Grappling pole

In winter, fish were caught under the ice using seines, i.e., large and heavy nets. With special axes, a large rectangular air-hole was cut in the ice, and the seine with long poles attached to it was inserted into the hole. The poles were „chased”, meaning that they were pushed under the ice using special forks. Fishermen made their own accessories, the so-called net finders, to catch a pole that might be drifting away. These were either wooden or wicker hooks or slightly bent metal rods mounted on long spars. This tool is known as szukarka, szukarek or szukork. Bolesław Śląski in his Słownik morsko-rybołówczy uses also such terms as klucz and pałąk. It is described as „a curved stick with a nail or hook at the end”. In the fishing collection of the Department of Ethnography of Pomerania of the National Museum in Szczecin there is one example of such a net finder. It dates from the first half of the 20th century, from the village of Zastań in the Wolin municipality. It was made in blacksmithing technique.

Agnieszka Słowińska