Noodling

Other names for the same activity are used in different regions, primarily in the South and Midwest, and include hogging, dogging, grappling, grabbling, tickling, and catfisting.

[example needed] The sport of noodling in popular culture has been featured or referred to in various television programs, including Late Night with David Letterman (1989), Okie Noodling, which was televised in two-parts on PBS (2001), Dirty Jobs on the Discovery Channel (2003), River Monsters on Animal Planet (2012), and Mudcats (2012) on the History Channel.

An episode of Bon Appétit's YouTube series titled "It's Alive" (2019) featured Brad Leone and Matty Matheson noodling.

[17] Noodling on guitar is freestyle, in the moment playing, where one explores seemingly random notes and relies more on trial and error and intuition than rigid musical systems and rules.

Other than drowning, or being injured by underwater hazards, noodlers face other physical threats, including the potential for fatal injury caused by other forms of aquatic life that may be residing in the abandoned holes of cavity spawning catfish, such as snapping turtles, snakes, beavers, and alligators.

[18][19][20] Loose fitting clothes may get tangled or snagged on roots or rocks, and various physical injuries may be incurred while underwater, ranging anywhere from superficial wounds to losing fingers.

Several articles suggest precautionary measures, such as using the buddy system, wearing tight clothing that hugs the skin, and inspecting potential holes with a stick.