August 07, 1980 - Eels for Fun as Well as FoodSECOND SECTION
AUGUST 7, 1980
Spearing Eels for Fun as Well as Food
Eels ave a ways brought mlxed feeings.
Black, slimy, snakelike, they have
been shunned by the general public simply
because of misconceived notions and our
antiseptic way of life. Then it might be that
once you have caught an eel you don't
know what to do with it. It takes a bit of
doing to skin a squirming, two foot
ever - moving eel. When that's finally ac-
complished, if you're still with it, the
cooking turns some people off for the
cut -up eel gives the impression of being
alive as the heat triggers inner muscles to
make them move. In all, it's just too much
for some people, but for others the trouble
is well worthwhile -- there is no better
eating that comes from our waters.
My first recollection in the art of eeling
was when I was just about ten years old
and was introduced to the adventure by an
old European carpenter who had come to
our house for a week to work. He had come
from the city and took up lodging in a
nearby garage where he cooked and slept.
To help out with his provisions he had
fallen back on one of the old ways of
catching eels. He had about four or five
hand lines with half a dozen or so baited
hooks attached to each. In the evening he'd
set these out by throwing them from the
shore into the deeper parts of our creek
and tying the line to a stake in the bank.
He'd then leave them over night, unattend-
ed and check them each morning before
the next day's work. Often I'd accompany
him on what seemed in my youthful eyes a
great adventure as he went from one line
to the next, pulling in one or two squirming
eels on each one. He always had enough to
eat and enough to give away.
" Barbin' " For Eels
Then there was my Uncle Henry, who
had his own special way of catching a mess
of eels. He called it "barbin' " for eels. In
those days worms were a lot cheaper than
they are today. So with four or five dozen
worms, he would string them on a silken
thread and then work them into a ball,
wrapping round and round so that there
OM M�QIET(Dj
and slide.
When I arrived at the boat, Roy had
gotten the lights out and had all the
necessary equipment on hand; a long -
handled spear, a deep garbage pail to keep
the eels from jumping out and the correct
size and weight `stick' to persuade the eels
off the spear.
The water was like glass and as we poled
along the surface came alive with darting
and jumping bait fish. How our bays and
creeks teem with life. Down below there
were clumps of greenery here and there
and once in a while we'd see a blue -claw
crab, but most were small and undersized.
To cash in on the abundance of bait fish, a
night heron stalked the water's edge,
spearing his evening meal from the
thrashing multitude of fish around him.
For fun we pushed softly toward him
without making a sound, to see how close
we could come, our light blinding him. He
stood motionless as we glided up to within
about 20 feet and then he sprang up and
flew away. Legend has it that the Indians
of long ago used this method to sneak up on
all sorts of birds at night. They used a
flaming torch and in those days could get
close enough to strike. I've never gotten
that close. Perhaps through the passing of
time the birds have wised up and always
fly away just in time.
Code Is Eat Or Be Eaten
From above you'd see the green or black
figures of eels methodically moving along
in their endless scavenging. Eat or be
eaten is the code of that darkness. Then,
with a little skill and a lot of luck, I'd thrust
was literally a mesh of threads holding the
worms together. To this he attached a
length of drop line and a weight. He and
my Dad would take these devices and an
inquisitive kid, who always seemed to be
around for these adventures, and go'out in
the evening into the bay barbin' for eels.
The trick was to let the eel get a good
bite into the threaded ball of worms, then
pull up gently but quickly before the eel
could shake itself loose. Seems their tiny
teeth would get caught in the thread and
hold on long enough so that you could bring
them up over the side of the boat. Toward
the end of the evening you can imagine the
bottom of the boat was a bit slippery. Often
they'd come up half way only to drop off
and dart away. After which there were
many darns and damns and other words
that young boys just love to hear.
I've written about eeling through ice in
the winter time, so I'll skip over that fun
story now and tell you about the other
night when Roy Paul called me and said,
"Looks like a good night for eeling." I was
committed till about 9, but after that I told
him I'd be ready.
My mind flashed back to when Bill
Jackowski and Harry Waite, old friends of
mine, and I used to go eeling 30 years or
more ago. We'd make a night of it and
come back with half a garbage pail full of
eels. We used an old, wide, Great South
Bay catboat that had been converted to
power with an old, one - cylinder putt -putt
engine. Two of us would stand on the bow
with spears, while the other would steer
from the stern. Below us, hanging on a
couple of nails, would be the gas light
hissing away and lighting a circle around
us. We looked like the great whalers of old,
spears raised for action.
Involuntary Bath For Eelers
All would go as planned, except for
every once in a while when the helmsman
got too involved with the eeling and the
boat would strike a hidden object or run
aground, tossing the eelers in the bow into
the waters below. Those were priceless
nights and it was there that I got my
apprenticeship into how to spear eels and,
most of all, how to clean them. As they
say, "There's nothing to it, if you know
how.' But without the proper guidance it
can be a real frustrating experience of slip
NIGHT HERON - -This skillful fisherman roosts during the day and
stalks our creeks and bay shores for small fish and crustaceans at night.
Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
the spear forward and, hopefully snag one the cob, for, unlike fish, there is only one
of those twisting, squirming lengths of large bone that runs through the middle
pure muscle. Hour after hour we poled and you eat around it. I get hungry just
along the shorefront. In and around boats, thinking about it.
under docks along the marsh edge till the And with eels, like so many things I
hour and the lack of energy told us to head guess -- to each his own. We like eels and
back. Our catch was nothing spectacular find the sea a good provider for those who
but enough for a couple of good meals. know how and take advantage of it.
The very next day we had fried eels... Actually, eeling is a lot of work and
done only the way my wife can do them, preparation, but then that's the way it
crisp and golden brown. Fried eels to me should be. Work and the reward is what
are like peanuts. Once I start eating them I it's all about.
can't stop. You eat eels like you eat corn on PAUL STOUTENBURGH
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