The Linnes and two other men use their hands to carefully probe the muddy creek bottom and undercuts along the bank.

Its a distinctly Hoosier scene few will understand and even fewer will ever witness.

They are hunting for snapping turtles.

Big ones. Bare handed.

Its called noodling: part hunting, part fishing, part country-fried good time.

But for the Linne brothers along with their cousin, Seth Linne, 29, and longtime friend Evan Schnell, 35 its a summer ritual that reminds the men who they are and where they came from.

It would be easy to write off the scene as just another crazy redneck adventure: four grown men sharing stories and jokes as they splash through the muddy water.

But that explanation would be far too simple for the little-known tradition the brothers are on a low-key mission to help preserve.

Its just something that a lot of the town people used to do where Im from.

So, its kind of just one of them things that just passed down.

Adds Michael: To us, its about camaraderie with all of us going out and carrying on a tradition that a lot of people have let go of.

Transcendent if a little unnerving Noodling may be one of the oldest and purest forms of hunting or fishing there is.

No hooks or nets.

No guns or traps.

No dogs. It all comes down to guts and gusto.

One person taking the fight to a creature that can snap off a finger, an adversary that, according to legend, wont let go until the sun goes down.

Michael, 35, says theres something transcendent if a little unnerving about the whole experience.

Not too many people like sticking their hands or anything else in somewhere they cant see, he explains.

I mean, it will bother you, deep down, but the excitement and then actually everything coming to fruition is wonderful when you do actually touch one.

Caviar King: A Huck Finn character rises to become Indiana biggest caviar dealer Thats the moment, he says, when the adrenaline kicks in and instinct takes over.

You begin to feel the tension ease as you become accustomed to the strange new environment.

Then, as you gently slide your hand over that shell, everything goes away.

Stress of everyday life, the noise of earthly existence, thoughts of bills and money, they all disappear, and you only think of what you could have at your fingertips, Michael says.

And as you pull the prehistoric leviathan from the muddy water you feel the endorphins kick in.

At this point in time you feel the rush from conquering an animal that is afraid of nothing.

In Indiana, the eastern snapping turtle, the smooth softshell turtle and the spiny softshell turtle are considered game species and can be taken by noodling (sometimes called fingering).

It also is legal to catch those turtles with nets, traps and hooks.

The Indiana Department of Natural Resources allowed turtle harvesting year-round, with a daily catch limit of 25 turtles of any size, until 2015.

Turtle Bit Finger Off