Not sure if this should go here or someplace else but here goes.

I want to make a fur trappers fishing kit. A piece of wood would probably work for a bobber and a few .32 cal balls would work for weight but what would be a period correct line ?

If this discussion is on here someplace, please advise.

Well it depends on the weight of the fish you're going for, but...,

What I did was look in eBay for vintage fishing line. I found some "Irish linen" fishing line, and it's thin but very tough. That's my main line then I attach the hooks in one of three ways.

Horse hair snelled hooks is a very traditional way, and horse hair and hooks may be found at Historic Angling. You might also try TenkaraBum. There are others. IF you try to get some from a horse owner, the tail of a mare is NOT good for fishing lines, as she sprays urine on her tail and it weakens the hair.

"Tenkara" is Japanese fly fishing which is really 18th century "Angling"...but you don't need to have a rod to catch fish using some of their lines.

Another way to attach the hooks is simple "button thread" or carpet thread. The strength is pretty good, and a fish that's a couple of pounds may be landed. Silk thread, especially quality silk used for tying flies is the third way. Check the strength of the thread before you use them for fishing.

A simple piece of cork works as a bobber, and I like to take a thin strip of lead and twist it along the thread axis as a sinker. I've had luck on catfish with simply some "turned" chicken and a hook on a line...as catfish are bottom feeders.

LD

Thanks L D. I will begin my eBay hunt. I probably will only have one pond that I will be dealing with but it will be at an AMM camp so I want to try my best to get it right. Thanks again.

Keep us posted on your progress and some pictures of your kit when you've got it together please.

Must be my lucky day L D. First thing I found was Galway Irish Linen line at a good price.

Found the hooks too. Made by a company named Mustad, a Swedish company established in 1832. Of course my persona found them in St Lewis when he was restocking his plunder before he led Aster and his wagons to the rendezvous at Pierre’s Hole.

Soooo,did the Indians ever fish with hook and line,or were they exclusively net fishermen?

quote:

Soooo,did the Indians ever fish with hook and line,or were they exclusively net fishermen?

They used spears, traps, and nets mostly. Hook and line fishing is a white man invention, and not nearly as efficient as traps. Of course, when they had the strong, thin line they used gorge or toggle "hooks" when they could not get the white man's barbed iron hooks.

Fish weirs made of piled rocks stretching across creeks and rivers still exist in many places throughout the country. There are several here in east Tennessee and north Georgia. The weirs funneled the fish into a small channel where they could be either trapped or speared more easily.
There were probably wooden weirs also; made of stakes driven into the stream bottom. However these either were washed away or decayed long ago.

Tribes in the coastal areas mostly used nets and spears, sometimes even harpooning seals and whales.
Several tribes in the Pacific northwest as well as the Micmac of Nova Scotia and Newfoundland were known for their large, seaworthy canoes.

That's what I kinda thought.I'd heard of all the other methods,but never hook and line...BTW,there is an old weir in the local river,although it's been drowned by an artificial raising of the water level above historic levels as a result of lawsuits,and agitating by local native "activists" and Greenies that didn't bother to do their home work,ostensibly to help the local fish populations....

Well, because I am not Native American, I'll stick to hook and line.

I'm a "Heinze 57" American,including some native hiding in the mix,so I'll do whatever tickles my fancy....

Yeah,

Folks forget that "fishing" was really another form of food gathering to Paleo people.

Hooks and lines work for some ocean fishing, (Cod, tuna) but nets are really the oldest form of salt water fishing....well maybe with a spear is older [chicken vs. egg, egg vs. chicken]

Now for fresh water, traps and weirs where the fish could be netted or speared were labor saving ideas. Using hooks seems to have been applied by poachers early on...., you let the line drift down into the noble's weir, snag a fish, and haul it back. Another method is the "trot line" which may be why natives started adopting the use of hooks from white men..., you deploy a trot line with multiple hooks, and it's tough to spot. Return the next day and get your fish and leave the area....while a trap often is open to the sky above the water so your enemies know to wait for you to show up.

"Sport" fishing aka "Angling", especially with a fly, seems to be a 17th century invention.

LD

Interesting stuff LD. You must do a great deal of reading. I always appreciate your input.

I'm not going for any of that though. All I want is simple line, hook, and cork that will be correct for the fur trade era and I can simply store in my Nap Sack. Pretty much have it all or at least on the way. Nothing fancy at all.

Yes, me too...just a line in a small kit.

Another reason why fishing might have caught on with the frontiersmen, is it can be done quietly, while keeping an armed lookout. Bait the hook on the line and attach it to a bush by the stream. Sit off at a distance where you can watch the line move the bush if you get a fish. Spearing or netting even in a trap or weir takes some of your time away from keeping a lookout.

Besides...., it's fun to use the really simple tackle and land a fish big enough for a meal.



LD

When using rb's for weights make sure lead is legal where you are. In NH no lead weights under 1 full ounce are allowed to keep the fish stealing loons safe. Loonies,in New England, are like the wolf worshipers in the west .

Well, I'm afraid I will have to get arrested. I'm just NOT that politically correct. As far as I can tell, we are being protected to death. Don't people THINK anymore.

I agree with you Iche Iia. Why does the govt. feel it needs to protect us. I'm in my 70's and haven't need protection since I was about 13 or 14.

I have also just turned 70 and the 1911 I carry on my hip is all the protection I need. I just read something in the instructions that came with a new keyboard that I bought yesterday. "This device may contain small parts which may be a choking hazard to children under 3." ....... Does that mean that there are actually people out there that use a keyboard for a teething ring? P L E A S E !!!

Just remember,all this "protection" is about control,not protection....

Just remember when you are caught in NH it is usually not just a fine but loss of H&F license for a couple of years. I am at 64 years old and that may be a life forfeiture.

Follow the game laws age don't make you special.