I’m afraid to answer this question.
I could come up with something pithy and hopefully witty. Or at least, I could try. But I worry that “noodle for a catfish” is a euphemism for something dirty unknown to me.
Confession: I’m going to Google it. While I do, you can enjoy this amusing image of a cat. On the internet. With a caption.
I’m back. Good news: It apparently doesn’t mean anything dirty.
However, Urban Dictionary tells me that “to noodle” means “to mull over, think about, contemplate, ponder, puzzle over or brain-storm”
Which makes this question weird.
I might think about a catfish now and then. They are worth some contemplation. Weird looking little buggers, aren’t they? So they are worth mulling over. Mostly I think about how gross it would be to have my hand caught in their mouth. EW. And the whiskery-bits give me THE FEAR.
But a circumstance where I would have to think FOR a catfish? As in: On behalf of said catfish? Well, I can only think of one. I bet this guy was hoping someone would think of a way to get this freaking basketball out of his mouth. So if I came across a catfish with a basketball in his mouth, I would definitely noodle a solution for that poor thing.