Floating fishing rod

Floating fishing lines, also called pęczki and in Pomerania also pupy (from German), were a type of passive fishing line, and according to some classifications, a variation of eel fishing lines. They consisted of a float or a bundle of rushes, a line, and a hook. The floats used were made from poplar bark and cork, the lines from hemp or cotton fiber, and the hooks were usually obtained from the local blacksmith. Fishermen typically baited the hook with bleak, ruffe, or another small fish, or sometimes a piece of a larger fish or an earthworm. These lines, usually numbering several dozen, were spread across lakes from spring to late autumn, though primarily in summer. Occasionally, they were used in river bends where the water was calm. Typically, dozens of lines were thrown into the water in the evening, so that the wind would carry them to the other side of the body of water or bay by morning, where they would be retrieved, sometimes using a special hook. They were used to catch carnivorous fish, such as eels. Fishing with pęczki was considered very efficient, which is why they were used not only by professional fishermen but also by poachers. The floating fishing line here, originating from the village of Domysłów in the Wolin municipality, was donated to the Pomeranian Ethnography collection in 1970. Małgorzata Kłosińska-Grzechowiak