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September 08, 1988 - Win a Few, Lose a Few - for FunSeptember 8, 1988/The Suffolk Ti a, a PA Win a Few, Lose a Few -for Fun By Paul Stoutenburgh For those who look to the wind for advice about our weather, its direction can pretty well tell what it's going to be. East wind, our storm wind: Look out for rain. Southwest wind, our sum- mer wind: Humid and often hot weather. Northwest wind, clear and dry: In the fall it's delightful. It's almost as if this wind blew away all the summer people and gave us back our East End crisp and clean. Fall weather always reminds me of those early days of youth when snapper fishing and seining for silversides was a must. Of course, we started snapper fishing in those early days before the fall weather set in, but it seemed the best snapper fishing was always after Labor Day. In those days, the only pieces of equipment needed were a long - shanked snapper hook and an extremely long bamboo pole. Today I see the fancy spinning rigs being used, but I doubt fish- for -fish if more snappers could be caught on those than on the old bamboo ones. Simplic- ity and low cost were the rule in those days. A piece of line a little longer than thc, Pole would swing in just right for baiting and pulling in a fish. Then most uf the real snapper fishing was done in wooden rowboats — some- thing pretty hard to find in the modern world of plastics, fiberglass and metal. It was a time when there was little ua£- fic in our creeks and channels and so the best place to fish naturally was in the channels at the mouth of the creeks. Here you'd try to get out first and get in the best spot. Anchored, the bamboo poles would be out the sides and over the stern of the boat. We were the envy of those ashore whose lines couldn't reach out to where the real action was. It was a great era and one I'm afraid we'll never see again. Watch Out for Swinging Fish Of course, if you were ashore when you pulled in your wiggling, jumping snapper on the end of the line, it swung about like some silvery, spirited pendu- lum. One hand held the long bamboo pole, while the other tried to grab the fish hanging from the ever - elusive line. Many an innocent bystander was jarred out of his summer's dreams by the slap of a wet fish beside the head! Some would use bobbers; others would have no part of them, particularly if the fish were biting. The knack of the no bobber was to keep the bait just Focus on Nature slightly moving so it wouldn't sink to the bottom. When it did, no telling what you might get, an eel that would pull like some monster from the deep and then take some real doing to get the hook out, or perhaps a toadfish. How we kids hated them! They looked and sounded so sinister with their big mouths and grunting sounds. Just so we wouldn't lose our tech- niques as the years rolled along and to start a new generation of snapper fish- ermen, Barbara and I decided to take our daughter and two grandchildren out fish- ing. We knew from watching the bridges and the people on shore at the mouth of our creeks that snappers were in but sad to say in no great quantities. However, the weather was perfect so we said: "Let's try it." Robby had his own fishing pole and tackle box with a special lock on it so his sister "Sara couldn't get in." A few snacks and drinks were brought along by mother to add a little party effect. The old outboard was clamped to the boat, the poles and nets were dropped in, and we were off. The tide was high, the air crisp and clean and that exhilarating feeling of fall caught us all. The first stop was to get bait. We'd brought the long killie net and as we pulled the boat up on the warm sandy beach, we could see schools of silversides or spearing working their way along the shore. Dragging for Silversides In no time the net was unrolled and Robby was elected to go out into the deep water. Without a moment's hesita- tion he was in the water. What better excuse for getting wet. And when I say wet, I mean completely wet. We had to remind him to keep the lower end down so the fish wouldn't escape underneath. It was all a ball to him. Our first haul brought handfuls of the beautiful green spearing in. As the net unfolded, the children could hardly contain them- selves. Even Sara, the youngest, didn't hesitate a bit in picking the slippery fish up and putting them in the bucket. I wanted to get enough so I could eat some. They are a great treat, fried crisp and eaten whole, almost like French fries. I have to behead and gut some for Don't wait for hot weather to service your air conditioning. Call ARTHUR V. JUNGE INC. MECHANICAL SYSTEMS • , Heating / Air Conditioning . Refrigeration / Electric Alarm Installations Cutchogue, New York 11935 516 - 734 -5203 Barbara, but that's no big job. Of course, there were killies mixed in with the spearing and hermit crabs to be ex- amined. It was a treasure house of sights and things to be picked up and looked over. If anyone ever wants to give their children or grandchildren a gift they'll remember, get a killie net for them and turn them loose on a beach. Of course, Robby had to be the boy he is, so when he found a big jelly (not the stinging kind), he picked it up and promptly, with guilt in his eyes, put it on his sister's back, which resulted in a lot of squeals and screams. It was one of the highlights of his day! Probably the getting of the bait would have sufficed for the activity of the day, but we still had to try fishing. Lines were baited and tossed over. But no fish. Finally we did get one snapper, then Robby got one and lost it. Then we got a bill eel (needlefish) and, of course, this was the prize of the day. It was about a foot long, with big eyes and a long bill studded with tiny sharp teeth. Our day rolled on, snacks and juices were con- sumed, we watched an osprey enjoy his catch on a stake out in the marsh, while a snowy egret stalked where all could see. A kingfisher plummeted in the wa- ter nearby, apparently a better fisherman than we. Our day was a success. We had fun, caught a few fish, and had more fun catching the bait. We just took advan- tage of the great outdoors on the East End. And after all, isn't that what it's all about. Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh SNAPPER FISHING —Often the long, thin, silvery, green bill eel will take your bait when snapper fish- ing. These needlefish are found from Maine to Texas and can grow to four feet i n l e n g t h (average 1 112 to 2 feet.) CUSTOMIZED KITCHENS AND BATHS... 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