NDC When we peer into a summer rock pool, we all become children again. What mysterious creatures of the deep lurk in its shady depths? I can spend countless hours clambering over rocky outcrops at low tide, prawning net and gaff in hand, with only the gulls for company. Over recent years, I have become a bit of a prawn star, employing an aged canoe called Tinker in my quest for crustacean elation.
A small boat with a shallow draught is a game-changer in the hunt for fat prawns, as one can access coves and gullies that the land-based forager is denied. Much as I love a free prawn cocktail, I'm not going to abseil for it, so Tinker gets nosed into secret places and pulled up on sand or gravel spits while I wade out, working the net under weedy overhangs. My net is home-made as I could never find a robust one on the market and it must be able to stand up to hard jabbing into gaps and fissures. A short telescopic gaff, of the type once used by sea-trout anglers, filed blunt and clipped to the belt is the perfect tool for persuading an edible crab - or even that rarest of prizes, a lobster - from its rocky fastness. Where the tidal range is at its greatest, it is not uncommon for quite large delicacies to become stranded in rock pools.
Bu hikaye The Field dergisinin July 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye The Field dergisinin July 2023 sayısından alınmıştır.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Giriş Yap
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