CANTON – Madison County authorities are trying to determine if an 85-year old man who died catfish grabbing Friday drowned or had a heart attack. The body of Cecil Payne, of Rankin County, was found just before 6 p.m., July 9, after friends said he dove in the water to grab a catfish and didn’t resurface.
Payne and a group of friends were grabbing for catfish in a campground area of the Ross Barnett Reservoir off Mississippi 43.
Catfish grabbing or catfish noodling is a strenuous southern region sport where people wade in the water and go beneath the surface when they see a fish and attempt to bring it up with their hands.
Experts said the process can be more complicated if the sportsman is looking for flathead catfish which live in holes or under brush in rivers and lakes.
Usually the grabber or noodler goes underwater and places his hand inside a catfish hole. The catfish will swim forward and latch onto the fisherman’s hand, usually as a defensive maneuver, in order to try to escape the hole. If the fish is particularly large, the noodler can hook the hand around its gills.
With some of the biggest fish caught weighing in at up to 50-60 pounds, very few noodlers are strong enough to attempt noodling by themselves.
Relatives said Payne, who lived in the Gulde community between Brandon and Pelahatchie, had suffered a heart attack in the past and they believe he may have had another one on July 9.
Payne’s body was found in the same area where friends said he went under.
Payne’s sister, Chesteen McCaskill of Brandon, said her brother was a World War II veteran and a licensed pilot who flew planes for fun. McCaskill also said her brother was “an adventurer” and “died doing something he loved.”
Officials are awaiting autopsy results.
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