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Son goes hunting twice a day. First shift starts from early morning to 9am, the second one starts from 17pm. The more sunny it gets, the more eels he can catch.
For 27 years, Nguyen Cao Son, 54, has been wading through the fields and swamps outside Phu Xuyen province, Hanoi on the hunt for eels.
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“I was in the military since 1989 and I learned how to fish for eels from my commander. It's been a way of life since I left the forces”, he narrated.
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Everday, Son catches several kilos of eels, but that rise into double figures when his luck's in. These natural eels can be priced up to 100.000 VNĐ ($4,4 per kilo).
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Worm and tiny shrimp are used as eel baits. Other tools includes hook, cat gut, bucket and a stick.
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Son baits the hook and wrap the line of cat gut around the finger. “Ells are suckers for food so it’s easy to catch them with good bait”, he said.
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Once discovering the ell hole, the hunter stamp strongly his feet and put the stick deep around it, about 20cm from the hole. If bubbles appear, the bigger ones after another, it means there are eels in the hole.
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Rampant meadows around Hanoi suburb area are ideal habitat for eels. Along with fishing, Son also set additional pipe traps.
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When the bubbles cover all the water surface, the hunter will shape the ground and setting his trap.
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To catch big eels, the hunter sometimes have to stay for more than 2 hours.
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