Now, please,
before you jump to the wrong conclusions,
And start thinking that I have a problem with cleanliness...
Take note of the spelling...
S-M-E-L-T, not S-M-E-L-L-E-D!
Some of you may not be aware of this...
But smelting is a special kind of fishing
And we, in our little fishing village on the coast of Maine,
Treasure the times when we get to do this.
Treasure the times when we get to do this.
 |
| My husband baiting his spreader... |
First of all,
You just can't smelt any ole time you please
around here...
Most generally, we wait for cool fall evenings,
The tide has to be coming in.
You have to be prepared with bait...
And have all the right equipment.
Prior to the actually fishing
You have to be prepared with bait...
And have all the right equipment.
 |
| Joshua carrying the lantern and his smelt pole... |
You must collect some live bait...
Which in the case of smelting is minnows.
So, we head down to the "crick"
Just after dark
And dip for minnows with our net.
We keep them in our minnow bucket
in our little stream
So that we always have some live bait on hand.
Then, if the tide is right,
We gear up
and head down to the sweet spot.
We take our smelt poles, spreaders,
bait, lantern, lantern pole, minnow bucket,
extra hooks, and a bucket for the smelts.
We have to dress warmly...
For the best smelting is when there is a good wind
It keeps the water murking...
 |
| Joshua makes the first catch of the night! |
Now, I like my bamboo pole
and my 4 way spreader...
That means that potentially
I can catch 4 smelts at one time!
In some places along the Atlantic coast
people smelt in the early spring
with dip nets...
Others wait until winter
When the coves are frozen over
And go ice fishing for smelts...
But we enjoy our type of smelting...
There are quite a few folks in town
Who also join in this activity...
Everyone loves the "sweet spot"
which is located down by the bridge
that runs over the "crick"...
Whenever we smelt here,
It never fails,
Someone will stop their truck on the bridge
and holler down...
"How they bitin' tonight?"
What I love best about smelting
Is the quietness of it...
You stand with your pole
by lantern light...
The waves gently lap the shore...
An occasional coyote will howl in the distance...
Gives you lots of time to ponder...
 |
| Josh enjoying a quiet night on the banks of the Atlantic... |
Last night I thought about "fishing"...
Jesus told his disciples,
"Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee,
he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea:
for they were fishers.
And Jesus said unto them,
Come ye after me,
and I will make you to become fishers of men.
And straightway they forsook their nets,
and followed him."
Mark 1: 16-18
You know, I think that there are
many similarities between being
fishers of smelts
and fishers of men...
There is a definite purpose to both
kinds of fishing...
the success of the catch.
You have to put out an effort to do it...
You have to put out an effort to do it...
Believe you me, some nights have been
just too cold and it would have been much
easier to just stay home by the warm fire...
Just as sometimes it would be much
easier to just smile and walk away
than to tell someone about our Lord.
You must be prepared
You must be prepared
and have the right equipment...
You can't smelt very well
with a tennis racket...
And you can't share the gospel
If you haven't studied the scriptures.
Location and timing are very important...
Location and timing are very important...
I know that our smelt bucket
will probably be empty if we attempt
to smelt at noontime
in the garden behind our house.
And I know that there are times
when it is more appropriate to just
"love thy neighbor"
and demonstrate Jesus through helping
someone in need...
Rather than quoting scripture.
"If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
And one of you say unto them,
"If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
And one of you say unto them,
Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled;
notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body;
what doth it profit?"
James 2: 15-16
Sometimes you catch many
And sometimes...just a few...
But you musn't give up...
Monday we only caught 5,
But Tuesday we brought home 36!
Just as sometimes it doesn't seem
As if anyone is listening when we
share our love for Jesus...
But we just may have planted a seed...
As I stood on the banks...
notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body;
what doth it profit?"
James 2: 15-16
And sometimes...just a few...
But you musn't give up...
Monday we only caught 5,
But Tuesday we brought home 36!
Just as sometimes it doesn't seem
As if anyone is listening when we
share our love for Jesus...
But we just may have planted a seed...
As I stood on the banks...
And watched my bobber move up and down...
I decided that perhaps it was time
to give a bit more concentration
to being a "fisher of men"...
Who knows???
Maybe tonight...
When that truck stops on the bridge...
And someone asks how the fish are biting...
I'll invite him down to see...
And tell him about another type of fishin'.
And He said to them,
“Cast the net on the right side of the boat,
and you will find some.”
So they cast,
and now they were not able to draw it in
because of the multitude of fish.
John 21:6
“Cast the net on the right side of the boat,
and you will find some.”
So they cast,
and now they were not able to draw it in
because of the multitude of fish.
John 21:6
Well that is pretty nifty! Now how to cook them? I love your spiritual lessons you always share with your posts. (on a side note) for some reason your posts weren't showing up on my list and whenever I tried to look at your blog it wouldn't allow me to :o( I have been so sad and missed you so much! I was looking around trying to find an email address for you to try and see if you were ok! I'm so thankful for whatever reason that you are here and that I'm back "visiting" with you! :o) Hope you are having a blessed weekend! Love to you my dear!
ReplyDeleteDear Nabila Grace,
ReplyDeleteWell, there are several ways to cook smelts...but we generally fry them in a light batter. They are definitely a fish meant to be fried! I don't usually fry other fish...but these are just too good!
Funny you mentioned that...others have had the same difficulty. I'm so glad that you found me again...I've missed your wonderful comments. You are such a dear one.
Have a blessed Sunday,
Laura
Laura, I've sometimes had the same problem of your posts going missing.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely post this is, so much to think about as you read it.
Dear Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your kind words! I'm sorry that you are having trouble accessing my posts...not sure what the problem is for some people...but some have corrected it by unfollowing my blog and then following it again. Don't know if that helps. I sure enjoy having you stop by to visit...and I love visiting you...way across the sea!
Have a blessed day, my dear,
Laura
This looks (and sounds!) like fun, Mrs. Laura! What an enjoyable and special time you must have had together. And just curious, is smelting done similar to ‘regular’ fishing? The latter I am quite familiar with, but smelting . . . well, let’s just say that while I have heard of it, that’s as far as my knowledge of it extends! :)
ReplyDeleteI appreciated the thoughts that you shared about the parallels between “being
fishers of smelts and fishers of men.” You bring up such good points . . . and I found what you shared speaking to my heart as I read. I can recall times where I felt the Spirit urging me to speak to someone about the Lord, to give a word of encouragement, or in some instances, to answer a simple everyday question from someone with turning it to things about the Lord, yet, I let the moment slip by without saying anything. So what you shared especially spoke to my heart. And your last paragraph was wonderful . . . seeing the possible opportunities to be the light of Christ and to, as He leads, speak His truth in love to others. Thank you so much for sharing all of this!
Dear Miss Sarah,
ReplyDeleteAlways so nice to hear from you, my dear. We do have a lot of fun smelting...just spending time together as a family...and, of course, it is always nice to have our freezer full of these yummy little fish for the winter! You can usually catch quite a few at a time. It is very similar to regular fishing (you have a pole, line, hooks, bait) but you don't cast out like if you were going mackerel fishing. There is no reel on a smelt pole. You have very tiny hooks on a 4 way or 2 way spreader and you bait those with minnows. Then you just let your spreader set in the water...there are little bobbers on the top of the spreader that will move when you have a catch. The best fishing is by the banks because the smelts come in to feed along the shore.
I, too, have let moments slip by when the Holy Spirit was perhaps encouraging me to speak with someone. I am so thankful that our Lord is patient with us, and that He is slow to anger, and so He continues to give us opportunities to be a light to someone else...instead of just saying, "Well, you blew that chance...I'm through with you!" But, I have also been convicted as of late that these opportunities come with great responsibility...and that we must continuously and diligently be in His Word, for I don't want to ever lead someone down the wrong path out of my ignorance or prideful thinking.
Hope you are all enjoying a wonderful day. The sky here is very snowy-like...the woodstove sure feels good today!
Mrs. Laura
Thank you for sharing more about how smelting is done, Mrs. Laura! I think I understand it now. :) Hope you enjoy the remainder of your ‘smelting days!’
ReplyDeleteThank you also for sharing about the Lord’s patience towards us . . . what a loving God we serve to be so patient with our shortcomings. And yes, like you shared, the opportunities to share the truth of Christ with others does come with great responsibility which is sobering . . . my Dad and I were talking about this very thing together last evening. How very important it is to, as you shared, continuously and diligently be in His word so that we will “always [be] ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;” and being so careful to guard against relying on ourselves and speaking out of the ignorance and pride that you mentioned.
I hope that you have a wonderful day and that you and your family will have a blessed Thanksgiving tomorrow! It’s raining here today, and Mama, Leah and I are going to be in the kitchen most of the day baking and cooking in preparation for tomorrow . . . that will be fun! :)
Dear Miss Sarah,
ReplyDeleteSo good to hear from you again. We have had several days of drizzle and fog, but today is sunny and very windy! Great for hanging out laundry! I, too, am cooking today...we will share Thanksgiving with my parents and some of my family (I am one of ten children). My husband and sons will be out hunting in the morning, hoping to spot one in these last few days.
Have a blessed day tomorrow, my dear!
Mrs. Laura