MIAMI HERALD (Florida) 07 February 08 A nice gig in the the swamp - Two Homestead Froggers Load Up On A South Florida Delicacy (Susan Cocking)
Circling the shallow, sawgrass slough in his airboat, Hal Arve scanned the surface with a powerful headlamp, illuminating what would otherwise be a black Everglades night.
Miles removed from the lights and traffic on U.S. 41 to the south, the Homestead insurance executive focused on snagging a swamp delicacy -- pig frogs. And this cool winter night, with a light northerly breeze, no moon and low water, presented the best opportunity for ensuring plenty of gourmet entrees.
Suddenly, the headlamp beam caught a small, shiny patch of white sticking up from the matted-down grass and spongy periphyton. Arve pointed the high-powered craft directly at it and zoomed by, extending a 10-foot, four-pronged gig.
The frog blinked in the glare and made a slight move as if to jump or submerge, but too late -- it was snagged by three of the sharp prongs.
Arve slowed down and pushed the impaled frog into a metal chute with a mesh bag. A slot in the chute acted as a hook remover, allowing Arve to deposit the frog and withdraw the gig in a fairly fluid motion.
''When it's really good, you'll see pods or bands of six to eight of them,'' he said, stopping the engine and waiting for fellow airboater Barney Rutzke to catch up.
Arriving a few minutes later, Rutzke -- a Homestead farmer who has been frogging in the Everglades since childhood -- produced his catch: about half again as many frogs as Arve's haul.
''I miss quite a few in the beginning, but once I get the hang of it, I do a lot better,'' Rutzke said. ``I'm going a little slower and staying in the thicker grass. I tried out the open areas and saw small ones.''
There was an unmistakable undercurrent of competition between the two fourth-generation Homestead natives -- longtime hunting and fishing buddies who often try to outdo one another. But ultimately they knew they probably would combine whatever frogs they managed to bag and serve them at a neighborhood cookout.
Arve already had concocted a frog-leg recipe.
''I freeze them before I eat them,'' he said. ``Then I marinate them in lemon juice, make an egg wash and roll them in Italian bread crumbs. As soon as they float in cooking oil, they're done.''
Rutzke said that sounded good, but first they needed to gig a few more frogs. They started up their airboats and continued separately in deliberate zig-zag patterns back toward Tamiami Trail.
Despite a worldwide decline in populations of amphibian species, there seems to be no shortage of native pig frogs in the Everglades, according to Tim Regan, a biologist for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
''The last three years have been banner years in the conservation areas,'' Regan said, referring to the 672,000-acre Everglades and Francis S. Taylor Wildlife Management Areas stretching across western Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties.
Frogging season is open year-round in the Everglades management areas; there is no bag or size limit. Recreational froggers don't even need a fishing license. The only license requirement is for commercial froggers and dealers. However, in the adjacent Big Cypress National Preserve, commercial frogging is prohibited, and there is a five-gallon recreational bag limit.
The situation is the direct opposite at Lake Okeechobee, according to Regan. Traditionally a rich source of pig frogs, the big lake has very little suitable habitat for the amphibians because of the multiyear drought.
''The marsh is bone-dry,'' Regan said. ``It's going in the tank. There's no place for [frogs] to breed. They lay their eggs in the water, live their whole life in the water. It's not like they're in deeper water; they're gone.''
After about 2 ˝ hours of hunting and gigging, Arve and Rutzke combined to catch about 30 pounds of whole frogs -- not a superior haul, both agreed, but enough for a group meal, because about
10 pairs of frog legs constitute a single serving. A few were pretty large, but most were medium-sized. A really big pig frog measures 10-12 inches stretched out.
Arve said they probably would have done better with lower water and less wind. But, for now, they had plenty of frogs to clean. Hopefully, their buddies in Homestead appreciate their bounty.
A nice gig in the the swamp