They emigrate to Saragosa Sea and return years later (when Visa runs out!) then return to river where they were born. There are some commercial fisheries around that catch them when they return and vast amount goes to Europe. On some of the big lakes there used to be trawlers mainly for catching Perch, they have all gone. DH On 29/04/2015 10:48, Viola Wiggins via wrote: > When I was a child [Good name for the book?] there was a man who used to buy > all the Eels caught. He was known to me only as "The Eel man", and he > stored floating boxes of Eels in Rossole Lough beside the Sligo Road in > Enniskillen,. > They were exported to London I think. I suppose for their Jellied Eels. > There is only one main backbone in an Eel and they are very tasty skinned > and either fried on the pan or poached in milk.. The fresh skins would be > used for a sprained wrist. As the skin dried out on the wrist it tightened. > Skins stretched on a board, and dried it was used as Razor Strops for > sharpening Cut throat Razors. > Fishermen used to fish for Eels in Lough Erne with a long Set line, anchored > at each end with floating marker buoys at intervals There would have been > perhaps 50 dropper baited lines tied to it. The set line was lifted with a > long boat hook and the Eels stored in the bottom of the boat. They can live > for ages out of water as long as their skin is kept damp and have been known > to travel over land between rivers according to my father. > Ken and I loved Eel but I have not had any for years. They are slimey and > one needs a cloth to hold them to take the hook out. Ken killed them by > cutting the backbone at the back of their neck, which also severed their > main artery. > viola > > > --- > This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. > http://www.avast.com > > ================================== > > https://www.google.ie/ > ================================== > http://www.irishtimes.com/ancestor/placenames/ > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to FERMANAGH-GOLD-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message > --- This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. http://www.avast.com

Dave and Vi, Nice to know that the eels are still to be had in NI - many places in the world have lost them, possibly due to pollution of the rivers where they breed. Their skin must be like sandpaper when dried, no wonder interesting uses could be found for it such as razor strops etc. We live in an' in-built obsolescent' society unlike out ancestors who found a use for everything - I marvel at the uses various items of by-product could be put to! Eels would have ratde high on the list of edible protein available to most folks in medieval Ireland as they were in England. Are they to be found in most loughs? The Dolans had half of the large Meenagleragh Lough on their property, probably eels were part of their diet. ` Eels are found in Australia also, quite edible, although they are not considered a delicacy - they can be found in most farm dams, ponds, and rivers. We have them here on the Island in the old dam at the back of my allotment. It is believed the minuscule young become attached to the mud clinging to the feet of birds and travel across vast stretches of arid land to the next water hole. Kindly, Dee. -----Original Message----- From: fermanagh-gold-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:fermanagh-gold-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of Dave H via Sent: Wednesday, 29 April 2015 8:44 PM To: fermanagh-gold@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: FERMANAGH-GOLD Eels They emigrate to Saragosa Sea and return years later (when Visa runs out!) then return to river where they were born. There are some commercial fisheries around that catch them when they return and vast amount goes to Europe. On some of the big lakes there used to be trawlers mainly for catching Perch, they have all gone. DH On 29/04/2015 10:48, Viola Wiggins via wrote: > When I was a child [Good name for the book?] there was a man who used > to buy all the Eels caught. He was known to me only as "The Eel man", > and he stored floating boxes of Eels in Rossole Lough beside the > Sligo Road in Enniskillen,. > They were exported to London I think. I suppose for their Jellied Eels. > There is only one main backbone in an Eel and they are very tasty > skinned and either fried on the pan or poached in milk.. The fresh > skins would be used for a sprained wrist. As the skin dried out on the wrist it tightened. > Skins stretched on a board, and dried it was used as Razor Strops for > sharpening Cut throat Razors. > Fishermen used to fish for Eels in Lough Erne with a long Set line, > anchored at each end with floating marker buoys at intervals There > would have been perhaps 50 dropper baited lines tied to it. The set > line was lifted with a long boat hook and the Eels stored in the > bottom of the boat. They can live for ages out of water as long as > their skin is kept damp and have been known to travel over land between rivers according to my father. > Ken and I loved Eel but I have not had any for years. They are slimey > and one needs a cloth to hold them to take the hook out. Ken killed > them by cutting the backbone at the back of their neck, which also > severed their main artery. > viola ><snip>