| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| fish (the other one) |
How To.......Make a Wicker Eel Trapi decided to make an eel trap of only natural materials without the use of string or wire. i have in the past made eel traps of hazel but i found it not pliable enough for the fine work needed,and as there are no willows around here i wondered what our ancestors would have used,and what was abundant around here at the source of the river Wyle in the shadow of the white sheet neolithic camp.i have from time to time found beutifull flint tools around here whilst out walking or shooting.after some thaught i decided to try ,of all things brambles! i gathered a load of them,and i found that a good pair of welding gloves helped with the thorns.some of the bramble runners were nearly 20 feet long. having gathered enough for the job ,i decided that a former,ie some thing to use to weave over ,would help in keeping the trap a good symetrical and even shape,ime sure a log would have done the trick,but i cheated and used a length of drainage pipe.having gathered the ends to gether it was just a matter of spreading the upright sticks evenly.in order to facilitate an easy job not having hands full of thorns i used a 4000 year old flint 'thumb scraper' to scrape the thorns off.it worked realy well. next was to start the weave,which realy was easy once i had worked out that the brambles bent so much easier once they were twisted! heres a pic (yes i know its on its side!!): 
and heres a pic of the body of the trap at 3/4 completion! 
and here my trusty assistant jack hol;ds the completed body of the trap! 
but how to get the eels to stay trapped eh? i hear you say! well next is to fabricate a funnel with a hole in it to sit in the entrance of the trap! this way the eels can enter but canot get out!heres a pic of the funnel: 
next i needed a way to affix a peg or weightto keep the trap in place so a simple loop was woven into the body of the trapp and then 2 loops were added to facilitate keeping the cone in place! 
once the loops were added the cone was fitted and a stick simply pushed through: 
and here it is the completed eel trap! took about 6 hours to make in all and cost nothing at all and is i believe the answer to a problem of how to catch eels , crayfish and fish the same as our ancestors would have! hope you are inspired to have a go! 
|
||
| Nick |
This is great. Should we turn it into an article, perhaps including using it? So it's preserved in a more easily found place? | ||
| alison |
excellant idea Nick. | ||
| KILLITnGRILLIT |
Does one need a licence for such a thing ? | ||
| fish (the other one) |
not at all if you dont tell anyone! eels are ok without a liscence,course fish and game fish its illegal to use,but then this one isnt designed for fish.for crayfish a free liscence is available from EA. |
||
| dpack |
neater than a sack of offal and some old roadkill | ||
| sally_in_wales |
I love the fact that these have been round forever, have you seen this pic of one in use on the Congo?
http://www.pulitzer.org/year/2001/international-reporting/works/fishtrap.jpg There is also a really wonderful pic in this months British Archaeology of an excavated Medieval one, identical to those still in use. Will see if I can find an online version of the picture |
||
| KILLITnGRILLIT |
Nice one, I`ll have to give it a whirl but I will need to prevent the local otters getting into it, perhaps some thicker withies at the entrance?
I presume the point of the cone points upstream ? |
||
| fish (the other one) |
idealy it would point up stream but it doesnt realy matter,they work on the principle of the fish trying all round the outside edge at the front and not the center! 
|
||
| sara jane goodey |
Started making my trap last night...ummm why does everything I do look sh** compared with the picture, this haunted my youth with blue peter projects. Anyway I'm having difficulty with tying the bramble ends, what knot did you use? I also used hazel for the frame cos my brambles haven't been using steroids like yours, any other tips on ensuring the brambles don't split? If I finish i'll send a piccy, for humour value only!! One more thing, how have the eels in my river got there? i remember something vaguely about the Sargasso sea being the breeding ground and something about the river Severn and a lemmingxsalmon type of journey??!! just wondering cos i live at the top of a waterfall, wouldn't like to eat those that had been there since the ice age, might be a bit tough... | ||
| fish (the other one) |
the bramble ends are easy realy! tie some string round to bunch them,then start a realy tight weave,when you insrt your weav bramble do a couple of weaves round 2-3 stix then go back on yerself and continue,this will securely lock it in place! the greener the bramble the better to stop splitting,also try twisting the bramble,olso coil up into a ring and place in a big pan and bring to the boil this will make them very supple. hope this helps,i lookforward to seeing yer pics! and dont give up! 
|
||
| gil |
There are eels in the river here. Just been told. May have to attempt a trap
|
||
| fish (the other one) |
good luck!
|