Loading...
September 12, 1996 - A Summer's-End Snapper Excursion6A • The Suffolk Times • September 12, 1996 A Summer's -End Snapper Excursion There's a season for everything and the end of August and beginning of September always meant "snapper fish- ing" to us kids years ago. It's the same today, kids still enjoy snapper fishing. To many this is their first exposure to the grand art of fishing. There are some changes today but basically it's the same. Today the spinning rod has almost entirely replaced the old bamboo poles and we no longer fish anchored in the mid- dle of the channel. In those early days there was little boat traffic in and out of the channel and the little that was, rowed their way along. Something else that's changed for many is the bait. In our youthful days we always had an old seine net that we dragged for bait. It usually had its share of holes and many a spearing owed its freedom to those openings. Today much of the bait is bought frozen at the bait shop or fancy -named littler silver spin- ners are bought for casting with the spin- ning rods. We like to keep the snapper fishing experience alive for our grandchildren (and ourselves, too), so when the time and weather cooperated we put our fish- ing agenda into gear and called the troops together for an outing. We wouldn't just go fishing but we would add a side trip of clamming to complete the day. We'd use freshly cut bamboo poles and I must say they were the most unusual ones I'd ever seen. Seems my son knew where bamboo grew wild near a friend's house, and he'd gotten per- mission to cut a few poles. Many people do not realize bamboo grows quite well here on our East End; as a matter of fact, it could almost be said it does too well, for once established, it takes over. At any rate, the poles were cut and trimmed into a more familiar shape of the old bamboo fishing pole. Quickly rigged, we were ready for our day's adventure. We'd use the Zodiac and small motor to get us up in the creek where we'd first try our luck at clamming. There's anoth- er thing that's changed since our early days. You have to make sure the creek you clam in is "open" to shellfishing today. Many are closed because of pollu- tion, an almost - unheard -of word in those early days. My son seemed to know where to go and he was soon overboard treading clams with his feet and hands. I can remember this was the only method my dad ever used and he always seemed to bring clams home. Soon the grandchildren were overboard swimming and enjoying the water. It was almost high tide. The oldest started treading with her feet but couldn't quite get up the nerve to dive down in the now - murky water to retrieve her treasured find. I was assigned that task. Then there was sea lettuce, that large tissue paper - like sheet of green algae that is found throughout our creeks. To those who don't know it, it can be quite disturbing as it brushes against you, particularly if you can't see it in the riled -up water. Its presence proved a bit too much for one of the younger ones and she promptly left the water, satisfied to watch from the safety of the boat. In the meantime we were getting clams and passing them up to those aboard, who stowed them out of the blazing sun. With our mission of clam- ming over, we headed for the mouth of the creek to try our luck at snapper fish- ing. Once landed, we got out the old seine net and made a long sweep along the shore to get our bait. There is always excitement when the net comes ashore. Everyone shares in the spoils, even by- standers have to "come and see ", which is fine with me for the more people know about the world around them the more they'll want to take care of it. Even before the net was ashore, we knew we were, successful, for you could see the slivery sides of the spearing forced against the side of the net. Gathering the sides of the net together when ashore and working it down to one spot is a bit tricky because everyone wants to help and often the sides slip down and the Focus on Nature by Paul Stoutenburgh bet's Look Back 75 Years Ago Sept. 9, 1921 Town Topics: Justices of the Peace can no longer issue revolver licenses and in consequence, persons wishing to obtain one must apply to courts of record. County Judge Furman will grant them, it is said, only on petition. This means that a person desiring a revolver must engage coun- sel, who will get the required affidavits of good character and present them to the court who will grant the permit. Potato Prizes Offered: The Piedmont -ML Airy Guano Company of Baltimore, Md., of which L.J. Nightin- gale is the Long Island representative, has offered three prizes for the best peck of late potatoes exhibited at the firm's tent at the Suffolk County Fair, Sept. 20 to 24. The first prize is a ton of the company's 5 -84 fertilizer, the sec- ond a half -ton; and the third, a quarter of a ton. 50 Years Ago Sept. M, 1946 Classified Ad: Southold —The Southold Academy, building 30 feet by 50 feet with cellar, central heating and many extras, plot 150 feet by 300 feet. Price $5,000. Workers Needed for Atomic Study: The Camp Upton Nuclear Research Project will require nearly 3,000 construction men alone and another 2,500 workers will comprise the full force for the study of the atom, it was Photo by Barbara Stoutenburgh SNAPPERS —The end cf summer usually means an outing for snappers. The best bait is spearing or silversides. For those with a light spinning rod a small silver spinner will do. bait spills out. We had done well and one haul would probably have been enough, but to make sure we'd have some extra for freezing, we hauled again. The same thing happened again; there seemed to be an endless supply of spearing out there. With the bait swim- ming about in our bucket we were now ready for the excitement ahead. Snapper Poles Working The poles had already been rigged with some old kite cord and a small dob- ber and that all- important specially shaped snapper hook. It has a long shank on it so you can work the hook in the mouth, out the gills, and then down to the tail of the bait. Waist deep, the excit- ed young .ones threw their baited lines out in hopes of snagging the silvery snappers. Sure enough, they were biting and soon poles were swinging and fish were flying through the air. "Bait my hook again." "Oh, I lost that one." "He got away." "Look at the size of this one." "You got the biggest one." "You're catching more than anyone." It was an exciting time. Kids were half learned today. Ten or 12 new buildings are planned to be constructed shortly, the construction including laboratories for biologi- cal, chemical, physical, medical and engineering research. Equipment, including a cyclotron of 500,000,000 volts, a huge synchrotron and a pile of uranium capable of produc- ing a great variety of radiation useful in physical and medi- cal research are reported on the way. 25 Years Ago Sept. 9, 1971 Levon Jetty Goes: Work is under way on removal of twin jetties jutting from the Levon Corporation property in JamesporL Almost two years have passed since the cor- poration's application to the Army Corps of Engineers to extend the jetties to a distance of 570 feet into Long Island Sound sparked the controversy that has finally led to the actual removal of the jetties. Conservationist groups from both North and South forks joined a battle which led, first, to a Corps refusal for dock extension, then, largely through insistence of Congressman Otis Pike, to a shutdown of the sand and gravel operation, and, finally, a few months ago following legal action by State Attorney General Louis Lefkowitz's office, the firm agreed to remove the jetties to prevent further extensive erosion of the cliffs to the east. swimming and half fishing and we grownups just basked in the joy of watching them. Our hooks had seen better days. Many snappers owed their freedom to their dullness. Often the poles would coome up with a fish on, only to have it throw the hook and flap about on the beach. Then there'd'be a mad dash by all to grab it before it worked its way back into the water. Anxious hands would grab the fish, only to have it slip out and away to safety, but no matter, there were more fish out there and in no time it was forgotten and a new fish was on the hook. It was good that the fish were bit- ing, for waiting for fish to bite for long periods of time is not for the young. Their world is one of doing, not waiting. We soon had plenty of the sleek little snappers and some very satisfied young fishermen —and adults. Back at the cottage it was time to clean fish, which was no problem for we had good help. The youngest was assigned to cutting off tails while the oldest and I did the scaling and gutting. Actually all you had to do was cut through the back of the head and pull and everything came out. A simple task. Then when it came to cooking we'd put flour and seasonings in a brown paper bag and shake the snappers in it to coat them. Then they were put on the grill that had been sprayed so they 'wouldn't stick. Eating Instructions Eating them requires a bit of skill. Us- ing your fingers you pull the top and bottom fins out, leaving the skin to be eaten with the rest of the fish just as you'd eat corn on the cob, leaving only the backbone skeleton. There's nothing more tasty than fresh snappers. On the deck dinner was prepared with steamed clams, little potatoes and corn all in one big pot. The bigger clams were ground and made into Barbara's special baked clams in their own shells with help from everyone in the kitchen. Of course, there were other side dishes but the main meal for most was made up of the baked clams hot from the oven, hot steamers dipped in melted butter and freshly- caught snappers from the grill. At any rate it was a great day fishing, clamming and eating. A wonderful way to end the summer just before the kids had to go back to school.