Noodling

So, today's Newsweek contains the random musing of the day. Apparently, Howard Ramsey, a Missourite and the president of Noodlers Anonymous, is excited about the prospect of a statewide noodling season. What is noodling you ask? It's catching catfish with your bare hands, which until recently has been a misdemeanor. The question is, why would anyone want to participate in this craziness, and, perhaps more importantly, why did they bother to make it illegal? Seems to me that if you're crazy enough to want to catch catfish with your hands you might as well be allowed...