February 22, 1979 - Eeling through the IceSECOND SECTION
FEBRUARY 22, 1979
It's been so bitter cold outside this week
that it took the fun out of any outdoor ac-
tivity. Nevertheless, I decided to venture
out, Besides which is a con
tinual job no matter what the weather, I took
on an added endeavor and went eeling
through the ice. Not -loo successfully, I
might add, but nonetheless worth the effort.
Eels. to some, never seem to gain the
respect they deserve. They're like snakes
and therefore most people are against
anything that wiggles and squirms. Yet both
the eel and snake have their place in the
natural world.
Both hibernate during the winter months.
Snakes, such as our garter snake, find
others of their own kind and ball up together
underground for their long winter. Eels. on
the other hand. hibernate singly but in the
"The bays and creeks
will always
give their bounty
to those who would seek it out."
same general location. That's why, when
you find eels working through the ice you
usually do pretty well. The trick of the
game, of course, is to find where they
-' congregate in our creeks.
Cutting Hole Can Be Tricky
An eeler working out on the ice is a pretty
visible thing; and so when he starts getting
eels it doesn't take long before he has fellow
eelers all about him. It's not all that simple
though. You need an ax to chop a hole in the
ice, which can be anywhere from four inches
to a foot thick. When it gets too thick two
problems arise. The first is, you are going to
need a lot of energy just to cut that hole
through the deep ice. The second is when
you finally cut the deep hole and your ax
breaks through to the water, it immediately
fills up. The problem next becomes one of
cutting the remainder of--the ice with —the
hole filled with water. This operation can
end up being a very wet one, as I can. vouch
for. -
The spear you use is called a mud spear,
which is designed to go over the eel on the
first thrust and hoof: it when you pull the
spear bade up So your thrusts are a con-
tinual jabbing until you "feel" resistance
then back up and out Of course, eels, aren't
the only thing you will hook on to. Toad fish
is a common catch. along with spider crabs
and an occasional old branch, rope, can, etc.
These relics on the ire are sorted over by the
ever- present gulls which are always lurking
around the perimeter of the area.
watch t : ut For Old Holes
w o i r: >
A armor, l .h_,f- who might go out on
the ice r.fter other people have been eeling.
Watch out for the newly frozen over holes
that become almost i invisible with a light
cowering of snow 1 ;well remember walking
out on Eugene's Creek years ago when a
friend of mine almost disappeared having
stepped on one of these thin areas. He
couldn't have gone completely through the
ice but he did get plenty wet and I might
add. a hit shakers. it seems comical now as I
think back of how, after he got out lie lay on
the ice. raised his leg and let the ' .aler run
out of his hip hoot.
It was so cold this week that all records of
low temperatures were shattered
throughout our area. When I went eeling it
was 'a mere 16 degrees, but seeing it was in
the late afternoon with the wind still
"Z blowing, it felt like zero. As I finally chopped
through the ice, the water splashed up on the
ax handle, immediately_freezing and
making it almost impossible to hold on to.
Later, when I worked the spear, it too
became glazed with ice. My gloves became
coated with slush ice and the cold
penetrated my fingers. The cold wind made
me turn my back on it. Yet there was a
stimulation about the activity that's hard to
explain. Perhaps it was the color of the late
afternoon sun on the meadowgrass, with
blue sky above and the sparkling ice
beneath my feet.
Once Common Winter Pursuit
As I pulled an eel squirming on the spear
to the surface I was glad I didn't have to
make a living at this endeavor, for it seemed
forever and ever before I was rewarded.
Perhaps the cold was playing- its-par t. As i
1
continued to vyork, the squirming eel, now
dislodged front my spear on the ice, started
to slow its movements down as the cold
penetrated its dark, olive -green body. Later
as I looked over my shoulder the fin of the
eel was frozen in a wavy a y yellow line along its
back and there was no motion at all.
Eeling activities such as this were more
common years ago amongst farmers and
others during the long, idle winter months.
Whether it is soft clams or hard clams,
fishing or eeling through the ice, the bays
and creeks will always give their bounty to
those who would seek it out.
Back at the car my fingers seemed to lose
their ability to function as I tried to tie the
long spear on top of the car. When I brought
my catch into the kitchen f noticed tiie cat
became inquisitive and curious, looking
down into the pail. The eels had started to
warm up and were now again moving about.
Those who own cats know all too well the
dainty paw motion of an inquisitive cat as it
feels out its interests. When 1 was skinning
the eels; 1 noticed their thick white laver of
fat had all but diminsihed, this being their
built -up reserve food supply for the long
winter months in the mud.
Smoked Eels Annctatng
Years ago when we had hotter luck eeling
we would smoke the eels, but now with my
meager catch we'd have to do with fried eels
tonight.
Our old smoke house somewhat resembles
an old outhouse, only because it was made
out of some leftover wood that seemed to
just fill those dimensions. We have an
abundance of hickory wood on our property
and it works fine for us. Apple is even better,
but much harder to come by. Bluefish,
progies, mackerel, sea robins, all smoked
well.
The natural golden color of a slab of
smoked bluefish is hard to beat, and the
aroma - well, it's like a perfume to those who
enjoy such bounties.
Smoking fish, by the way, didn't come
without trial and error. One laughable ex-
perience was when I acquired an old icebox
years ago from my Auntie Jean. It had been
in the garage as long as I can remember, but
now she wanted it out. Being an opportunist
I jumped at the situation, as I had read -
refrigerators would make a good housing
for a smokehouse. I set to redesigning it,
cutting holes for the firebox, and vent holes
in the top for ventilation. It had been painted
on the inside and so I thought a preliminary
fire to burn off the paint should be done. I
started a slow fire.
All went well until the small fire became a
hot fire. Then destruction hit. My small fire
had caught onto the excelsior that was used
in those days for insulation and shortly
engulfed the whole affair. Its metal sides
glowed red hot and bent and twisted out of
shape. By the time I got to it all I could do
was watch it horn. I checiced off that ex-
perimental smokehouse as a complete
disaster, but patience is a virtue and to I
rebuilt me own. lro this clay it has worked
perfectly. filling the air down in the pasture
v:itli these never- to-be- fo'rgotton rich odors
of hickory wood and smoked fish.
H CMS
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While waiting_ for the thaw
>�
y
'
Why not read~
J.R.R. TOLKIEN'S
S1LM R I ION
NOW IN PAPERBACK!!!
15
Hope our friends at G.P.
Putnam's overcome their
warehouse disaster—
fortunately for our friends
on the North Fork we put
in an early supply of
PETER STRAUB'S
GHOST STORY
And
ROBERT LUDLUM'S
THE MATARESE
CIRCLE
(As of 2/20 we had the only
copies of Bob's Book ill all
Suffolk Cotnttyrr)
51
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