Looking for Lake Edib In the morning, Star Boy and I set out into the forest. I carried my cameras, nets, and anything I knew I’d need in the fi eld. Star Boy carried the traps, our food, and the jug of chemicals I use to preserve fi sh. We hiked through the rain in the
rain forest all day. T en we spent the night in a hunting camp. T e next day, I got my fi rst view
of Lake Edib. It’s tucked into a steep, rocky crater, surrounded by forest. T e land is so overgrown, we had to hack our way down into the crater. At the bottom, we had to push our
way through tall elephant grass. T e water level began to rise. Soon, we were chest-deep in the water. Finally, we reached the edge of open water. T ere, we got a view of the lake itself. T e water was black and still. I
reached out to touch it. I realized I was covered with leeches! Leeches are like slugs. T ey attach to your skin and suck your blood. It doesn't hurt, but it is gross. Star Boy and I knocked the leeches off ourselves. T en it hit me: I hadn’t even begun my sampling of fi sh. I would probably be spending most of my stay here fi ghting swamp grass and leeches.
22 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC EXPLORER
Sampling the Lake For the next week, we searched for fi sh. I sampled with traps and nets. I placed my traps around the edge of the lake. I threw my net from the banks. I waded into the water. T en I used my dip net to work through the plants growing in the lake. T ere were no boats or canoes at
Edib. So I swam my gill nets across the lake. I checked them twice a day, wearing my mask and snorkel. Still, we didn’t catch a single fi sh. It turned out Lake Edib was fi shless. T at’s bad news for a guy who studies fi sh.
WORDWISE
crater lake: a body of water fi lling a circular, steep-sided volcanic crater
speciation: the formation of new species
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