A favourite summer pastime as youngsters was to set a line for eels overnight on the shore of Lake Tarawera.
The tackle was simple green hemp fishing line with a short, heavy trace and a large hook baited with bacon or trout guts. This was tied to a wooden snag in shallow water and run up and over a tree branch which acted as a spring, and the hook rowed out and dropped into deep water.
When inspected the following morning, if an eel was hooked the line would be tight where it disappeared into the green water, and the eel would be anchored in the thick oxygen weed which coated the lake bed. It was near impossible to pull it in from the beach, but when the angle was changed to a direct pull from a dinghy the long black creature would come writhing up from the depths. These images were enough to cause nightmares in young minds in the dark of night, and when swimming in the lake on a hot day.
Many a young fishing career has started by lobbing hooks baited with worms into streams and ponds and the slimy results carried proudly home, for eels are found throughout the country. A traditional method of catching eels involved "bobbing", where a bait of worms or huhu grubs was wrapped in flax or cabbage tree fibres attached to a stick and the bait left in the water until an eel swallowed it or its teeth became tangled in the fibres, when it could be swung ashore. Another approach was a simple one involving searching with feet or hands under stream banks or among rocks, and when an eel was located it was flung out on to the bank.
As the largest native freshwater fish, the tuna, as Maori knew it, was an important food source and is still highly prized by many. The slime which coats their bodies can be removed by sprinkling salt over it and, when congealed, can be scraped off. A dip in boiling water will have the same effect. Large eels are usually split and smoked, and smaller silver-bellied eels are exported to Europe where they are a traditional food.
