Slow Boat

Being egg-headed former biologists, we thought the floats must mark some kind of science experiment or environmental survey. We thought the guys in the boat at left might be state biologists.

We hollered over, "What are these floats?" And the guys rolled their eyes and said, "Fishin' noodles."

Well, that didn't enlighten us much, but Herb Smith would have nodded in agreement.  Herb correctly identified the cut-up bits of "swim noodles" as "jug-fishing floats."

If you still don't know what they are, you must be a Yankee, and you should check out the "Fishin' noodle" links above to see fishing noodles in action!
Fishing noodles (and jugs) are devices that help you catch catfish.  You bait a hook that's attached to the float, and when a catfish strikes, you see the float bob up and down; you just motor over and collect the fish.  Easy to monitor a whole bunch of floats at once.

By the way, for jug-fishing, it's nice to have a jug-fishing BOAT.  A couple days later we spotted this very excellent-looking boat, kind of like a floating UPS truck, but with more features.   Notice the capacious storage space for fishing noodles.

Herb, for your knowledge of the time-honored pastime of jug-fishing, you win a certified tacky postcard.  Just send your snail mail address to slowboat@emailias.com