Turtle noodler: Irwin man continues family legacy of catching turtles with bare hands

Joe Clemens of Irwin has a dangerous hands-on hobby.

Clemens is a fourth-generation turtle noodler, a pursuit where one catches snapping turtles with their bare hands from underwater holes in the banks of freshwater rivers, creeks and ponds.

“I’m pretty much one of the last ones left around here in Western Pennsylvania, and I’m trying to teach others,” said Clemens, 52, a full-time fork life operator.

The noodling fishing method dates back to the 1700s when Native American tribes would catch catfish by hand in rivers.

It’s since evolved and expanded to include snapping turtle noodling and Clemens is eager to share his passion for noodling with the public.

It’s legal in Pennsylvania to noodle with a valid fishing license, which Clemens has.

“It’s died out because back in the old days there were a lot of noodlers catching turtles to make soup for food,” Clemens explained. “It’s becoming a lost art.”

Clemens learned his noodling methods at the tender age of 7, following his late father Alvin Clemens, aka Big Al, into the waters honing noodling techniques including feeling along the underwater banks for holes where snappers are resting.

Big Al was German and enjoyed making a hearty snapping turtle soup for the family.

These days, Clemens practices a catch-and-release noodling.

“I put them in a sack as soon as I catch one,” Clemens said of his catch-and-release method.

The day’s “catch” are gathered for show-and-tell photo moments for his Facebook group, Pennsylvania Turtle Noodling, which he created last year to bring awareness to the art of noodling.

“I don’t hold the turtles long and I don’t hurt the turtles,” he said. “They’re released afterward.”

His Facebook group is chock full of videos showing Clemens and his co-noodlers catching turtles of all sizes.

“I created the group to get people more curious about noodling. But I get a lot of hate too. I’m not a bad person. I’m just doing the tradition that my dad carried on,” Clemens said.

Clemens wants to set the noodling record straight concerning harsh criticism he’s received from some strangers on social media.

“I have a passion for catching turtles with my hands and teaching others. I video my noodling adventures to show others what I was taught. People see a truckload of turtles and think I’m wiping out the population,” Clemens wrote in a post to his Facebook group on Friday. “Not true, I keep two or three turtles a year to make my dad’s soup recipe and release the rest. I don’t keep any female turtles and I don’t keep the real big ones. I’m going to keep on doing what my old man taught me.”

Clemens noodles regionally in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio and New York.

He keeps his noodle locations undisclosed and primarily noodles in Allegheny, Westmoreland and Armstrong Counties.

“I don’t like to give out my locations because some people will set out turtle hooks to harvest turtles,” he said.

Snapping turtle season runs from July 1 through Oct. 31 in Pennsylvania.

A message for a representative from the Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission to provide more information about snapper turtle noodling was not immediately available Tuesday.

Clemens said his father would approve of his ongoing noodling endeavors.

“I feel so alive when I hit some of the same streams I went noodling with my father and he always told me to make sure I carry on the tradition,” Clemens said. “When I was a kid my dad would take us noodling. He was the cool dad.”

Clemens’ noodling techniques include covering about a one-mile section of river. He doesn’t noodle alone and will not accept money for noodling tutorials, although it’s been offered to him.

Next week, a man is traveling from South Carolina to try noodling with Clemens, and a mother from Apollo recently contacted Clemens because her 12-year-old son wants to noodle.

Snapper stories

Clemens has the turtle scars to prove he’s been doing this for more than 30 years.

He’s been bitten on his hands, back and legs more than 20 times, but none of the turtle bites required stitches.

“A turtle can do some damage. They have a bottom and top hook and when they bite down they don’t let go,” Clemens said.

Snappers like to feed at night and sleep during the day.

The muddier the stream, the better, and snapping turtles prefer warmer water temps.

Clemens looks for overhanging root banks or structures like logs to locate snappers by putting his hand in a hole and feeling around for a tail.

“The trick is to grab on and push in and then out. They’re so powerful and when you push in it releases their feet,” Clemens said.

Most daytime noodling outings last six to eight hours.

His largest noodle catch was a 37-pounder.

“He was an old one, more than 30 years old. I don’t ever keep the old ones,” Clemens said.

Snappers will eat just about anything including crayfish and baby geese and ducklings.

In Pennsylvania, there’s no regulation on the size of turtles caught noodling, but there is a limit of 15 per day, with a maximum of 30 turtles in one’s possession.

Clemens finds the whole process relaxing.

“It’s quiet for me. It’s very peaceful and I see wildlife like Bald Eagles and deer,” he said.

His noodle attire is always old jeans and boots or tennis shoes.

Brandon Patz of Hollidaysburg, Blair County, has been noodling with Clemens for 18 years.

Patz grew up around the noodling world and finds the hobby fun and adventurous.

“It’s Joe’s family tradition and my grandfather knew Big Al,” said Patz, 23. “He said he could smell them before he found them,” said Patz of the musty smell emitted by snapping turtles.

Three weeks ago, Patz went noodling in Fayette County.

“I reached into the first hole and I missed it. Joe said there said there was a turtle in there and found it. It was such a big turtle it took 40 minutes to get that turtle out,” Patz said.

Joe’s wife Cindy tried her hand at noodling a few times when they were dating and noted her husband initially showed her turtle tips.

“He was my ticket to noodling. It was fun, but I’m not as brave anymore,” said Cindy of her short-lived noodling career.

She caught a few turtles on her own in an effort “to impress” Joe when they were dating.

“We went to the Juniata River and he guided me but I reached in and caught my own turtle,” Cindy recalled. “I’m so proud of Joe and what he does. He’s so proud to pass on his dad’s legacy. But in July and August, I know there’s no plans on a Saturday because he’ll be in the water.”

“When I first started I was terrified. Now, I just reach in there. I’ve been bit a few times. We just suck it up,” said Patz of the risks of injury involved.

Patz credited the Facebook noodle group for spreading correct information on the hobby.

“People don’t know it’s a thing. It’s educating about the noodling and the turtles,” he said.

A typical noodling outing yields 13-30 turtles.

“The turtle population is very healthy. The biggest one I caught was about 28 pounds. You’re struggling and you don’t know how big it is until you start pulling it out,” Patz said.