go."

In the water, and sometimes down pretty deep, a noodler digs into a hole hoping to find a fish but knowing there could be a snake, a beaver

or any other water-bound varmint one chooses not to imagine.

Luck and a little skill find you a big ol' catfish.

Brewer is the real deal. He has been noodling in the waters around Canadian for some 20 years and has pulled up hundreds of pounds in fish. His biggest so far weighed 83 pounds.

His down-and-dirty noodling technique has been featured on national TV shows and won him first place in area competitions, he said.

That wasn't the focus Saturday morning when Brewer climbed from his beat-up truck on a loading dock at Lake Eufaula.

The seventh annual Okie Noodling Tournament, perhaps the most competitive and respected on the noodling circuit, was just a few hours away.

Brewer wanted the coveted title of "Big Fish," meaning you caught the biggest one in the competition.

He was competing with more than 90 noodlers who entered the tournament, with weigh-in at Bob's Pig Shop in Pauls Valley.

"Let's get down there and catch us some fish so we can win this tournament," Brewer said to his noodling partner, Dennis Williams.

Brewer mounted his pontoon boat, wearing nothing but a pair of cutoff overalls. He is a big man, tall and brawny, and he is passionate about noodling.

Proof is the tattoo on his right arm that his wife bought him for Valentine's Day four years ago. It is a catfish gnawing a torn-off human arm with the words "Bite Me" below.

"If those fish rip off one of my arms, I hope it's my left one," he said, looking at the tattoo on his broad, right shoulder.

Now, nobody has died noodling, at least not on record. Rumor has it one guy died when he noodled a hole and was bitten by water moccasins instead of a catfish.

Truth is that noodling wounds are not life-threatening, just painful and not so pretty, and tough for some non-noodlers to look at.

It is just one aspect of this down-home sport noodlers say you don't understand until you do it.

Noodling -- sometimes called graveling, hogging, tickling or dogging, depending on where you live -- is a gnarly, grueling sport that intimidates and confounds many.

Noodlers catch a fish by reaching into its wide, tooth-filled mouth, grabbing the sharp gills and ripping the fish out. The prey fights, like anyone would when pulled unwillingly from home.

The teeth, which are more like a sharp metal file than a human row of choppers, dig into a noodler's vulnerable arm. The fish thrash and twist and turn, digging their teeth deeper into the noodling arm.

Noodlers wear their scars like an Eagle Scout wears his badges. They are a source of pride.

When asked why they do it, noodlers say it is for the adrenaline rush.

"If you don't lose no hide, it ain't no fun," Brewer said.

Brewer took Friday off from his plumbing business and started looking for the "Big Fish" that evening, making sure his efforts met the competition requirements that all fish be caught within 24 hours of the weigh-in.

By Saturday morning, he had three fish. Two were swimming in a tank in the bed of his pickup. One was back home, dead but maybe big enough to take the title.

Dead fish can be entered into the tournament, but live ones are preferred, especially by noodlers who find a certain pride in throwing a huge, flapping catfish onto the weigh-in table.

"It looks better when they're biting your arm while you're pulling them out instead of a slab of meat on your tailgate," Brewer said.

Brewer and Williams scavenged Lake Eufaula for hours Saturday morning. They went under looking for catfish-filled holes with and without a regulator, which is a scuba device that feeds a diver oxygen. This is scuba noodling, and the Okie Noodling Tournament has a division for fish taken this way, as well as those caught "natural."

But the "Big Fish" prize simply goes to the biggest fish there, scuba-won or not.

Brewer thought his dead one, weighing an estimated 60 or 70 pounds, would take the title. But he wanted a live one.

Hours in the water and neither noodler turned up a single fish. They called it a day and docked the boat. Brewer still did not know if he would enter the dead fish in the tourney or not.

Pride was on the line. Do you win with a dead fish or not win at all?

He went home to get cleaned up.

The Okie Noodling Tournament was started by Bradley Beesley, a filmmaker who grew up in Moore and now lives in San Francisco.

Beesley made the award-winning PBS documentary "Okie Noodling" in 2001, and it still broadcasts nationwide. The film brought the quirky and obscure sport of noodling out of catfish holes and onto people's TV sets.

While filming, Beesley looked for the ideal ending. He came up with a tournament for noodlers "to meet together on the battlefield" and compete for the "Big Fish," Beesley said at the event Saturday night.

He said the first year drew 37 entries, and this seventh annual one boasted 92.

"These guys really, really care about the fish," he said. "There's no reel; there's no trout lines. It's man versus beast. Mano y mano."

It was almost 7 p.m. Saturday at the tournament, 30 minutes before the weigh-in deadline, and Brewer was a few miles out.

He had decided to enter the dead fish.

Pickups pulled up one by one, and each time, the crowd swarmed the noodlers as they pulled their catches from huge tanks. The bigger the fish, the louder the crowd cheered.

Dozens had arrived with mammoth fish. The largest entered so far weighed 52 pounds, and it was alive.

Then Brewer pulled up with the fish he knew could beat that.

He climbed from his pickup, straight-faced and serious, and pulled the two smaller catfish from the tanks. The crowd clapped but hardly cheered.

Then came the big one. Brewer lugged it from the tank by its mouth and hunched back to show the monster off. It must have been close to 5 feet long.

If a crowd of noodling fans can go crazy, this one did.

"That's a big one all right." "Oh it's over." "That's a nice one."

"Can I take your picture? Because I think you're gonna win," asked one woman.

Brewer made his way through the crowd, carrying his fish as a hunter brings home his game. He flipped the fish onto the weigh-in table, wishing it was alive but still proud if its size.

Everyone waited to hear just how big that fish was: 60.6 pounds.

The biggest fish there, by about 8 pounds. Brewer had the "Big Fish."

"It's that big rush again," Brewer said. "Everyone goes to hollering, and I go to hoisting that fish higher."

The few hundred dollars in prize money did not matter much to this longtime noodler. It was the title, the thrill, the honor of knowing he pulled that 60-pounder from a hole with his bare hands.

Brewer held the winning plaque in his "tore up" arm, every scar worth that very moment.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Leigh Woosley 581-8465
[email protected].