An old farmer in Nghe An is famous as an 'artisan' who makes extremely effective eel traps.

These days, Mr. Nguyen Van Kinh's family is busy with their job.eel trapMany people from inside and outside the province come to his house or call to place orders. Having been involved in the craft of making eel baskets for over 30 years, Mr. Kinh is famous for making eel baskets in the region, some people say he has reached the level of an artisan.

During this time, Mr. Nguyen Van Kinh in Quynh Thanh commune (Quynh Luu) is always busy making traps to catch eels. Photo: Viet Hung

Each trap made shows sophistication and technique, helping eel hunters achieve efficiency. Mr. Kinh shared: “In the past, when I was young, I also had time to go fishing traps, but then I learned how to make traps myself and have maintained the profession until now. Unlike other seasonal jobs, this job is done all year round, in which the peak season is around January - April of the lunar calendar, selling very well because this is the occasioneelreproduce a lot and people gather to hunt. On average, each month, I make about 3,000 nests of different sizes, sold for 3,000 VND/piece."

The raw materials for making the shelters are bamboo and rattan, which Mr. Kinh buys from mountainous districts and sorts by hand. People come to his house to order the shelters in any size, and he is ready to make them for them.

After cutting each trap, the hole is drilled so that when the eel enters the trap, it will still be alive. Making the trap lid is the most important step to lure the eel in to eat the bait easily and not be able to crawl out. The lid is woven from old bamboo strips, tied together with bamboo fibers. Photo: Viet Hung

Mr. Nguyen Van Binh in Quynh Trang commune (Hoang Mai town) said that people in his village who catch eels all come to Quynh Luu to ask Mr. Kinh to make traps. "We feel secure when Mr. Kinh makes traps himself because they are much more effective than those made by others. Any trap will catch eels."

In the hands of eel hunters, the important step is to prepare bait to attract eels. They use ground earthworms and crabs and put them in the lid of the trap. Photo: Viet Hung.

“In order for each trap to catch a lot of eels, one of the important factors is the stage of making the trap lid. The lid is woven from old bamboo strips, tied together with bamboo fibers. This is the most difficult stage, requiring high technique, the bamboo strips and strings must be split very thin and smooth, so that when luring eels in to eat the bait easily, the skin is not scratched and the trapped eels cannot crawl out. Currently, many places make traps from PVC pipes, but you cannot “catch” eels with bamboo traps,” said Mr. Kinh.

Besides the trap, another important step to lure eels into the trap is the bait.

Currently, most hunters in Nghe An are using two types of food that eels like the most: earthworms and crabs. Grilled crabs mixed with minced earthworms will create a strong fishy smell that no eel can resist.

From hunting eels, people earn from 200,000 to 500,000 VND per day. Photo: Viet Hung.

“Fish die because of the lamp,eel die for bait"When they smell the eels, they will rush in, some with up to a dozen of them, and it takes forever to catch them all. Some people set 150-200 traps overnight, collecting 2-3 kg for an income of more than 300,000 VND. During the eel spawning season, hunters can earn 500,000-1 million VND a day," said a hunter.

Viet Hung