I’ve been reading Hilary Stewart’s book Indian Fishing which is an excellent resource that describes in detail the fishing techniques used by the native peoples who inhabited the west coast of North America. I was inspired by the artistic quality and craftsmanship expressed by these people in the making of the tools they used on a day-to-day basis. I was so impressed that I wanted to try to replicate something from the book. I opted for the salmon trolling hook that you see here thinking it wouldn’t be too difficult to put together. I had originally lashed the bone barb into place with waxed nylon (artificial sinew) but I wanted to make it more authentic so I ended up replacing that with split spruce roots. I was concerned that the root lashing wouldn’t bind the barb as tightly as the nylon thread did; however, I must confess that it holds it in place more firmly than the synthetic thread did. Perhaps this is due to the residual pitch left in the roots making them a little sticky. All in all, I am very happy with my new hook. What I want to do next is put together about 60 feet of natural twisted cord and then test the hook and line combination out in one of the local farm ponds. I’m hoping I might be able to land a bass with it.

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3. Knapped Novaculite Knife
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