Ye Yaodong turned around and was about to go home, but Ah Zheng stopped him, "Why are you in such a hurry? How could we not know that the water level was rising and not see the holes? Xiaoxiao said that he went to the rice fields to check the drainage yesterday and saw a lot of new eel holes on the rice paddies on the bank of the ridge. It was probably because the rice fields were flooded and they were looking for new holes. He thought that the typhoon had just passed and everyone must be busy cleaning up at home, so he waited until now when the sun was not so strong to call us."
"That's more like it. Did you bring the hook and the worm?"
"I've brought it. Do I need you to tell me?"
"Then wait for me. I'll go change into a pair of rain boots and get a bucket."
He hadn't fished for eels for decades, and he was quite interested in it. This was his only countryman's hobby.
After coming out, he looked at Xiao Xiao curiously again, "Were there many fish in your rice fields yesterday?"
"It's OK. We have crucian carp, carp, and grass carp. The grass carp is quite big, but the other fish are very small. I don't know where they swam from. Do you want any? If you want, come to my house and get them. They are so unpalatable. I don't know why my father took them home."
Everyone shook their heads. At that time, people living by the sea didn’t like to eat freshwater fish because they thought it had too strong an earthy smell!
Only Ye Yaodong said bluntly: "If you don't want it, I will take it. I will go to your house later to get the grass carp and crucian carp. I don't want the carp."
He doesn't like to eat carp, he likes to eat braised crucian carp and crucian carp tofu soup, braised grass carp is also good.
Yesterday, his elder and second brothers went to the fields to check but didn't say anything about catching some fish. They probably thought the fish were too small, and they were used to eating sea fish so they didn't think freshwater fish tasted good.
The group walked slowly to the road and headed towards Dongqiao Village. The fields of their villagers were at the junction with Dongshan Village.
It is only the beginning of July and the rice seedlings have not been transplanted yet. The fields are empty. The late rice seedlings will not be transplanted until mid-to-late July.
Walking in the dirty fields, Ye Yaodong looked at the mud on his feet. Fortunately, he was wearing rain boots.
In fact, the best time to fish for eels is in May, when the climate warms up and the water temperature rises. Eels emerge from their wintering mud holes and gather in relatively spacious shallow waters such as fields, ponds, and ditches to look for bait and fatten. At this time, their appetite is strong, making it the best season for fishing.
Xiaoxiao put down the bucket and said, "Take your fishing rods and earthworm bait. There are empty bottles in the bucket. Pour some earthworm bait into each of you and share some."
Their fishing rods are very simple, they are just made by themselves, a small wooden stick with a line and a fish hook tied to it. Although it looks simple, it can still be used many times.
Ye Yaodong took the small wooden stick and the jar of earthworm bait from their bucket, and put the earthworm bait on the hook at the end of the bamboo stick, making sure the tip of the bait was not exposed. The others also put on their bait and started searching.
"Each of them took their own actions."
"As usual, let's see who catches the most fish. The one with the least fish will have to drink and wash the dishes next time!"
Oh, so there is such a rule. He almost forgot about it.
When in the water, eels usually dig holes in the soft mud or live in natural mud holes or stone caves, so to fish for eels, you must first learn to find eel holes.
However, not all eels have ventilation holes, because there are not only eels but also earthworms living in the soil. Their holes are connected to each other and they can borrow their neighbors' ventilation. They do not necessarily stay in the same place to eat at night.
Sometimes it is blocked by a patch of grass, or the water is not clear enough, and there are many small lotus flowers.
However, there must be eel holes on the mud bank. At this time, you have to rely on your fingers to find them. Use your index finger or middle finger to insert your fingers at an angle of 30 to 45 degrees on the shore 5 to 10 centimeters away from the water.
You will suddenly feel that it is empty inside. When you take your fingers away, you can see water. The space inside is large and you can dig a little to fish. This means you have found the eel's nest. Sometimes there will be bubbles on it. If there are bubbles, then this is the legendary Huzai Cave, which is the eel's nest.
There are also holes visible to the naked eye, which can be seen if you look carefully within 8 cm above the waterline.
Ye Yaodong had just taken a few steps when he saw a number of round, smooth holes around the mud bank at his feet. They were about the thickness of his thumb. Just as he was about to put the fish into the holes, he heard Xiaoxiao shout, "I caught one!"
"Oh? It's quite big, looks like it weighs half a pound!"
A Wei also said happily: "I caught one too! It seems a little small."
"I caught one too!"
When everyone had made some catches, Ye Yaodong was not in a hurry. He fished for a while at the entrance of the hole with the hook tip pointing downwards. He clearly saw the water flowing in and out of the hole, and heard a "pa pa" sound.
Hooked!
He caught a very large eel, which was estimated to be about 25 grams in weight and looked very thick.
At this time, the average size of wild eels is only about 20 to 30 taels, and it is rare to see eels weighing 4 taels. This one is really big.
Decades later, with the pollution and destruction of the environment caused by people's production and life, there are fewer and fewer wild eels in rural fields. Those as big as this one are generally farmed.
He was lucky enough to catch such a big fish on his first try. Ye Yaodong was instantly excited. He put it in the bucket, continued to bait, and moved to another hole.
At this time, there are many eels in the fields, and they are easy to catch with basically no effort. Moreover, many of the holes on the banks of the ridges are newly dug, and some have traces left by eels foraging, making them very easy to identify.
After catching only two fish, Ye Yaodong saw two eel holes (eels laying eggs) because there was foam at the entrance of the holes.
He didn't put down bait to fish for this kind of eels, because after the eels were fished away, the eel eggs in the hole or the newly hatched eels would all die after a while.
Sustainable development
Why should we cut off the offspring
There will be fewer and fewer wild eels in the future!
He moved slowly, and there were more and more eels in the bucket, some big and some small. The biggest one was his first catch, and the small ones weighed two or three taels.
After eating all the earthworms in the jar, he straightened his back and stretched himself. The sun was about to set.
I shouted to a few friends who were squatting or standing not far away: "Hey, the sun is setting, it's time to call it a day and go home for dinner!"
"The last two worms are hooked, let me finish fishing!"
Ah Guang yelled and continued squatting, while the others walked out regardless of whether they had finished fishing or not.
"How much did you catch?"
“15!”
“16!”
“13!”
"Oh ~ you wash the dishes! I have 18!"
“Is this true? Let me see… It seems that there are more than us. If I had known, I would have brought two more earthworms!” Ah Zheng sighed.
"Don't worry, Guang is still not done yet," Zheng shouted to Guang who was standing up in the distance, "Guang, how many fish have you caught?"
"These two have 16!"
"Okay, I'll do the dishes next time."
I will admit defeat if I lose the bet!
"Hurry up, go home and eat. We are starving. It's just right to take it back and stew it."
This bucket weighs about 5-6 kilograms. Ye Yaodong silently counted the number of people in his mind. There were 17 people in his family, so it was just enough for one for each person, and there would be one left over.