RSS/Feed
Home
Staff
Schedule
Location
Courses
Links
Gallery
Gear
Application
Bush Craft & Wilderness Survival Articles, Gear Reviews & Videos |
|||
A Primer on Set Hooks and Trotlines - Part One
by Keith A. Williams
While speaking to some children the other day at the local boat landing, I became saddened at the realization that there were so many young people who apparently are growing up without even the basic understanding of the practical fishing techniques that had once been considered to be such an important part of every day life in my childhood. With this in mind, I’d like to take a moment to talk a little about Set Hooks and Trotlines.
When I was little, it was not uncommon to see people using what were known as bank poles. This was usually a bamboo pole with a fishing line attached to one end, and the other, sharper end simply stuck into the bank. If set up properly, this could hold a large fish or even a small gator, but if done poorly, you might well find yourself sitting in the mud while watching your pole swim away. With that in mind, a better configuration was to have a small forked stick to support the pole a little way up the shaft. This kept the lower end in position and allowed the upper end to arch and bend like a regular fishing pole without much fear of having the whole setup being pulled into the water. Although these are quite effective, their usage first requires finding suitable bamboo poles and then having to carry them to the fishing locations and this generally sees their usage in limited numbers.
A more popular concept is that of the Set Hook. Whether they know them as set hooks, bush hooks, set lines, limb lines, throw lines, or some other name, variations can be found most everywhere, and have been a long-time standard means of catching larger numbers of fish in a given time frame. It has been said that they do this with less effort, but that is debatable as checking them properly can be a considerable amount of work.
When I was little, it was not uncommon to see people using what were known as bank poles. This was usually a bamboo pole with a fishing line attached to one end, and the other, sharper end simply stuck into the bank. If set up properly, this could hold a large fish or even a small gator, but if done poorly, you might well find yourself sitting in the mud while watching your pole swim away. With that in mind, a better configuration was to have a small forked stick to support the pole a little way up the shaft. This kept the lower end in position and allowed the upper end to arch and bend like a regular fishing pole without much fear of having the whole setup being pulled into the water. Although these are quite effective, their usage first requires finding suitable bamboo poles and then having to carry them to the fishing locations and this generally sees their usage in limited numbers.
A more popular concept is that of the Set Hook. Whether they know them as set hooks, bush hooks, set lines, limb lines, throw lines, or some other name, variations can be found most everywhere, and have been a long-time standard means of catching larger numbers of fish in a given time frame. It has been said that they do this with less effort, but that is debatable as checking them properly can be a considerable amount of work.
On to PART TWO
|
|
Do you have your own tip to share?
Send an email to georgehedgepeth(at)hotmail(dot)com
Briar Patch Outdoors
219 Holmes Street
Durand MI 48429
(989) 288-0168
Learn about backwoods-living, pioneer skills, survival, subsistence hunting, historical trekking, living history, experimental archeology, period living skills, wilderness survival skills, Primitive Survival Skills, Stone Age Technology, Workshops and Classes, Anthropology, Archeology, Artifact Replication,
stone age, stone-age skills, earth skills, native technology, ancient skills, wilderness survival training, outdoors, hide tanning, braintan, brain tanning, nature, awareness, tracking,
medicinal plants, edible plants, prehistoric skills, cordage, fire by friction, kayaking, atlatl making and throwing, arrow, bow, flintknapping, dart, baskets, stone tools, aboriginal skills, traditional, workshops, classes, old ways,
Country Living, Voluntary Simplicity, Simple Living, Homesteading, survival product reviews, back to basics, alternative medicine, wild foraging.