# Is it legal to use noodles for catfishing in Utah



## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

Does anyone know if it is legal or not to use noodle rigs for catfishing here in Utah? I know my brother uses them a lot in Louisiana where it's legal. They usually rack up 20-50 catfish on the lake they fish in about 3 hours using these and their special homemade bait.


----------



## Finnegan (Sep 7, 2007)

Nope.


----------



## Fowlmouth (Oct 4, 2008)




----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Trot lines are OK in Utah....uh "set lines" they call them here. I put bank poles out on the Green River once and got asked to pull them up by the DNR.

Jug fishing brings back many memories....bank poles, trot lines, noodle fishing, fish traps, yo-yos, det cord....... Fishing for catfish with a rod and reel wasn't all that popular back were I come from. 

I like the way they rigged those jugs up. I'm a fan of swivels and mono line on jug lines, trot lines, and bank poles. I always used 1-gallon plastic jugs, each with a piece of electrical tape on it for hook storage. Bleach jugs were plastic long before milk was and some hands back home used the same bleach jugs for years.

I think bank poles catch the most fish. You can stick 'em anywhere you want. We run 500 some years. Geeze, we can have 2 in Wyoming. Those were the days.

Man, my buds and one nephew are killing the flatheads this year.

:grin:


----------



## Gumbo (Sep 22, 2007)

We used to use milk jugs.


----------



## dubob (Sep 8, 2007)

LostLouisianian said:


> Does anyone know if it is legal or not to use noodle rigs for catfishing here in Utah?


 I am not a Law Enforcement/Conservation officer. However, the 2014 Fishing Guidebook seems (to me) to cover this subject quite well. If you look on page 9 under "Taking Game Fish" by "Angling" methods you will find this.


> You may not fish with more than one fishing line except when:
> 
> 
> You are fishing for crayfish. Please see page 14 of this guide for more information about fishing for crayfish.
> ...


Now, to me, using jugs/noodles would be viewed as using multiple lines since each jug/noodle has a separate line/hook attached and is set afloat individually.
Continuing on page 12 under "Setline Fishing" you will find the following regarding the actual practice of setline fishing.


> The following rules apply to setline fishing:
> 
> 
> · You may not fish with more than one setline.
> ...


 You will notice that ALL hooks are attached to ONE line in this case and the ONE line MUST be attached to a NON-moving object. And you MUST have a SETLINE permit in addition to your fishing license. Setlines STILL require a permit even though you can now fish 2 poles on your fishing license. Setlines are NOT considered a second pole.

If you require further clarification on this, I would suggest you contact the DWR directly in Salt Lake City and ask to talk with the Law Enforcement Division.


----------



## LostLouisianian (Oct 11, 2010)

Thanks Bob, I think that pretty well clears it up. I guess Utah has a ways to go to get caught up with the rest of the country when it comes to catfishing.


----------



## dubob (Sep 8, 2007)

Well for goodness sakes, do NOT hold your breath while you wait for that to happen.


----------



## wyogoob (Sep 7, 2007)

Gumbo said:


> We used to use milk jugs.


Yeah, I haven't done it for years. I used milk jugs too at the end before I moved out here. I thought they were a little hard to see if they got too far from the boat.

With all the brightly-colored plastic bottles out these days would be cool to have say 3 dozen jugs in 3 different colors, like orange, green, and yellow. Each color would be a different bait maybe.

I don't drink anymore. My brother says you're not allowed to jug fish unless yer drinkin'.

.


----------



## Gumbo (Sep 22, 2007)

We used yo-yo's too. Could pick them up at the local Walmart.


----------

