Glass Bottles Soda-bimal Soda-ABM Whiskey Beer Other Bottle Types Miscellaneous Stone Artifacts Adzes Poi Pounders Lamps and Bowls Game Pieces Fishing Items Other Other Artifacts Wooden bowls Fish Hooks Other Collectibles Matson Items Other About our Business Hawaii Bottle Club Hawaiian Artifact History Contact Us Links Home Fishing Items The ancient Hawaiians were like all fishermen and used weights, line, hook and bait to catch fish. In many respects, the style of the hooks and weights are similar to those used today. The exception is the material used. Instead of metal, led, and nylon, the ancient Hawaiians used bone, stone, coral and plants to make hooks, weights and line. One of the favorite foods was taco or octopus. Lures were fashioned using coffee bean or bread loaf sinkers attached to a longish stick with a bone hook on the end and cowry shell on top of the sinker. Dropped to the appropriate depth, the fisherman would wait until a hungry taco wrapped itself around the cowry shell. With a tug, the taco would get entangled on the shell and hook and be pulled to the fisherman. Sinkers were weighted to nets and line made of Olona fiber. Hooks varied in size from a ¼" to several inches in size. Sharks and larger fish were caught with wooden hooks carved from roots with bone applied tips. We also have a page of Authentic Hawaiian Fish Hooks. Bread loaf sinker. Approximately 3.5" Bread Loaf basalt sinker. Approximately 3" Hawaiian coral sinker. Approximately 2" Coral knobbed sinker. Approximately 1" Coffee bean sinker approximately 3" long

Antique Alley (our off web location) | 1347 Kapiolani Boulevard | Honolulu, Hawaii 96814
Telephone: (808) 526-3245 | Fax: (808) 526-3246