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Trip Dates:
June 23 - June 27, 2004
Land Cost: from $1200
Highlights:
Learn the art of noodling from one of the
sports best, ‘Lucky’ Lee McFarland, Biggest Stringer Winner
from the 2001 1st Annual Okie Noodling Tournament.
Celebrate with the regions best noodlers in a day filled with food, music and the biggest flatheads of the summer at the 2004 Tournament and Fish Fry in Pauls Valley.
Spectacular summer days and beautiful evenings on scenic Oklahoma lakes.
Festival dinner at the historic Bob’s Pig Shop, a cultural and historic landmark located in the heart of noodling country.
Basic Itinerary:
Day 1 - Arrive Stillwater
Day 2 - Noodling
Day 3 - Noodling
Day 4 - Transfer to Pauls Valley / Okie Noodling Festival
Day 5 - Depart For Home
FOREARMS VS. FLATHEADS NOODLING
TOUR
with the 2004 Okie Noodling Tournament and Fish Fry
Stillwater and Pauls Valley, Oklahoma
— Join some of the region’s best hand fisherman for a weekend
of lake noodling and enjoy the world’s largest festival and competition
showcasing the ancient art of hand fishing.
Known
by a host of names including stumping, tickling, hogging, grabbling
and noodling, the art of hand fishing for catfish has likely been practiced
by indigenous Americans for centures. It has certainly been enjoyed
by scores of southern fisherman for generations.
During the early months of summer as water temperatures in lakes begin
to rise, catfish begin to spawn. Spawning catfish will search in and
around lake shores, creekbanks, and along riverbeds, looking for a safe
place to lay and defend their eggs until they hatch a few weeks later.
It’s during this time that noodlers comb the waters, and their
favorite holes, bumping into channelcats, bluecats, and yellows, but
always looking for the main prize - the flathead.
The only catfish legal to noodle in the state of Oklahoma, the flathead rivals the bluecat as the largest catfish lurking in sourthern waters. Flatheads can easily weigh in at 60 lbs - the largest flathead on the state’s books was recorded at 71 lbs and measured over 4 feet long!
Wrestling
a fish of this size and strength isn’t easy, and most noodlers
wear gloves to protect their hands from the sharp, sandpaper- like rows
of small teeth that line the fishes’ jaw. However, some noodlers
still practice the art the way their fathers did, with bare hands and
a healthy dose of courage.
On our tour, we’ll spend two days with world class noodlers featured in the award winning documentary ‘Okie Noodling’ by Bradely Beesley, wading the waters of Oklahoma by day and reliving real fish stories by night.
Our tour culminates with the 2004 Okie Noodling Tournament and Fish Fry at Bob’s Pig Shop in Pauls Valley, where we’ll watch some of the region’s best noodlers bring in their fish for cash, prizes, and the bragging rights on who’s able to wrestle the biggest flatheads from waters within the state’s borders.
For more information on Okie Noodling visit www.okienoodling.com
Space is limited, to reserve your spot call 800.972.7276
| White Rabbit Adventures,
Inc. |