Perhaps the most simple and innovative fish trap for children is the ‘Koorichatty’. The picture shows the koorichatty in action in the clear waters of the river in front of our house in Thidanad.
Here the fish trap, koorichatty is immersed in the water and we can see the tiger fish of Thidanad, vazhakkavara (please look carefully to identify the ‘Nemo’ like small fish with dark stripes) hovering above the trap. Once they get in through the small opening in the middle of the trap, lured by the food kept inside, they won’t know how to get back into the open water. We as children used to collect these small fish and put them in the water below the rock formations inside the land and grow them as pets.
Preparation of koorichatty is very simple
First the half0……0…….0…………………………….. portion of the coconut shell after the coconut flesh is grated out is taken
Food for the fish is kept inside the shell. A cloth piece is then tied round it and fixed in position using a rubber band,
A hole is then made in the middle of the cloth covering the coconut shell using a lit match stick or a small piece of wood.
This then is immersed in the river bed and left alone for sometime. Small fish, primarily the ‘vazhakkavara’ – the tiger fish will gather and get inside the trap one by one. The small coconut shell would get about 10 to 12 of these little fellas, which the children take home for putting in the small ponds.
Interestingly, this is not a children exclusive game. I do this when I go to Thidanad. By the way there are some science also involved in this. You get the maximum catch if you know the position of the trap, the best time of the day, and the direction of the sunlight etc. These are acquired skills and I am one of the top experts.
I suppose this could be an attractive tourist activity.
A very attractive and innovative activity
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Thank you very much.
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Interesting!
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Isn’t it. I love doing it
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As a tourist I would find interesting to build my own fish trap. This is a cool family activity. -Dominique
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That’s a precious feedback Dominique. The reason why I am your ardent follower
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My pleasure Kurian. Thanks for your very nice reply.
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My pleasure too Dominique. Thank you for all the support
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I love how wonderfully low-tech this is. Just right for us all.
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Thank you Elizabeth for the very nice comment
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This is very very interesting… genius infact! Could this be used for bigger fish as well?
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Yes Pradita. Use the earthen vessel, the one used to make fish curry (Indicative of size) and use a bigger hole, just enough for the size of the fish as in my fish spa natural video
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Oh! I don’t have rivers or seas around me or else I would have definitely tried this out. Sounds like fun
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Like I implied before, I can see you enjoying it in Thidanad
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Done. When your unit is up and running, I’ll come over for a vacation 😊
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Deal! The most exciting deal
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😀 😀 Yay!
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Great to know. Very innovative and interesting. You have all the business instincts in you. If I knew this fishing method, I would have tried it but never would have thought of an “attractive tourist activity”.
Most times I go by the idea, “if I know, everyone knows!” , but you think like ” even if many know, there will be some who DON’T KNOW”…All the best!
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Thank you for the kind words. You are clearly very talented and knowledgeable. I am looking forward to your book
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