Ahh… fishing. So many people enjoy the experience of casting a line out in the hopes of catching the biggest or most unique fish out there. It’s even meditative in its own way; just you and nature.
However, it’s not just sitting on the shore or in a boat and flopping a baited line into the water until you get a bite – it takes skill. In fact, there are certain fishermen around the world who only have access to primitive techniques. Surprisingly, it’s these people that are blowing everyone else out of the water.
Fishing hasn’t always been as easy as the general public portrays it to be. It takes a lot of work! Especially for those who are forced to use more original methods to catch fish…
Take, for example, these two men who live in Bangladesh. The river systems are filled with fish, but the people who live in these small villages don’t have the sophisticated fishing equipment we do. They start this particular method with two enormous pots they call “Kulas.”
The first thing they do is make the bait: rice, flour, bran, and mustard. This may not seem as enticing as bait shop food, but as you’ll see, it works just fine.
Once the four ingredients are thoroughly mixed together, the men roll the mixture into several tightly-packed balls. The balls are then dropped into the bottom of the pots…
Once all of the food is placed carefully in the base of each Kula, it’s time to lug the pots down towards the river. The men use a long thick branch to transport them. But, they’re not quite ready to go fishing yet…
As soon as the men get to the shoreline of the river, they still have a bit more scavenging to do. They walk into the thick brush and collect a particular type of aromatic plant that attracts the fish.
The men also dig through the muddy shores and forest ground to find large earthworms. Just because these guys aren’t using fishing rods and hooks, doesn’t mean they can’t make use of these yummy treats!
Once all the aromatic leaves and earthworms are divvied up evenly between the two Kulas, they’re placed into the pots. This will attract the largest amount of aquatic critters possible. Pretty amazing stuff, right?
The men then drag the pots into the river and allow them to fill completely with water and sink to the bottom. Here they’ll stay for a couple days while the leaves, worms, and rice mixture lure in the fish.
Exactly two days later, the village begins to buzz with excitement! Sometimes the fish are easily accessible, while some days it seems like the water is totally void of activity.
Once the Kulas are dragged onto the shore, the men carefully empty the water. They need to make sure nothing but the water escapes; if there is a good catch inside, it would be a disaster to waste it. So, how’d the men do?
The mission was a success! Just look at all those fish in the basket! Not every attempt yields this many, but on this particular day, the fish seemed to be biting.
What started off as a very unusual method ending up working wonders. Now, as amazing as this technique is, there’s still one more fascinating way to fish involving a pipe and wooden cylinder…
When you have limited resources, you become efficient with simple everyday items, as these people have. It all starts with a long piece of piping.
Using a thin piece of steel wire, the fisherman secures four long pieces of wood evenly apart around the tube. It’s vital the wooden sticks are tight enough to withstand some force…
They’re going to hold a heavy cylindrical block of wood between them. Notice the nail sticking out of the side of the wood facing the pipe. Soon you’ll realize exactly what its role is.
A similar mixture of rice, flour, bran, and mustard is packed together tightly, but this time, it’s stuffed into small woven sacks. Materials like this are often used in older fishing techniques, like these woven fishing boats below.
Once the food is bound in the sacks, it’s fastened to a long rope. The end of the rope is then tied to the nail protruding from the wooden cylinder. It’s finally time to set this thing in motion!
One end of the pipe is submerged into the water, and the fisherman grabs the loose end of the rope through the tube. He patiently waits for fish to start nibbling at the food, and then…
Boom! He yanks the cylinder through the tube, trapping the fish and forcing them out of the top onto a woven sheet that filters out the water. Look at that catch! It took a while to set up, but it was completely worth it.
Even though using a sleek rod and reel is certainly easier, it’s still fascinating these methods are used around the world today!
Share these primitive fishing techniques with your friends below!