Pickin' Fish at Stone Rock

I took a walk through Springer's Point Nature Preserve today, and while I was sitting on a bench looking out at the water and chatting with my friend Mary, we both got a very pleasant surprise. A boat came by, very quickly and (I thought) dangerously close to the rocks at the point. At first, we were concerned, but then we realized the waterman was expertly dropping a net into the water. We walked down for a closer look and discovered Jesse Spencer setting what he explained was a gill net, in order to catch as much mullet as possible. He said he didn't mind if we watched and took pictures, and he seemed happy to explain what he was doing. First, he made sure that the net was in place (it created a roughly circular enclosure). Then, using an oar, he "encouraged" the mullet to swim from the center toward the net. How? He slapped the water, the rocks, and the bottom with the oar. I certainly would've swum for cover if I were a mullet!



Jesse then started pulling the net out of the water, removing the fish caught in it, and tossing them into baskets in his boat. In the middle of this process, his cell phone rang, so he jumped into the boat to answer it. The caller obviously asked him what he was doing, to which he replied, "pickin' fish at Stone Rock". I had not previously known the name for this particular area, so it was a treat to learn it. Ocracokers have names for many areas of the island ~ part of their unique vocabulary. I love and savor the slow process of coming to understand the language. As a relatively recent transplant to the island (I have been living here full time for just under 2 years), I still have a great deal to learn.

It was near sunset, and the images of an Ocracoker working on the water as the light changed were lovely and moving. I could also see another fishing boat, and the Schooner Windfall out for a sunset sail on the calm waters of Pamlico Sound ~ other watermen, earning their livings from the bounty and the beauty with which we are all blessed in this area.








One of the remarkable things I noticed while Jesse was working was that some of the mullet jumped OVER the top of the net (out of the water) in order to escape. One also struggled free of the net before Jesse could grab him. Of that one, he said "it weren't his day to meet his maker". I loved the simplicity of that philosophy (and the example of Ocracoke brogue). Some other day, Jesse might get that one. I'm sure he will be back to work the water again, probably tomorrow.












Links of interest/To know more:
Gill net fishing - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gill_net
Ocracoke brogue - get info here: OPS brogue page, or visit the Ocracoke Preservation Society museum the next time you are on the island to watch the video about the unique dialect used by Ocracokers