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November 09, 2000 - A 'mystical' evening of eeling6A • The Suffolk Times • November 9, 2000 mystical' evening of eeli*n Suffolk Times photo by Barbara Stoutenburgh Called everything from a bill eel, billfish, needlefish to garfish, this eel -like fish has a long bill that is equipped with needle -like teeth. We find these greenish, silver -sided long -nosed predators swimming close to the surface of the water, where they feed on small spearing and other prey. There are two times of the year I when we go eeling. One of these times is in the fall, about now, the other is in the winter when the ice is frozen thick in our creeks. It is then you chop a hole in the ice where you think the eels have buried them- selves. You might have to chop many holes before you locate them, but that's part of the game. Then, with a specially Focus designed spear called a mud ON spear, you blind - NATURE ly probe the mud until you by Paul feel something, Stoutenburgh hopefully an eel, then by pulling back, it is pinned on one of the barbs of the spear and you have the mak- ings of a fried eel dinner. Fall eeling is what we did just this week, so come with me on a night of eeling in one of our creeks. Eels become more abundant at this time o� the year, when they come into our creeks to fatten up and prepare themselves for their long winter's sleep in the soft mud. We call this type of eeling firefighting. You get a light — a gas light, electric light, any kind of bright light — and slowly move along in the creek until you see an eel, and then with a sand spear, you try your luck at spearing. Lying on the bottom, eels look like a two - ox three - foot -long piece of muddy, dArk -green rope -: Mlost +are•- about a pound, some less and a few weigh as me warn you, it's not as easy as it Itisam You are out in the quiet of the night, alone with the fall coolness sneaking in over the water that creates a low rolling mist as you quietly move along. Often we see other inhabitant of the creek besides eels. Remember, our creeks are the food factories for their inhabitants. We saw nice -sized *hite perch, paiticul ai ly in the head- waters of the creeks where the water is less salty. We saw three or four flounders, eight small stripers proba- bly 12 to 14 inches long, a few linger- ing snappers, three or four mantis shrimp, and a few blue crabs (which we netted) and, of course, the object of our night's adventure, our eels. But they were just the ones that happened to come into the path of our Ti—ght. There are hundreds upon hundreds less- conspicuous creatures moving throughout our creeks, each preying on the other. Some will gain, some will lose. One of the unusual fish we saw was the long billfish or needlefish that prowls the surface of the water for small spearing or other unlucky prey. They're something like an eel but a lighter color, light green above, with silvery sides and a whitish under - body. I remember them from years ago when as kids we would go snapper fishing down in the channel. They were clever bait snatchers. Occasionally you'd hook one and it was then you'd see the sharp needle -like teeth that run along their long - pointed bill. They came in all sizes, from three to 16 inches in length. At night, when they are scared, they dart off, sometimes slipping along the surface of the water in a mad dash for safety. The crabs that we saw were the remnants of the summer's popula- tion, which by now are mostly in the mud and, like the eels, will spend the winter below, their hearts hardly beating. Then the warm waters of spring will wake them up and they'll be off again to play their role in that wonderful system that keeps our creeks and bays alive. We saw the mantis shrimp stalking killies or anything else that moved. i ney remora me of a praying mantis with their big green eyes and irides- cent bodies. They live in holes in the muddy bottom. Often you'll see then with just their head sticking out, wait ing to pounce on a passerby. The white perch are quite good -sized but very difficult to hit with a spear, and like the stripers and snappers they are always ready to shoot off and leave you bewil- dered. So we stuck to our eels and our blue -claw crabs. They will make the last crab meal this year. We also spooked up a group of Canada geese that were in the creek, probably enjoying the pesky green - colored sea lettuce (algae) that plagues our creek. Geese are vegetarians; we see them out in the fields eating grass, so I think they must have been eating the sea lettuce, oth- erwise why would they have been in the creek at night? There must have been 15 or 20 of them. We scared them up and they went off in a turbu- lence of splashing and honking as they took off. Then there was the occasional black duck that burst out in front of us. They, too, were feeding along the edges, picking up little mollusks they root out of the muddy bank. In all our evening was a success. We came in after about two hours with a nice mess of eels and a bonus of crabs fo lunch. . 111picte one adventure we move on to the next day when we had to clean the eels and prepare them for smoking. Once they were cleaned we put them in a brine solu- tion and left them iced overnight. Next day we hung them in the smok- er and started a fire in the bottom using a combination of cherry and hickory to give them that special smoked flavor. After four or five or maybe six hours, depending on their size, they came out a golden brown, cooked through, oozing with flavor. There is nothing quite like a smoked eel, especially warm right out of the smoker. When I was cleaning the eels I found in the stomachs what they had been eating. In one I found a small mantis shrimp. How the eel ever got it into its mouth, never mind its stom ach, is beyond me. Later I called Larry Penny, one of Long Island's most knowledgeable naturalists, and found out that eels' mouths open lat- erally, much wider than other fish, thereby allowing larger prey than normal to be swallowed. It's some- what like a snake does when it unhinges its jaw to accommodate larger prey. In other eels we found small crabs, killies and even a long white piece of meat that I assume came from a razor clam. It was inter- esting to see what these eels were feeding on. Luck was with us. The night was perfect. There was no wind. The tide was right and eels were there. 6A • The Suffolk Times • November 9, 2000 mystical' evening of eeli*n Suffolk Times photo by Barbara Stoutenburgh Called everything from a bill eel, billfish, needlefish to garfish, this eel -like fish has a long bill that is equipped with needle -like teeth. We find these greenish, silver -sided long -nosed predators swimming close to the surface of the water, where they feed on small spearing and other prey. There are two times of the year I when we go eeling. One of these times is in the fall, about now, the other is in the winter when the ice is frozen thick in our creeks. It is then you chop a hole in the ice where you think the eels have buried them- selves. You might have to chop many holes before you locate them, but that's part of the game. Then, with a specially Focus designed spear called a mud ON spear, you blind - NATURE ly probe the mud until you by Paul feel something, Stoutenburgh hopefully an eel, then by pulling back, it is pinned on one of the barbs of the spear and you have the mak- ings of a fried eel dinner. Fall eeling is what we did just this week, so come with me on a night of eeling in one of our creeks. Eels become more abundant at this time o� the year, when they come into our creeks to fatten up and prepare themselves for their long winter's sleep in the soft mud. We call this type of eeling firefighting. You get a light — a gas light, electric light, any kind of bright light — and slowly move along in the creek until you see an eel, and then with a sand spear, you try your luck at spearing. Lying on the bottom, eels look like a two - ox three - foot -long piece of muddy, dArk -green rope -: Mlost +are•- about a pound, some less and a few weigh as me warn you, it's not as easy as it Itisam You are out in the quiet of the night, alone with the fall coolness sneaking in over the water that creates a low rolling mist as you quietly move along. Often we see other inhabitant of the creek besides eels. Remember, our creeks are the food factories for their inhabitants. We saw nice -sized *hite perch, paiticul ai ly in the head- waters of the creeks where the water is less salty. We saw three or four flounders, eight small stripers proba- bly 12 to 14 inches long, a few linger- ing snappers, three or four mantis shrimp, and a few blue crabs (which we netted) and, of course, the object of our night's adventure, our eels. But they were just the ones that happened to come into the path of our Ti—ght. There are hundreds upon hundreds less- conspicuous creatures moving throughout our creeks, each preying on the other. Some will gain, some will lose. One of the unusual fish we saw was the long billfish or needlefish that prowls the surface of the water for small spearing or other unlucky prey. They're something like an eel but a lighter color, light green above, with silvery sides and a whitish under - body. I remember them from years ago when as kids we would go snapper fishing down in the channel. They were clever bait snatchers. Occasionally you'd hook one and it was then you'd see the sharp needle -like teeth that run along their long - pointed bill. They came in all sizes, from three to 16 inches in length. At night, when they are scared, they dart off, sometimes slipping along the surface of the water in a mad dash for safety. The crabs that we saw were the remnants of the summer's popula- tion, which by now are mostly in the mud and, like the eels, will spend the winter below, their hearts hardly beating. Then the warm waters of spring will wake them up and they'll be off again to play their role in that wonderful system that keeps our creeks and bays alive. We saw the mantis shrimp stalking killies or anything else that moved. i ney remora me of a praying mantis with their big green eyes and irides- cent bodies. They live in holes in the muddy bottom. Often you'll see then with just their head sticking out, wait ing to pounce on a passerby. The white perch are quite good -sized but very difficult to hit with a spear, and like the stripers and snappers they are always ready to shoot off and leave you bewil- dered. So we stuck to our eels and our blue -claw crabs. They will make the last crab meal this year. We also spooked up a group of Canada geese that were in the creek, probably enjoying the pesky green - colored sea lettuce (algae) that plagues our creek. Geese are vegetarians; we see them out in the fields eating grass, so I think they must have been eating the sea lettuce, oth- erwise why would they have been in the creek at night? There must have been 15 or 20 of them. We scared them up and they went off in a turbu- lence of splashing and honking as they took off. Then there was the occasional black duck that burst out in front of us. They, too, were feeding along the edges, picking up little mollusks they root out of the muddy bank. In all our evening was a success. We came in after about two hours with a nice mess of eels and a bonus of crabs fo lunch. . 111picte one adventure we move on to the next day when we had to clean the eels and prepare them for smoking. Once they were cleaned we put them in a brine solu- tion and left them iced overnight. Next day we hung them in the smok- er and started a fire in the bottom using a combination of cherry and hickory to give them that special smoked flavor. After four or five or maybe six hours, depending on their size, they came out a golden brown, cooked through, oozing with flavor. There is nothing quite like a smoked eel, especially warm right out of the smoker. When I was cleaning the eels I found in the stomachs what they had been eating. In one I found a small mantis shrimp. How the eel ever got it into its mouth, never mind its stom ach, is beyond me. Later I called Larry Penny, one of Long Island's most knowledgeable naturalists, and found out that eels' mouths open lat- erally, much wider than other fish, thereby allowing larger prey than normal to be swallowed. It's some- what like a snake does when it unhinges its jaw to accommodate larger prey. In other eels we found small crabs, killies and even a long white piece of meat that I assume came from a razor clam. It was inter- esting to see what these eels were feeding on. Luck was with us. The night was perfect. There was no wind. The tide was right and eels were there. 6A • The Suffolk Times • November 9, 2000 mystical' evening of eeli*n Suffolk Times photo by Barbara Stoutenburgh Called everything from a bill eel, billfish, needlefish to garfish, this eel -like fish has a long bill that is equipped with needle -like teeth. We find these greenish, silver -sided long -nosed predators swimming close to the surface of the water, where they feed on small spearing and other prey. There are two times of the year I when we go eeling. One of these times is in the fall, about now, the other is in the winter when the ice is frozen thick in our creeks. It is then you chop a hole in the ice where you think the eels have buried them- selves. You might have to chop many holes before you locate them, but that's part of the game. Then, with a specially Focus designed spear called a mud ON spear, you blind - NATURE ly probe the mud until you by Paul feel something, Stoutenburgh hopefully an eel, then by pulling back, it is pinned on one of the barbs of the spear and you have the mak- ings of a fried eel dinner. Fall eeling is what we did just this week, so come with me on a night of eeling in one of our creeks. Eels become more abundant at this time o� the year, when they come into our creeks to fatten up and prepare themselves for their long winter's sleep in the soft mud. We call this type of eeling firefighting. You get a light — a gas light, electric light, any kind of bright light — and slowly move along in the creek until you see an eel, and then with a sand spear, you try your luck at spearing. Lying on the bottom, eels look like a two - ox three - foot -long piece of muddy, dArk -green rope -: Mlost +are•- about a pound, some less and a few weigh as me warn you, it's not as easy as it Itisam You are out in the quiet of the night, alone with the fall coolness sneaking in over the water that creates a low rolling mist as you quietly move along. Often we see other inhabitant of the creek besides eels. Remember, our creeks are the food factories for their inhabitants. We saw nice -sized *hite perch, paiticul ai ly in the head- waters of the creeks where the water is less salty. We saw three or four flounders, eight small stripers proba- bly 12 to 14 inches long, a few linger- ing snappers, three or four mantis shrimp, and a few blue crabs (which we netted) and, of course, the object of our night's adventure, our eels. But they were just the ones that happened to come into the path of our Ti—ght. There are hundreds upon hundreds less- conspicuous creatures moving throughout our creeks, each preying on the other. Some will gain, some will lose. One of the unusual fish we saw was the long billfish or needlefish that prowls the surface of the water for small spearing or other unlucky prey. They're something like an eel but a lighter color, light green above, with silvery sides and a whitish under - body. I remember them from years ago when as kids we would go snapper fishing down in the channel. They were clever bait snatchers. Occasionally you'd hook one and it was then you'd see the sharp needle -like teeth that run along their long - pointed bill. They came in all sizes, from three to 16 inches in length. At night, when they are scared, they dart off, sometimes slipping along the surface of the water in a mad dash for safety. The crabs that we saw were the remnants of the summer's popula- tion, which by now are mostly in the mud and, like the eels, will spend the winter below, their hearts hardly beating. Then the warm waters of spring will wake them up and they'll be off again to play their role in that wonderful system that keeps our creeks and bays alive. We saw the mantis shrimp stalking killies or anything else that moved. i ney remora me of a praying mantis with their big green eyes and irides- cent bodies. They live in holes in the muddy bottom. Often you'll see then with just their head sticking out, wait ing to pounce on a passerby. The white perch are quite good -sized but very difficult to hit with a spear, and like the stripers and snappers they are always ready to shoot off and leave you bewil- dered. So we stuck to our eels and our blue -claw crabs. They will make the last crab meal this year. We also spooked up a group of Canada geese that were in the creek, probably enjoying the pesky green - colored sea lettuce (algae) that plagues our creek. Geese are vegetarians; we see them out in the fields eating grass, so I think they must have been eating the sea lettuce, oth- erwise why would they have been in the creek at night? There must have been 15 or 20 of them. We scared them up and they went off in a turbu- lence of splashing and honking as they took off. Then there was the occasional black duck that burst out in front of us. They, too, were feeding along the edges, picking up little mollusks they root out of the muddy bank. In all our evening was a success. We came in after about two hours with a nice mess of eels and a bonus of crabs fo lunch. . 111picte one adventure we move on to the next day when we had to clean the eels and prepare them for smoking. Once they were cleaned we put them in a brine solu- tion and left them iced overnight. Next day we hung them in the smok- er and started a fire in the bottom using a combination of cherry and hickory to give them that special smoked flavor. After four or five or maybe six hours, depending on their size, they came out a golden brown, cooked through, oozing with flavor. There is nothing quite like a smoked eel, especially warm right out of the smoker. When I was cleaning the eels I found in the stomachs what they had been eating. In one I found a small mantis shrimp. How the eel ever got it into its mouth, never mind its stom ach, is beyond me. Later I called Larry Penny, one of Long Island's most knowledgeable naturalists, and found out that eels' mouths open lat- erally, much wider than other fish, thereby allowing larger prey than normal to be swallowed. It's some- what like a snake does when it unhinges its jaw to accommodate larger prey. In other eels we found small crabs, killies and even a long white piece of meat that I assume came from a razor clam. It was inter- esting to see what these eels were feeding on. Luck was with us. The night was perfect. There was no wind. The tide was right and eels were there.