Eelpout Is A Very Unusual Fish

2024 Author: Sebastian Paterson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:47

Fishing Academy

If a well-known proverb says: "A fisherman sees a fisherman from afar," then this fisherman - a middle-aged man, I saw very close, we were traveling with him in the same compartment of the train. His belonging to the army of fishermen could be easily identified by his clothes and a fishing box. We then got on the bus with him and got off at the same stop. Moreover, and on the bay were two hundred meters from each other.

It was freezing in the morning, and it was very shallow, probably because it didn't bite very well … And I, out of nothing to do, went to the silently familiar fisherman from the train. Introduced themselves: his name was Nikolai. After mechanically examining his meager catch - a dozen small ruffs and even smaller smelts, I noticed a fish slightly covered with snow, about ten centimeters long, aside from the rest of the trophies.

It would seem that a fish is like a fish, but I was surprised, first of all, by the head: large dark, slightly protruding eyes and especially the mouth - almost from the eye and the eye. And only when I cleared it of snow and looked better, I remembered my old meeting with the same fish: yes, it's an eelpout! The fish is little or completely unfamiliar to most of our anglers.

This is despite the fact that the eelpout is quite widespread in Europe: it is found from the English Channel to the Baltic, Barents and White Seas. And, as it is written in the Great Soviet Encyclopedia: "In the Baltic Sea it has some commercial value." This mainly applies to the Baltic countries.

In the Gulf of Finland, eelpout occurs along the northern coast from Zelenogorsk towards Primorsk; on the southern coast - from the village of Lebyazhye to Cape Seraya Horse and further to the west. Eelpout became widely known to St. Petersburg fishermen in the mid-50s, when mass (I would even say, nationwide) fishing for smelt began.

So what is this fish? Belduga is a coastal marine fish of the perchiformes, the only viviparous fish in our waters. Its main difference from others is the absence of a caudal fin. A single fin runs along the body of the fish from above and below, except for the belly. In the posterior part of the long dorsal fin, short spiny rays protrude. The very small pelvic fins are located in front of the large pectoral fins.

The body of the eelpout is strong, muscular with dense skin, in which small rounded or oval scales sit not overlapping each other. The upper jaw protrudes slightly above the lower, the mouth is studded with small blunt teeth, the jaws are bordered by thick lips. The color of the eelpout is yellowish or greenish-brown, the belly is yellow-gray, there are dark spots on the body.

This fish is found not only in sea water, but also in highly desalinated coastal water. True, large individuals avoid highly desalinated water and are usually caught in the western open part of the Gulf of Finland. Moreover, mainly in winter, when the intake of fresh water into the bay is noticeably reduced. The eelpout's vitality is amazing: even out of water, it remains fully viable for several hours.

It feeds on small mollusks, crustaceans, eggs and fry of other fish, insects and their larvae. Basically, the eelpout lives on stony placers and sandy soil with thickets of zostera grass and algae, at a depth of 20-30 meters.

And although the encyclopedic edition "Animal Life" states that the eelpout sometimes reaches a length of 45 and even 60 centimeters (and these dimensions are cited by all authors), I have never heard from anyone that someone has caught such an eelpout "giant". The usual catch of fishermen is specimens of 10-20 centimeters.

And what is more surprising: nowhere in any edition (including the already cited Life of Animals) does not even mention the weight of this fish. Length varies but weight is not indicated.

Since the eelpout is a viviparous fish, the female (sexual maturity occurs in the second year of life) spawns not eggs, but fry. According to various sources, from 10 to 400, but most often - 30-70. Reproduction usually occurs in winter.

Since small eelpouts are very similar to eels, the fishermen of coastal countries (especially German ones) believed that it was the eelpout that would give birth to small eels. Hence the German name for the eelpout: "acne uterus - Aalmutter".

In the Gulf of Finland, eelpouts can be caught with ordinary winter fishing rods, with jigs and hooks, with a worm attachment, bloodworm, maggot or a piece of fresh fish. Most often, it comes across when catching winter fish familiar to us: roach, ruffs, perches and especially smelt. The eelpout caught on the hook, trying to free itself, tied in a knot around the fishing line and, sliding along it, as if pulls out, pulls the hook out of its mouth. Or tangles the line so that you can't untangle it.

And to remove this fish from the hook is very difficult: its muscular, like a rubber body, continuously wriggles and slips out of the hands. The most reliable way to keep the fish out is to hold it across your body between your middle finger on top and your index and ring fingers below.

The undoubted advantage of the eelpout is that the cut pieces from it are an excellent nozzle for catching other fish. The attachment is firmly attached to the hook, does not deteriorate for a long time, allowing you to make more than one cast.

Among anglers there is a strong rejection of the eelpout as prey. The reasons for this are: first, the repulsive appearance; secondly, when heat treated, her bones turn green noticeably; thirdly, she is viviparous (“you cannot eat fish that“puppies”). But, of course, this is all pure delusion.

White, dense eelpout meat has good taste and fat content. And in Finland it is considered a delicacy at all. The best way to process it is hot smoking with preliminary exposure in a 20% salt solution. So catch the eelpout, and bon appetit!