Temple's Skipper Bivins and Trent Jackson are noodling's new stars

Big Fish Adventures caught the attention of Half Yard Productions, which pitched an idea for a weekly television show.

Animal Planet liked the pilot, and filming for the weekly series began in May in southwest Oklahoma. Twelve episodes are scheduled beginning Aug. 7.

Most of the rookie noodlers Bivins escorts through the muddy waters of southwest Oklahoma on Hillbilly Handfishin' have rarely been off concrete.

“I eventually coax them into being the bait,” Bivins said. “City slickers make danged good bait.”

Bivins' favorite episode features a young Chicago photographer who met a very aggressive 30-pound blue catfish on his adventure in Oklahoma.

“It bit him about a dozen times, over and over and over,” Bivins said. “He was just screaming. He just kept on. I thought his eye was going to pop out, and I was going to have to catch it.

“He got the experience of a lifetime for sure. He got into a freshwater shark attack. He may have gotten some pedicures before but not like this.”

All of the noodling occurs in a 100-mile radius of Cotton County, Bivins said.

Many landowners in Cotton, Jefferson and Love counties were generous enough to allow Bivins and his film crew access to lakes, ponds, rivers and creeks on their land.

These two Cotton County noodlers seem to be naturals on camera.

“Jackson and I have been cutting up with each other all of our lives,” Bivins said. “We are just being ourselves and having fun and showing the guests a good time. I guess that comes across.”