Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-11-24
SOME EEL MYSTERIES
CURIOUS HABITS OF THE FISH IN
ENGLISH WATERS.
There is an Opportunity to Show Great
Art in Landing Good
Catch.
from the London Mail.

from the London Mail.
The heavy weather and dark nights of
early October have caused commoton In
the muddy habitations of the cells.
Night after night on the ebb tides the
beds of the breads and rivers have been
covered with squirming carpet of wrlg-
Cling siminess all writhing down, down.
down to Breydon syater and the sea. For
cells, unlike most fish, always swim with
the current.
There are two great running seasons
for the eels-the spring and the autumn.
About the beginning of April, when an oc-
casonal mild night gives a foretaste of the
coming summer the cells (Which have been
laid up in seven or eight feet of mud all
through the winter begin to stir them
selves. Many are taken during the spring
run on night lines or in nets. Some are
taken in the summer by ''babbing," but the
great wild rush down to the is in the
stormy obscurity of a moonless October
night. Eels will not run when there Is
light. Then do the bow nets strain with the
weight of their intercepted prey, and the
old "bahbers" have a rich reward for their
dreary Rights vigil on the river.
The best set for bow nets in all East
Anglia is across the ihurne, little below
Kendall Dyke, the outlet from Heigham
Sound. Here come all the cells from Hick-
ling and Markham Breads and Horsey
Mere. ard in a tiny creek leading out of the
river here, year after year, lies the quaint
hut of the ee-fisher-a rough erection of
boards an old sea boat. pitched all over
to keep out the weather. The iron pipe of
galley stove projects from thereof. for
the autumn nights cold and the eel
fisher (who has long hours to wait while
the tide runs DOWN rheumatic.
An Eel With a History.
Here the set of nets usually consists of
three. Bow nets are round wide-ulouthed
nets, in shape like a long tapering ie!ly
bag. which are kept open by wooden hoops
which diminish in circumference toward
the TAIL where the net tapers to a point.
The poke" of the net is tied to the last
and smallest hoop. and forms removable
tag. An open tag tail projects from the
hoop into the poke. which narrows to its
opening, so that when once the fish are in
the poke their egress is barred by the same
system as Is seen in lobster or crab not
when the net is taken up the poke is I'M
ued and its contents empted into the well
OF the eel fishers punt. The three bow nets
are stretched across the river, and are con-
nected to rope which is foated by corks
Ihey are put Gown at high water mouth
up river, and must be taken up before the
tide turns or the nets would be driven ba RI,
INTO themselves instead of being stretched
out by the run of the ebbing tide and the
result might be the loss of most of the
eaten. At the Kendall Dyke set it is by no
means uncommon for half ton of cells TO
be taken as the fruits of one nights fishing
and have myself seen one beautiful silver
bel.ied eel of Just over five pounds weight
shaken out of the poke. That eel has
history. / put it in a fishing rod case as a
preliminary packing covering and it lust
stretched itself and burst the strong case
with the utmost ease.
"Babbing."
The catch varies in quality the finest cells
being silver-beIlied with oiive-colored backs,
The congratulated, black-backed variety
are rank, and neither so firm nor so sweet
as the others. The cells are for the most
part disposed of at Yarmouth though a
good many go as far as London and make
their appearance as fourpenny plates or
''all Jelly"
But the METER is not the only one to make
harvest out of the autumn run. The
marshmen. who are sportsmen to the back
that requires more knack than this same
babbing: The intending babber begins by
going out with a lantern on a dark. moist
night and captures half a pailful of lob
or dew worms, which have the habit of
disporting themselves i'll their subdued way
on the surface of the marsh or meadow.
Then with the aid of q darning needle he
threads sufficient worms with worsted to
make two punches, each as big as mans
INST. This done and the wormy Worsted
hitched and tied so that it forms the desired
bunch. he fixes weight in the center of
the worms and ties each ball of bait TO
line long enough to reach the bottom of the
river where he intends to exercise his art,
with a foot or two to spare.
The upper ends of the lines are made fast
to stout slaves four five feet long, and
the tackle is ready. On a dark, stormy
nlsht-and II there is thunder about SO
much the better-he proceeds in a boat to
his pet spot and moors. Then he lowers
both bats over to the bottom and sits with
a staff in each hand. holding them that
fha 1i,na &c tr,,t . h. I,,1
ing on the mud. The boat should be low TO
the water If not, the fisher must sit on
one side, so that the gunwale next the lines
must not be more than an inch or two from
the surface of the river gentle up and
down motion is sometimes given to the bait
by a movement of the wrists.
The Art of ceiling.
Presently little tugs are felt. But the
time is not yet. The fisher must wait till
the tugs have been numerous enough and
have lasted long enough TO make it proba-
BILE that a number of cells have got their
teeth entangled in the worsted. AT last
with swift even pull, the bats are raised
to the surface, and with peculiar twitch
of the wrists are brought over the low gum
vale. This is where she art lies. The anna
teur will get his eels to the top of the
water easily enough, but will lose them all
in trying TO get them into the boat. If the
boat is high out of the water l do not be-
heVe that any man can land them. | re-
member babbinG from the deck of yacht
lying near Potter Heigham. ! pulled up
scores Of cells but they one and all dropped
back before they reached the deck.
3 WheE the run is over the cells that remain
begin to take up their winter quarters
Then. when the marsh dykes have been
drawn" free of weeds, is the time for the
dyke eel-picker.
An eel-pick is instrument made OF
four or five two-edged knives, some Is or
Is inches long, fastened together in the
shape of a trident. The knives taper ut the
points, and are so fixed that the distance
between them varies from inch or so at
the points TO one-eighth of an inch or less
up the blades. A handle about II feet long
is attached With this on his shoulder the
skillful eel-picker walks along the dyke
walls peertng at the muddy beds now clear
of vegetation.
Picking for Eels.
Suddeny he stops. He has seen the blow
hole which an eel leaves as it burrows in
the mud. A moments calculation as to how
far the eel Is likely TO be in, and plunge
goes the pick-sometimes to a depth of &
o. Z feet Of mud. A jar and a twitch
run along the handle. The pick is plucked
out and there in streaming coat of LIQUID
mud Is nice pound eel wrthins
around the knives, between two of which
IL Is held. A plunge or two in the water
and the eel ana pick are clean of mud. The