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| Roberto Clother readies his dugout canoe for a long evening of fishing. Triunfo de la Cruz, Honduras. Photo credit: Drew Irwin. | ||
Garífuna Fisherman
Triunfo de la Cruz, Honduras
Learning How to Fish
I want to tell you the story of my sport, fishing. For me, fishing is exercise and sustains my body and health. There are days when I go fishing at nine o'clock at night; and I don't touch land again until three o'clock the next day. I work for more than eighteen hours at sea. There are times when I catch many fish; and there are times when I don't catch any. Oh!- but I feel happy because I like fishing.
Fishing is also my father's sport. For this reason, I like to fish. When I was ten years old, I began fishing with my dad. He taught me at home. Then, we went down to the sea. My dad had me sit behind in the dugout canoe (cayuco). And he went in front. He gave me a fishing line; and he kept another. My dad put me on one side of the dugout canoe and he on the other. That's how we fished so that the line didn't get all coiled up - making it impossible to catch any fish.
A Fishing Lesson
Part 1: How to Prepare the Line
Now, I am going to show you how to prepare the fishing lines and hooks. Before fishing, I always put all of the equipment that I might need in an aluminum can in case a line breaks. That way, it doesn't take me much time to make another line. I just take it out, attach the bait to the hook, and let her go.
All right, I first scale some fish with a knife. Then, I cut the fish to match the size of each hook. If the hook is small, the bait has to be fine. If it is too big, you are not going to catch the fish because the bait doesn't give you time. Afterwards, you let the line drop until it hits the bottom of the sea. The fish then come and start feeding. The line moves in your hands and you feel them - like I feel the fish biting me right this moment. Ah!
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| Roberto Clother fishes off the coast of Triunfo de la Cruz, Honduras. Photo credit: Drew Irwin. | ||
I now bend my arm, grab the line here, and yaaannk! I lift the line to impale the fish. With the hook inlayed, the fish doesn't have time to run anywhere. It stays near the line. From here, I just raise the line and pull, pull, pull - until I can reach the fish. I take hold of the hook and remove the fish. And wham! I throw the fish in front of the dugout canoe.
This is one of the movements in fishing. But it is not only about throwing. You let the line and the weight reach the bottom of the sea. There, the fish sees that the bait is happily moving. That's when the fish gets the nerve to snatch the bait.
Part 2: How to Thread the Hook
I'll now show you how to attach the hook to the line. You put the first hook on the longest line, where it is level. But this point is not at the final knot. I'll measure two inches below the knot - over the other hook that comes on top. Then, you look for the end of the hook and thread it on the line like this. You make the first knot. You do this in movements - by lowering the line down and liftting it back up. But why? - you ask. I do this to look for the leveling point, so it doesn't move up or down.
How do I make it not move? - you ask. I hold the hook and line in such a way that I can work at threading and introducing the hook. I pull and pull until the hook is secured. I repeat the same task - threading and tightening the hook. Ah! The line snapped because it was too tight. Well, this how a fish takes the sinker. And with the hooks, the fish will not move, even without the weight.
That is how you prepare the line. I will continue with the next hook so you can see how I take the measurements. I no longer measure in inches since I already know where to attach the hook. This is because fishing is my sport.
Continue! Learn about Garífuna fishing and sea rituals.
Related link:
Coastal parks threatened by commercial fishing. Wendy Griffin. Honduras This Week. The impact of commercial fishing on Garífuna ceremonial fisherman.
Credit: Interview and transcription by InCorpore Cultural AssociationŠ with Roberto Clother; Triunfo de la Cruz, Honduras; July 1998. All rights reserved. Edited and translated by K.Stevens, Stanford Center for Latin American Studies, 2/25/00.