Kidel
Archive
Word of the Week (203): KIDEL (probability 5164), by David Sutton
A KIDEL (or KIDDLE) is a fence of stakes set in a stream for the purpose of catching fish.
The piscatory arts have quite an extensive vocabulary. For a start, there are the various types of lure. A BUCKTAIL is a type of lure called a jig, made with hair from the tail of a whitetail deer. A DROPFLY is an artificial fly attached to a leader. A TAILFLY is the lowest fly on a wet-fly cast. A SPOONBAIT or SPOONHOOK is a lure on a swivel, used in trolling for fish. A GRANNOM is a type of caddis fly; a CATWORM is a polychaete worm often used as bait. A DOUGHBALL is a kind of bait used in carp fishing.
A PUTCHEON or PUTCHER is a wire trap for catching salmon.
Then there are the various techniques. To TROLL is to fish by drawing bait along in the water. To BERLEY, in Australia, is to scatter bait on water. SNELL can be an adjective meaning keen or sharp, but it can also be a noun, a short line used to attach a fishhook to a main fishing line, and a verb, to attach such a line. To WHIFF is to fish with a hand line towed behind a boat; one who does this is a WHIFFER. SWOFFING is the sport of saltwater fly-fishing, and one who engages in this is a SWOFFER, but there is no verb to SWOFF*. (If you do have these letters, SOWFF is good).
When it comes to lines, you can use a LONGLINE, a long piece of line with many hooks attached, or a NORSEL, a shorter piece of line; this latter can also be a verb and one who uses a norsel is a NORSELLER. A SETLINE is a strong fishing line between buoys.
Types of net include a SEINE or SEAN (both can be verbs), a GILLNET, a KEEPNET and a DRAGNET.
To GUDDLE is to catch fish with the bare hands; to SNIGGLE is to fish for eels by thrusting a baited hook into their hiding-places; one who does this is a SNIGGLER.