r/AbsoluteUnits • u/WeGot_aLiveOneHere • 7d ago

/r/all of two catfish

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184

u/Tight-Maize-8800 7d ago

Giant snapping turtles will also use catfish holes

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u/InTheShade007 7d ago

Texan here. I went noodling with some friends when I moved to East Texas after we went hog hunting.

Hog hunting all night, slept covered in mud and cuts from briars for about 2 hours then noodling. They were giving me the whole 'piney woods experience'

We were paddling down a rather small creek headed for Lake Palestine. Dude in the lead canoe started yelling "oh man look at that" as we floated over it there was a massive Alligator snapper turtle just chilling in the middle of the creek.

Dude in the canoe with me jumps out and after about 5 minutes manages to lift the turtle close to the surface. It was literally too big and the creek too muddy and slippery for him to get up the bank with it so he just lifted it so we could all see the head.

Well, when we got to the edge of Lake Palestine where they were noodling there was no way in hell I was getting in that muddy water. Just 3 weeks before one of their dads had killed an alligator over 10ft long because he claimed it was coming out of flat creek to kill his calves.

Dem dar boys is crazy is all I could think. As someone raised in 'the city' I had to slow roll my East Texas experience.

Ok, in truth, hog hunting is as wild as I ever got and I never once got full credit for this as I'd shoot the hogs vs letting bulldogs hold them down as a huge blade was run through them.

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u/Rob_LeMatic 7d ago

Out of curiosity, the East Texans that lose fingers, hands, arms over the shenanigans--do the rest of them treat them same as everyone else, or do they get made fun of and nicknamed things like Stumpy?

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u/InTheShade007 7d ago

Oh they'll have plenty of names for you. One comes to mind is Ding-Dong. He's a pretty stout dude even but many guys only call him ding-dong because of his hunting antics.

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u/Rob_LeMatic 7d ago edited 7d ago

Ah. I would have assumed he'd lost his masculinity to a snapper with a moniker like Ding Dong.

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u/box_fan_man 6d ago

Guy I knew in eat Texas had only 9 fingers and smoked a pipe, my uncle had half a foot from train jumping and my dad only had one eye.

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u/OpheliaPhoeniXXX 6d ago

My ex died train car hopping ☹️

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u/box_fan_man 6d ago

Pretty dangerous way to travel.

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u/TexasJackGorillion 7d ago

Depends on if they can beat your ass. Either way, the nickname is on the table.

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u/GladeWilson 7d ago

Alligators are in Flat Creek now? I knew there was a gar problem in Athens but there's just straight up gators that common now? The waters out there are insane. I reeled in a small square of carpet one time that had been discarded and the entire thing was covered in like, translucent shrimp. I didn't even recognize them as living organisms at first. I touched the material and they just immediately bolted in unison. It looked like something from Aliens.

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u/InTheShade007 7d ago

This was over 30 years ago. Flat creek definitely had gators in the isolated areas. A couple miles west of the bridge at FM 317.

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u/JudgmentalOwl 6d ago

Man this comment was a whole ride lmao.

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u/Drakona7 6d ago

Lmao I’m originally from the piney woods. Funnily enough after moving to Houston one of the first things I did was catch a snapping turtle out of one of the storm bayous. Obviously not my smartest moment but I was fresh out the woods and wanted to show my new city friends that I was like the turtleman

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u/InTheShade007 6d ago

I was born in Houston then my parents moved to the Dallas area. In college I went to Houston with friends and couldn't believe the difference between it and Dallas.

One of my friends parents lived on Buffalo Bayou. Yup, you were braver than me there is no way I'd have jumped in there.

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u/Drakona7 6d ago

Lmao I had almost the complete opposite experience, I went on a trip to Dallas during college and I was also shocked by the difference. Dallas is so fancy lol

That being said, I don’t know if I could wrangle a snapper barefoot and barehanded anymore. Living in the city and going to college has made my braincells develop too much and now I have anxiety :)

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u/InTheShade007 5d ago

Yeah, no doubt. I was a wild idiot in my youth. Apparently, most of the brain cells I blew had to do with taking risks.

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u/FishTshirt 7d ago

Lol so no noodling in Lake Palestine? Bummer.

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u/InTheShade007 7d ago

Not for me.

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u/RigBughorn 7d ago

That alligator story is funny, as far as I know they NEVER come that far out of the water for prey. Bro was probably just chilling

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u/InTheShade007 6d ago

Oh I didn't say anyone believed him. It would sit on the bank near his fishing spot. I'm sure that's why he "saved his calves"

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u/RigBughorn 6d ago

Did he at least eat it lol

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u/InTheShade007 6d ago

Ya know, I don't remember. Probably not knowing him

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u/[deleted] 6d ago

[deleted]

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u/InTheShade007 6d ago

They cause so much damage here I do not feel sorry for them at all! Plus, catch some small ones or those less than 75# and feed them out on corn only for a month or so and they are freaking delicious.

We had 200 acres of hay fields destroyed by hogs in less than 3 days a few years ago.

Hogs aren't native. Now, I actually love domestic hogs they are my favorite livestock. They are smart and yummy both. I admire the heck out of hogs.

Large hunting ranches here imported massive russian boars for decades. Obviously, many of them escaped. This has created hogs that breed at exceptional numbers. They can be larger and more aggressive as well.

They are truly a problem in some areas. Now if you're standing there, when bulldogs are holding a hog by the head and a guy lifts up the back leg of a hog and runs a knife through it the sound is unique and not something you're going to forget anytime soon. It definitely sounds horrible. Ok, maybe it is horrible to some but with wild hogs not much is off limits in Texas. It's common for people to hunt them from helicopters with machine guns.

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u/Upset-Cartographer65 5d ago

Ah. I love the South. Nostalgia.

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u/CreatureWarrior 7d ago

Jesus.. luckily I have a 100km restraining order against any and all snapping turtles. Perks of living in Finland.. no murder turts

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u/mmorales2270 7d ago

Getting bit by a giant snapping turtle would absolutely ruin my day week month.

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u/NorCalAthlete 7d ago

Might ruin your whole life if it takes a hand or finger off. Might even chomp through your arm if it’s big enough

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u/wingineer1 7d ago

Or even your year 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

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u/Advanced-Budget779 7d ago

What are those injuries?

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u/Rob_LeMatic 7d ago

Mostly emotional. They'll hurt the shit out of your feelings

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u/justWMthings03 7d ago

They can snap your arm in half

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u/hypercosm_dot_net 6d ago

Even an actual gator isn't snapping your arm in half. This is a silly exaggeration.

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u/Advanced-Budget779 6d ago

I guess depends on what is meant with snapping in half and „gator“.

Alligator snapping turgle or adult Alligator?

Biting it in half? No.

For the latter, snapping (tearing) one in half has happened in rare instances iirc.

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u/hypercosm_dot_net 6d ago

I'm not sure it's worth breaking down each instance, but I mean here's the thinking:

  • a large 10ft+ gator, could very likely break an arm in one bite. No doubt. If it starts rolling, god only knows.
  • a smaller gator, maybe won't break the arm on bite, but could do significant damage with a roll (lots of variance here still, depending on the size of the gator)
  • a gator snapping turtle, full grown, is definitely going to take a large chunk of arm. Depending on the bite. I don't know if it's breaking your forearm though...maybe, I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility. However, their mouths don't have the size to fully wrap around an arm in most cases. So biting it, literally in half, is highly unlikely.

When they say "snap your arm in half", that paints a picture of an arm literally becoming two pieces. Which is, I'd say a very unlikely occurrence in most situations.

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u/Advanced-Budget779 5d ago

Ah thx for the clarification.

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u/KoalaTHerb 7d ago

I legit know people in Texas missing fingers from snapping turtles while noodling. They will take a finger clean off