Okie Noodling is alive and well, and I’m going to stick my neck out there and just say it’s going to continue to grow. After 19-year-old Lucy Millsap’s big win at Pauls Valley this weekend the Bare Knuckle Babes just posted on Facebook that their site is choked because the story hit Yahoo. Lucy is Miss May 2014 in the calendar. The Texans turned up the heat on the Okies this year, but weather and luck in the water always will figure into noodling competitions. Texans won’t always rule, but we have a solid Oklahoma-Texas rivalry established in noodling now – that can only grow.
Noodling has been legal for only two years in Texas. It’s bound to grow south of the border and add to the color of existing events. Texas-based events are sure to spring up in the future.
I heard some speculation this spring that perhaps the Pauls Valley competition would be diminished because of new events created in Durant and Claremore, in part because those events offered bigger prize money.
Anyone who has been around noodlers knows that noodling isn’t about the prize money. It sure helps to offer bigger prizes when establishing a new event, but I think everyone recognizes Pauls Valley always will be the granddaddy of these tournaments and the place to secure ultimate bragging rights. Read more….