>> I've gotten a little interested in the way the Inuit hunt from a kayak -- spears, and that. I keep thinking about building a replica Inuit spear and trying it out. Now, an Inuit hunter would probably want to go out hunting seals, but seals are an endangered species around southern Michigan, the last one in these parts having been seen about the time the glaciers receded. However, one of the local lakes have some carp that approach seal size . . . hmmmmmmm. Does anyone actually know anything about making or using an Inuit spear? -- Wes >> Franz Boas' _The Central Eskimo_ has a number of drawings of Inuit implements. Also see John Brand's _Little Kayak Book_, which is available from John Winters. Chuck Holst *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
> around southern Michigan, the last one in these parts having been > seen about the time the glaciers receded. However, one of the local > lakes have some carp that approach seal size . . . hmmmmmmm. > > Does anyone actually know anything about making or using an Inuit > spear? Try a web search using "inuit harpoon seal hunt" Tons of goodies to be seen, including some drawings of a couple different styles of harpoons. There is a local lake which is overrun with introduced grass carp, which everyone wants removed, but no one can figure a way to remove them. Its so bad, that they are actually illegal to release if you happen to catch one; law states that it must be killed and gutted immediately after landing. So maybe this is an idea for a wierd kayak tournament!!! Kayaker who harpoons the greatest mass of grass carp wins some cool prize. Revive ancient kayaking skills and help save native plants (and thus fish) from the bottomless stomachs of 100lb grass carp. Richard Walker Houston, TX http://www.neosoft.com/~rww/kayak_log.html *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
At 09:31 AM 2/18/99 -0600, you wrote: > >There is a local lake which is overrun with introduced grass carp, >which everyone wants removed, but no one can figure a way to >remove them. Its so bad, that they are actually illegal to release if >you happen to catch one; law states that it must be killed and >gutted immediately after landing. So maybe this is an idea for a >wierd kayak tournament!!! Kayaker who harpoons the greatest >mass of grass carp wins some cool prize. Revive ancient >kayaking skills and help save native plants (and thus fish) from the >bottomless stomachs of 100lb grass carp. > > >Richard Walker > Great concept! Do you think we could extend this "Clean Up Your Waterways/Bounty Hunt" to the removal of Pestilent Water Craft (PWC)s? Due to widespread squeamishness and pesky local laws, killing them outright would be unfeasible, so I think we have to develop some sort of "Nerf" harpoon that would knock them off their noisy, stinking mounts. They could then be humanely "fixed" so they could not breed the next generation of yahoos, and live-released (without their boat of course) to make their way back to shore. Philip T. N49°16' W123°08' "The opinions expressed in this posting are not necessarily those of my employer, or indeed, of any sentient being." *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
R. Walker wrote: > > So maybe this is an idea for a > wierd kayak tournament!!! Kayaker who harpoons the greatest > mass of grass carp wins some cool prize. Revive ancient > kayaking skills and help save native plants (and thus fish) from the > bottomless stomachs of 100lb grass carp. > Which would you rather deal with: a 100 lb fish at the end of some 60 LB line, or a 100 lb fish at the end of a 6 foot harpoon? At least grass carp won't bite your leg off if you fall in, wich seems pretty likely. Do let us kow before you try this, Rich, or at least have someone there with a camcorder. This might make Vertical Addiction look tame. Steve -- Test Scoring & Reporting Services Sometimes, you never can University of Georgia always tell what you Athens, GA 30602-5593 least expect the most. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
> > So maybe this is an idea for a > > wierd kayak tournament!!! Kayaker who harpoons the greatest > > mass of grass carp wins some cool prize. Revive ancient > > kayaking skills and help save native plants (and thus fish) from the > > bottomless stomachs of 100lb grass carp. > > > Which would you rather deal with: a 100 lb fish at the end of some 60 LB > line, or a 100 lb fish at the end of a 6 foot harpoon? At least grass carp > won't bite your leg off if you fall in, wich seems pretty likely. Do let > us kow before you try this, Rich, or at least have someone there with a > camcorder. This might make Vertical Addiction look tame. Actually, I ain't gonna deal with the fish at all. Inuit harpoons use a breakaway / slip-tip design. The line goes from the tip, to a large float. When the spear penetrates the fish, the tip seperates from the shaft. The wooden shaft floats so you can retrieve it; while the fish fights the float, when the float stops moving, you go retrieve the fish. 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.... We also have tilapia and goldfish problems down here is well; though they aren't nearly as destructive as those stupid grass carp. Richard Walker Houston, TX http://www.neosoft.com/~rww/kayak_log.html *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
>There is a local lake which is overrun with introduced grass carp, >which everyone wants removed, but no one can figure a way to >remove them. Its so bad, that they are actually illegal to release if >you happen to catch one; law states that it must be killed and >gutted immediately after landing. So maybe this is an idea for a >wierd kayak tournament!!! Kayaker who harpoons the greatest >mass of grass carp wins some cool prize. Revive ancient >kayaking skills and help save native plants (and thus fish) from the >bottomless stomachs of 100lb grass carp. This lake I'm looking at isn't quite as bad, but there are sure a potload of carp in it. I think trying out spearing carp Inuit style would be fun, but this would really be different. There's no way that the carp could ever actually be removed short of rotenone (which kills everything else, too), but a tournament like that might put a dent in them . . . who knows, we may have started something! -- Wes *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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 *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Dave Seng wrote: > 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. > In Greenland it is called "norsaq". The most common harpoon has too pegs near the center that engage in the norsaq. Other harpoons do not have peges, but rather engage on the norsaq at the rear end. Atlatl is a Aztec (Mexican) word, just like Golden Gatl. The Golden Gatl was the first bridge that the Spanish conquerors saw when they were going up the coast of California. It was later named Golden Gate just like the vegetable "tomatl" was adapted to Spanish language as "tomate". The reason why the Greenlanders came up with a device so similar to the Aztec Atlatl is not a mystery. All Northern cultures are known to move to warmer latin countries in the South for their summer vacation. It now clear that the Inuit people learned the use of the Atlatl during a summer vacation in Mexico a long time ago, just like the Sweedish group Abba learned to sing in Spanish during their summer vacation in Spain. Now, why did they called it "norsaq" and not "atlatl"? Try to pronounce Atlatl with frozen lips and you will immediately find out why. Instead the word "norsaq" like most Inuit words, can be pronounced perfectly with no lip movement at all. - Julio *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
We could always make it a traditional Makah hunt and use 50 caliber machine guns! Great concept! Do you think we could extend this "Clean Up Your Waterways/Bounty Hunt" to the removal of Pestilent Water Craft (PWC)s? Due to widespread squeamishness and pesky local laws, killing them outright would be unfeasible, so I think we have to develop some sort of "Nerf" harpoon that would knock them off their noisy, stinking mounts. They could then be humanely "fixed" so they could not breed the next generation of yahoos, and live-released (without their boat of course) to make their way back to shore. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
Try looking up "atlatl" in a search. Didn't the Arctic people use the throwing stick? It is supposed to add a BIG boost to the shot. I did this search a few months ago (don't have results handy) and found one pricey supplier of atlatl and darts. If no actual plans, the Web should have enough pictures to start making a prototype. Mike Wagenbach *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
In a message dated 2/18/99 5:31:20 PM Pacific Standard Time, boydwe_at_dmci.net writes: << So maybe this is an idea for a >wierd kayak tournament!!! Kayaker who harpoons the greatest >mass of grass carp wins some cool prize. Revive ancient >kayaking skills and help save native plants (and thus fish) from the >bottomless stomachs of 100lb grass carp. >> Put it together rich!!! robin. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List Submissions: paddlewise_at_lists.intelenet.net Subscriptions: paddlewise-request_at_lists.intelenet.net Website: http://www.gasp-seakayak.net/paddlewise/ ***************************************************************************
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