Posted on 08/12/2015 9:00:05 AM PDT by Gamecock
Be it to the ocean, rivers, or reservoirs, North Koreans are heading out to catch fish not only with fishing poles but an array of creative tools in order to earn some extra money, Daily NK has learned.
Using a fishing rod or nets are of course the most basic of methods, but more extreme measures are also being employed such as electrocuting fish with the help of generators or even blowing them up with grenades and gunpowder, according to Daily NK’s local sources.
“Even though it’s so hot right now, people are out day and night fishing,” a source from South Pyongan Province said. “Some do it for entertainment, but most people sell their catch to buy more food. They also enjoy them alongside some drinks or for the extra nutrition,” she said.
Fishing rods manufactured in the North are typically made with bamboo and come with one to three joints, while imports are length adjustable, said the source. Donju [new affluent middle class] use import rods to fish as part of their leisure activities, but poor residents from fishing villages mostly use bamboo rods and sell their catch at the market, she added.
A bamboo rod fetches roughly 1,500 to 4,000 KPW, and the other advanced models, which mostly come from South Korea and are used by cadre, range from 30 to 100 USD, according to the source.
Fishing rods can be purchased at markets, with most vendors offering North Korean, Chinese, and South Korean models. The lines, hooks, and bait are all from China. The average container of bait costs about 1,500 KPW, but a lot of people choose bait from nature, meaning everything from flies, worms, cornmeal, to frogs. Especially when catching mullet, frogs are considered the best option.
In terms of fishing methods, those who catch fish to make a living use generators to electrocute the fish, said the source. “They secretly do it at night, but if they are caught by safety agents on patrol, the equipment is confiscated on the spot.”
A separate source in South Hwanghae Province told Daily NK, grenades are also being used. “A grenade factory in Haeju city drops the grenades right off the shore from Ongjin to catch fish under the guise that they’re testing their products,” he said. “If you drop a grenade from a boat, some dozens of kilograms of fish die, so it’s easy to haul them up on a net.”
This practice is also commonplace in the military, said the source. “When national holidays come around, military cadre use gunpowder in the middle of rivers so they can knock out or kill a lot of fish. They just pick out the ones that float to the surface and eat them raw,” he explained. Where fish are more scarce, pumps are brought out. “By pumping some water out from streams and creating embankments, they are able to catch the fish alive,” said the source.
When I first saw this I thought it might be a “You might be a redneck” shtick. (Guilty)
I actually had a distant cousin who died fishing.
The stick of dynamite had a short fuse.
And, yes, he likely was a redneck. I never met him.
Reminded me of the Spim Brothers from Monty Python.....
“A lot of people ask us why we don’t use fly spray....Where’s the sport in that?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cZvT3MHpffk&spfreload=10
The game warden was an old friend of Boudreaux’s. And having watch Boudreaux bring in huge catches of fish, asked Boudreaux if he could go fishing with him one day.
Boudreaux agreed and the next day that left out early in the morning. When they got to Boudreaux fishing spot, Boudreaux handed the game warden a net, pulled out a stick of dynamite, lit it and threw it overboard BOOM. Fish started floating up to the surface.
The game warden was aghast. He said Boudreaux don’t you know that’s illegal as H***. And me being the game warden!!!
Boudreaux pulled out another stick of dynamite, lit it, handed it to the game warden, and said “Now you gonna talk, or you gonna fish?”
About the time he was getting ready to light his third stick of dynamite, Thibodeaux, the Game Warden came up in his boat.
"Dammit it, Boudreaux, how many times I gots to told you, you can't use dynomite to fish. It's against de law !"
Boudreaux proceeds to light the fuse, and calmly handing the lit dynamite to Warden Thibodeaux, asks him,
"Mais told me, Thib, we gonna talk all day, or we gonna fish ?"
Ayee
The same warden came upon Smith fishing without a license, but with a pail full of fish.
“All right buddy,” says the warden. “I’m taking your pole and giving you a citation.”
“Wait a sec there officer, these, uh, these are my pets. I brought them here. They like to stretch their fins swimming in the lake every now and then.”
The warden replied, “You’re telling me these crappie are your pets?”
“Yes sir! When I think they’re shagged, I just whistle `em in. Here let me show you.”
And he dumps them in the lake.
“OK Mr. Smith, call them fish in now.”
“What fish?”
Sorry about your cousin, though.
‘55 Ford Station Wagon.
Park alongside lake.
TURN ENGINE OFF!
Take #1 spark plug wire off spark plug, connect to 20 feet of well-insulated wire with end 12 inches clear of insulation.
Drop bare end of wire about 3 feet off shore in about 12 inches of water. Keep bare wire near surface of water, away from lake bottom.
Drive bare steel rod (jack handle will do) into moist ground about 12-24 inches from lake shore.
Connect steel rod to bumper (electrical ground) with jumper cables.
Start car (it will run rough.)
Fish will swim up to your bare wire in droves.
HAVE FRIEND TURN CAR ENGINE OFF!
Quickly scoop up dazed fish.
Dinner is on!
Green walnuts in a gunny sack, Beat them to a pulp. Drag sack through the water and watch the fish come up. Pick up what you need and leave the others , they will recover.
The game warden saw Boudreaux and Thibedeaux fishing on the banks. And he had already cited Boudreaux twice for fishing without a license. So he thought he’d get him again.
Boudreaux saw the warden coming and took off running. It took a while, but eventually the warden ran Boudreaux down, and said “Boudreaux, I’m citing you for fishing without a license again.”
Boudreaux said “But I have a license” and showed it to the game warden.
The Game Warden looked puzzled and said, if you have a license, why did you take off running?
Boudreaux doubled over laughing and said, “I have a license, but Thibedeaux, he ain’t got no license.”
My Dad’s Field Artillery buddies went salmon fishing in Alaska rivers and streams with swinging short two four clubs.
I’ve got pictures of those guys holding 8 foot 2X4’s between them with lots of salmon hanging from them.
And, a picture of one soldier carrying a Thompson submachine gun as a Grizzly bear deterrent. C and K rations, along with SPAM must have gotten very old.
Justin Wilson
Good ole boy hands lit stick of dynamite to the incredulous game warden sitting in the boat with him and asks:
“You gonna talk, or you gonna fish?
My Dad was in the Phillipines in the WWII and he said they used to fish with grenades all the time then the cook would cook them up for dinner.
Mr. GG2’s father in law had a portable generator he used to take out in the boat (Alabama) in the lake and shock the fish up to the surface. He would get Mr. GG2 to run the generator and then he would net the fish into the boat before the shock wore off. LOL!
Interesting. I’ve used electricity to get earthworms, but never to get fish.
My late uncle worked at a smaller hydroelectric plant.
We were visiting my grandmother and he pulled up and took me and my dad to the plant He took us to a catwalk that was just inches above the water discharging from the turbines.
He handed me a dip net and told me to stick it in the water and pull it back up before it got too heavy.
Every minute that thing filled up with fish. From there we put the fish in buckets and I had to climb up the ladder to where his pickup truck was parked, pull the fish up by a rope tied to the buckets, and put the fish in the back of the truck. Within an hour or so the truck was full of fish.
We drove through town giving fish to friends and family.
One of my favorite memories.
“You gonna talk or you gonna fish?” Great punchline to an old joke about the game warden out fishing with the good ol’ boy.
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