NOODLE TIME! Jackson and Skipper on their biggest ‘Hillbilly Handfishin’ catches

Skipper Bivins and Trent Jackson, known to most people as simply Skipper and Jackson, enjoy the fine art of noodling. For the uninitiated, this extreme form of fishing turns the tables and actually makes the fisherman the bait. The two stars of Animal Planet’s Hillbilly Handfishin’ stick their arms and legs into beaver holes in the rivers of Oklahoma, and what they pull out is almost always surprising. From 60-pound catfish to flying carp, the fish grab hold of appendages and essentially get “hooked” on the human body.

Skipper and Jacksons are old pros at noodling, but their hit reality show has less to do with them and more to do with the unsuspecting public. Every week, they invite a group of average people into the murky depths of the rivers. It’s up to these novices to become quick handfishing experts. The challenging aspect of noodling usually results in many screams and scrunched faces — in other words, it’s downright hilarious watching people lure catfish with their arms and legs.

Recently, Hollywood Soapbox talked with Jackson and Skipper about their unusual profession and the upcoming season of Hillbilly Handfishin’, which continues with new episodes Sundays at 8 p.m. Questions and answers have been slightly edited.

Could you talk about these preachers from New Jersey in the premiere episode? They were pretty funny guys.

Skipper: They were a pretty wild group. And the preachers, they were a little fanatic. They came in and I guess they got their faith tested. … These guys got bit by big monster fish and came back up after they were baptized in the Oklahoma rivers, and they came up speaking in tongues.

How did you get involved in noodling?

Skipper: I’ve been fishing since I was 4.

Jackson: I was 11 years old.

Skipper: We grew up about 10 miles apart, and eventually we just kind of met on the creeks. We both shared the same passion, which is noodling, and started going together.

Jackson: We actually started fishing together when Skipper’s son was just probably 5 years old and could barely even swim. And we’ve been fishing ever since. He’s now 18 years old and graduated out of high school just last month.

When did the decision come to make noodling a profession?

Skipper: Well, we won a tournament a few times in the past. And a friend of mine had told me that, ‘Hey, I think there’s some people out there that would pay good money to do this.’ So we thought about it, and actually my wife and I started Big Fish Adventures. Opened up a web site and Half Yard Productions found us through that.

Are there challenges with having a camera crew with you on the river?

Skipper: We’ve had some of the greatest camera crews and audio men in the world. … Each and every one of them have gotten baptized on the Red River or East Cache Creek, because you’ll be walking in ankle to knee-deep water and then suddenly it’s over your head. It’s very hard to stay above water with a 30-pound camera or 70-pound audio pack on.

How do you find the people who will be on the shows?

Skipper: We do have our web site, which is WeCatchBigFish.net. Most people found us through that, and then eventually after we came into contact with Half Yard and got the show, they also have a contact side. They can contact them at Half Yard Productions and do a little questionnaire. And if they like the questionnaire, they’ll go through a Skyping process.

What are some of your biggest catches?

Jackson: Actually our biggest catch ever was 111 pounds. Skipper and I and a couple of other buddies — this was what five, six years ago — this was actually the biggest catfish I’ve ever saw. I haven’t seen one as big yet. But it was amazing. It was quite a thrill.

Have you ever been injured by noodling?

Skipper: Definitely. We’ve had lots of near misses. Back in times past, we’re in a pretty bad drought now, but we used to fish deep water — 8, 10, 12, 14 foot deep. And when you get a big 50, 60, 70-pounder on your foot that deep, things happen really quickly and you’ve got to have some good friends up on top to give you a hand when you come up with it.

Jackson: Actually one time Skipper and I were fishing, and he stayed under water for quite some time, a lot longer than he usually does. I went down to look for him, and I couldn’t find him. I came back up to the top. I looked and Joann was there. She said, ‘He hadn’t come up yet.’ So I went back down, and when I did I found Skipper. Actually he had hold of one fish and another fish swam out of the hole and hit me in the eye. He cut me pretty good. It was probably the hardest hit I’ve ever taken.

Do you do traditional fishing as well or just the noodling?

Skipper: When we were kids growing up, our grandpas took us pole fishing. But once you’ve been noodling, you’ll put that fishing pole way back in the corner and it’ll just hide forever.

Jackson: Actually we call that senior citizen fishing. And when we get too old to catch one with our hands and feet, I’m sure we’ll be sitting on the bank with the old codgers.

Have you ever caught something other than catfish?

Skipper: Well, we do catch different types of catfish — blue cat, channel cat, flathead. We also catch carp. And then we also have an Asian jumping carp, and they are just like a projectile or a missile. They will come out of the water, hit you in head and still shoot 15-20 foot across the air.

Jackson: Skipper and I both, we have actually caught beavers. But we do a very quick catch-and-release when we catch a beaver. We let them go very fast.

When Hillbilly Handfishin’ premiered on television, could you believe you would be reality TV stars?

Skipper: We kind of scratch our heads and wonder about that. We haven’t had a whole lot of time to really think about it. The season is a short season, but we do a lot of PR work and we’re constantly getting ready for the next season. I wouldn’t say that we were stars, but Jackson and I have been entertaining ourselves for a long time. He laughs at me, and I laugh at him.

Jackson: And I’d like to say that Animal Planet and Half Yard Productions they actually make us look way better, I think, than we actually are.

How long does it take to film an episode?

Skipper: It’s a full week. We film 80-100 hours per week for each episode.

Jackson: And Skipper and I do a lot of scouting as well, because we want everybody that comes down to catch a big fish, and sometimes it’s kind of hard to do, but we give it our 100 percent effort every week.

Could you give viewers a preview of the upcoming season?

Skipper: We have some beautiful, beautiful women. We’ve had some girls that star in horror shows. We’ve had a couple of beauty queens and, of course, the preacher that you talked about. And each and every one has different expressions. When they get into the murky waters and they don’t know what’s going to be there, whether it’s going to be a snake, or a turtle, or a beaver, and when that fish comes running up and hits them, the look on their face is priceless. You never get tired of hearing a grown man scream under water. We had four girls that actually cried in less than 10 days. So Jackson and I had to do a lot of consoling. We really like that when it’s pretty girls.

Jackson: We had one of the best years as far as catching big fish than we’ve ever had. So we like to tell people, get ready to hold on to your seats because there’s a lot of big fish and a lot of pretty girls. It’s nonstop action.

Have you ever put your hand or foot in one of these holes and seen a water snake come out?

Skipper: Yeah, definitely. You don’t always see them and you don’t always feel them, but they’re always there. That’s their home and that’s where they like to be, right up in the edge of the banks and in the roots. … I have felt a few with my foot slither across or reach your hand in and feel something go out. As long as you don’t step on them. If you respect his space, nine times out of 10 he’ll respect yours.

Do you see the show as educational because many people don’t know about noodling?

Skipper: We would hope that we were being a good light on Oklahoma, because Oklahoma has so much to offer. … The conditions are extreme, but to know the good you have to know the bad. Where we come from, we have a good range of that.

Jackson: You should never go try this by yourself. We’ve been doing this since we were 4 and 11 years old. We were taught. There’s a lot more to this than meets the eye. You can’t just go out there and randomly go sticking your feet in the holes. There’s certain situations that you do and certain situations that you don’t.

Best of luck with the upcoming season.

Jackson: And we would like to see, would you like to come down and go fishing with us?

I’d love to go to Oklahoma and go fishing.

Skipper: Well, we always throw that triple dog dare out there.

Maybe in the future.

Skipper: I heard a slight stutter there. Are you sure?

I come from a big fishing family. But I’ve never done noodling.

Skipper: I’m sure you fished, but you’ve never been the bait.