click photo to enlarge A selection of grabbling photos... to se more got to the Grabbling Photo Gallery.
photo by Richard Simms
"He's in my pants," yelled 14 year old Taylor Wilson.
"In your pants," is not a place you want an 18-pound catfish to be. Taylor had little choice however as the fish battled to escape its lair. Taylor and his father, Bobby Wilson, were in its way.
Bobby Wilson is a professionally trained fisheries biologist, serving as the Asst. Chief of Fisheries for the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, clearly an expert in his field.
Marty Jenkins is not professionally trained. He has however, produced two unique video productions about catfish grabbling, parts of which have aired on ABC's World News Tonight. Jenkins is an expert in his field as well.
You could call last Saturday's grabbling foray on Watts Bar Lake a "meeting of the minds."
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Although he knows as much about bass population dynamics, age & growth data and creel surveys as anybody in the state, Wilson admits that his first-hand exposure to the ancient art of catfish grabbling was non-existent.
It's pretty unusual," said Wilson. "I've seen video, heard about people that do it, but except for you, I've never actually talked to somebody who's been out and done it."
In late May, June and July, monster catfish seek out shallow, underwater caves where they lay their eggs. Catfish grabblers, or noodlers as they are sometimes called, seek out the hidden holes, reach inside and grab the catfish. That is, unless the catfish grabs them first.
Asked why more people don't do it, Jenkins said, "They're scared. People hear about things that you might grab a hold of. I've been doing it since 1982 and I've never touched a snake or a turtle inside of a hole. Everywhere we grabble is completely submerged. Turtles and snakes have got to breathe so they don't stay there. People just don't know the truth about grabbling and how much fun it can be."
"It's a blast," said Wilson. "It's addicting almost."
Addicting perhaps, but it also takes some skill. Many times aggressive catfish will grab a grabbler's outstretched hand. Just as often however, the fish will try to hide, far out of reach.
Jenkins uses a long pole, not to actually hook the fish, but simply to guide them into arm's reach. It often takes two or three grabblers working in tandem to block the hole's entrance and grab the fish that often weigh up to 40 or 50 pounds. In many places grabblers must dive beneath the surface and grabble only as long as they can hold their breath.
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"There's a lot more teamwork to it than I ever thought," said Wilson.
Wilson and his sons had reviewed Jenkins' latest DVD called "Girls Gone Grabblin'." The family-oriented production includes an hour-and-a-half of women learning the art of grabbling. It also includes a segment called "Grabbling 101" where Jenkins provides short lessons on how it is done.
Saturday he proved he is just the man to teach it as he used the long pole to probe the depths of a hard-to-reach cave. After nearly 20 minutes, Jenkins got a hand on the catfish's lower jaw.
"Help," he said. "This is a big one."
With 20 years of grabbling under his belt, when he says "it's a big one," you better pay attention. Bobby Wilson's 16-year old son Hunter, along with Jenkins' wife Fostana, quickly came to Marty's aid. It took some, well, grabbling as the huge catfish and three grabblers beat the surface of Watts Bar Lake to a froth. Finally however, the massive beast was wrestled to shore. The fish pulled the scales to 51 pounds -- the second largest catfish Jenkins says he's ever seen grabbled.
"That was one of the biggest ones I've ever seen in person," said Wilson. "We dipped up a couple (while electrofishing) on the Mississippi River that were 35 or 40 pounds, but I've never seen one that big."
Every fish the Jenkins grabble is returned to the water. This time Wilson brought along tags to mark each fish.
"It's kind of a cool unofficial research project," said Wilson. "It will be really interesting for me to find out if the fish that we tagged go back to the same hole year after year. They may kind of be like salmon in that they go back to where they were spawned from."
Research aside, Wilson said his two sons got the greatest lesson of all. After literally "swimming with the fishes," the two boys have gone where few men have gone before.
"The biggest part of it is them going back and telling all their friends about it in Nashville," said Wilson. "Friends who can barely catch a bluegill with a hook and a worm."
Fostana Jenkins says their "Girls Gone Grabbling," DVD has generated a lot of talk among a new audience.
"It's made a lot of people realize that anybody can do it," she said. "You don't have to be big and strong. You just have to use a little technique."
That, combined with a little intestinal fortitude, knowing you may end up in hand-to-hand combat with a 51-pound catfish. And the Jenkins say there are bigger ones out there.
"Yea, and I think they've got our name on them too," said Marty.
For more information visit www.CatfishGrabblers.com.
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Grabbling Photo Gallery.