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December 5, 2011.
FISHING
From the John Barnes Collection.
EELING
November 6, 2011. From Jayne Fentress.
William (Billy) R. Fentress Jr.
Albert White April 1988
My husband and Albert use to do this years ago. Eeling years ago was
done quite a bit and I feel is a part of the heritage of the island. I
thought it might be interesting for some children to see the eels being
dumped out of the pots and to also see what an eel pot looks like.
Billy said that the season for eels was: spring and fall. Storage -
They were stored in a large wooden box which they kept overboard with
wire at both ends so that water could flow through to keep the eels
alive. Most of the boxes were 4 feet wide x 8 feet long and about a
foot and a half deep.
Bait - They used crab, shad, carp for bait but the best bait was
horseshoe crabs. They often bought them from Cape Charles and
Chincoteague, Virginia.
Sold - Tanker trunks would come to the island equipped with pumps to
aerate the water to keep the eels live.
Destination - Most of the eels sold here in the United States ended up
going over seas to foreign countries.
Billy said that when he sold to the eel man, it was usually about 5
other men there to sell as well.
December 5, 2011. From the KI
Junior
Historian Assoc.
