Crafts and Occupations
Including Duck Decoy (or Trap), Catching Eels and Fish, Thatching, Rush Weaving,
Wildlife, Birds and Basketry

CATCHING DUCKS WITHOUT A GUN

Years ago, when fen men made a living by the amount of ducks they could catch, they often employed a punt gun, but when
The Fens were drained there was less scope for using a punt gun, therefore a decoy was used to catch the ducks A decoy
to people generally suggests a duck made of plastic or wood that resembled the breed of duck in question. This could not
be further from the truth.

The Fenland Duck Decoy was vastly more complicated, and was based on a small area of water. This was highly effective
and never failed, and mainly came into operation only after The Fens were drained. Ducks as is there want, head for areas
of water. Live tame ducks would be kept on the open water to entice others down. When flying, the wild ducks, would see
what appeared to be safe open water and settle down on it.

A description will now be attempted of a decoy. Imagine a small lake, that was shaped like a waterwheel when looking
down from above together with it's paddles (pipes). The essential accessory was a well trained small dog (A Piper).

Now imagine the arms, or pipes being netted over. In addition, there would be screens of wattle or reed placed in a zig-zag
position on one side, with gaps in between the screens. The pipes slowly decreased in size towards their end, and finished
up in a 'tunnel' or 'purse'. The dog would be employed at the entrance, and the ducks would swim away from him, and
towards the narrowing end of a pipe. The dog would then appear around the next zig-zag wattle fencing, and the ducks
would again swim away from him, and further into the pipe, and so on, until they went down the tunnel and into the purse,
where they were caught and their necks rung.

Finally, it is illegal to trap ducks this way nowadays, but some decoys are still in use, but employed in ringing ducks, not
killing them.
BIRDS and WILDLIFE IN THE FENS

Regardless of the current arable nature of the Fens, there are still many species of Wildlife, and Birds present in the Fens.
Greater detail is available in a booklet entitled Portrait of the Fens by Judith Gill.

It is still lawful to shoot wildfowl with a gun, but it is more acceptable to shoot them with a camera.
TURN TO FEN HISTORY - MAIN PAGE
THE EARLY MORNING SKY OVER THE FENS
WHERE IF A CHARGE WAS FIRED FROM A GUN IT COULD ONLY HIT A WILDFOWLER OR
WILDLIFE

In the past eels were caught by various means. The most common method was 'Babbing',
which involved threading earth worms on a line and dangling them in the water. The eel would
grab the worm and hang on tight, and therefore it was easy to get them out of the water and
into the bottom of a boat, or onto the bank. Eels were also caught by spearing with a 'Glave' or
Gleeve', which was simply a barbed pole dragged along the soft mud bed of shallow water,
where eel could be found. (This is now deemed as illegal). Eels were also caught by netting
them, including the use of a 'Fyke' net, which worked similar to a duck decoy, but under water.
Eels were also caught in baskets usually constructed of reeds or rushes, where bait in the
form of dead fish or parts of small animals were inserted in the basket. The entrance to the
basket was also barbed so the eels could get in the basket, but could not get out again. When
Eels were caught, the best way of keeping them fresh was to keep them alive, and transport
them in water butts to markets. Fish were caught by rod and line as they are nowadays, and
also kept fresh by keeping them alive while being shipped to market in water butts.
CATCHING DUCKS BY EMPLOYING A GUN.
The problem with catching ducks with a gun was, and still is, in the fact that you may get one, two if
lucky. But the rest would fly away. The Fenmen got around this problem with the 'Punt Gun', imagine a
very low and shallow boat with a operator lying in the bottom of the boat out of sight, and paddling
slowly with his hand hanging over the side. Now imagine a large blunderbus type gun strapped along
the centre of the boat, with the nozzle protruding from the bows. Ducks  naturally tended to cluster
together on open water and treat this boat as no more than a strange floating log. The operator would
line the gun up with the group of ducks, and when he was close enough, and they were in line with
muzzle, he would fire it. This operator would then sit upright and collect all the dead and dying ducks,
dispatching those that were still alive, which could be in the region of twelve or fifteen. Although this
seems a simple practice, it took many years to gain the skill to undertake this successfully.
Question: Why are the Fens so flat and treeless?
First Answer: So you can see distant objects in the daytime, and see all the stars at night.
Another answer: So the wrongdoers cannot hide from God's view.
The young sun rises over
the Fens on a new day. To
see what it looks like at the
end of the day click here

FENLAND SKILLS AND CRAFTS

In the past a living could be gained in the fens with harmless occupations
such as 'Reed Harvesting', 'Rush Weaving', 'Basketry', and 'Thatching'.  
Thatching was the most common craft and involved harvesting the reeds.
Reeds could be employed for making fencing, creating temporary shelters,
and for many other purposes. Reed cutting is generally a winter time
occupation after they had lost their greenness, but this proved difficult for
more reasons than the cold. In the summer time the heat dried out the reed
beds, and in the winter time the reed beds filled with water. The traditional
implement for harvesting reeds was the Scythe, although thatchers
employed many strange tools like a 'Leggett', 'Needles', and a 'Long Eaves
Knife'. More traditional tools were also employed like a 'Mallet', 'Normal
Knife' and a 'Pair of Shears.

Another Fenland Craft was 'Rush weaving', and was similar to Basketry
which usually employed young strands of dried willow also found in the Fens.

The main difference between rushes and reeds is that reeds tend to have
their roots in water.