RE: [Paddlewise] Inuit hunting

Richard Walker wrote:
> 
> I already know I can *throw* the harpoon from the kayak.  Whether 
> I can hit a carp from 30ft at 3am with nothing but a shaky flashlight 
> for illumination is a completely different story.  But they should be 
> moving up into the shallows in a few more weeks so maybe I'll be 
> able to put all these pieces together in time to give it a 
> try....  

 As youngsters my brother and I spent many happy hours bowfishing and
spearing suckers and carp that would get trapped in a marshy/swampy area
near our home after the spring floods receded (that should be amended to
read "trying" to bowfish and spear).  I know that I'd be hard pressed to
"hit" a carp from 30 ft with a spear. The parallax effect induced by the
surface of the water makes judging position extremely difficult, even
when you're nearly directly above a fish.  I also don't think that I
could generate enough force to "penetrate" a carp from that distance
without using something like an atalatl to provide extra leverage.  I
don't know if traditional Inuit used a device like an atalatl or not,
but it was a fairly common type of device among many aboriginal peoples.
 The whole project does sound like fun, though.  Any excuse will do for
"messing about in boats".
 Good hunting!

Dave Seng
Juneau, Alaska
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