Eeling, anyone?

"Indulge your every whim."

So stated the wrapper from the Dove dark chocolate I had today. It seemed like a good idea, so, I did! It felt great to laze around on this rare, activity-free Saturday. I read a couple chapters in Contact by Carl Sagan (a good read so far), did some cooking for the week, hung out with Kindergarten and 1st/2nd Grade Teachers (hereon referred to as "the Arkansas Girls") and chit-chatted, and pretty much took it easy. The snow is blowing like crazy outside anyway, so I'm loving the forced relaxation time.

As stated in the previous post, a momentous event occurred in the village this week - the eels are here! It only lasts about a day because they will continue to move upriver. I knew it was a pretty valued occasion because the head volleyball coach told me to go see the eels immediately...which happened to be right in the middle of practice. Normally, she likes me to give the go-ahead for certain drills and be there to watch the kids' form.

"Are you sure?" I asked her.

"Yes, yes, you have to! Go now or you'll miss them!"

OK. So, I grabbed the Arkansas Girls and Math Teacher and we booked it down to the river to see what eeling entailed. The river is frozen over now, and we walked up to the trough that had been ice-picked for the eeling. The ice was about 5 inches thick, and the trough was maybe 15 feet long by about 10 inches wide. Some students were down there hanging out with the men of the village, and they seemed excited to see us there.

I asked one of my students if I could try my hand at it, and he took me over to the kiddie or "practice pool," as I called it. It was only about 5 feet long by 10 inches wide, and it was made nearer to the bank of the river so it was pretty shallow - only 3 feet or so. Some sixth graders showed me how to use the eel stick, and I gave it a shot. Check it out!

The main eeling trough. This is where the men did their work. Or sat on a snow machine, also called a "snow-go" up here.

Now, please try to refrain from laughing at the dorkdom that is this picture - one of the girls caught me with my eyes closed. Sorry for how dark it is, but this is the best we could get! The basic technique is to move the eel stick back and forth within the trough to hook the eels; nets are also used. With the sticks, one can catch up to five at a time. Again, my attempt was at the practice pool. The stick should be deeper into the water, but this was very shallow. I was hitting bottom as this photo was taken. I did not catch any myself, but perhaps next year! I wish Grandpa Al was still around; I wonder if he would have had any advice on the topic, or if he ever even went eeling himself. 

A sixth grader let me hold one of his catches. If you look closely, you can see the serrated edge that has been added to the eel stick. The rough edges snare the slow-moving eels. A student of mine claims they move about one mile per hour, and that he caught three gunnysacks full last year. There are only two or a maximum of three runs of eels per year - all within a 24-36 hour period - and then they move on up the river.

The kids raved about how eels make great bait, but also taste great too. Several people asked if I'd ever had eel and seemed flabbergasted when I said, "only in sushi!" The eels are battered and either baked or fried, and I hear they are delicious when dipped in seal oil. The mom of the above student offered to make them for me, so I'll let ya know if that happens! Another parent said she'd be thrilled if the school would serve eel soup on some Friday and invite the elders. In the past, the school has done just that; last time it was salmon stew. It's a quite cool thing when the elders come to the school. The kids tend to be better behaved and more attentive on those days.

So, that's my eeling adventure! Now, I'm off to my exciting night life - girls' night! We are going to watch a movie, paint our nails, possibly do some funky pageant hair for fun, and very probably venture to solve the world's problems, or at least those of our village, as we get hyped up on some Mexican mock-tails and Emergen-C drinks. Have a good one!