Spear Fishing

Fish were a major source of meat for Native Americans all year round. One way that the Native Americans caught fish was with spears. Spear fishing was considered a man's job while fishing with a hook and string was usually a woman's job. Spear fishing was usually done in the winter or spring time.

In the winter they would cut a small hole in the ice on the lake or pond and and put a wooden lure that resembled either a minnow or a frog or some other little water creature in it. They would usually lay on their stomachs with a blanket over their head and the hole to see through the ice better. The spears they used were made out of either bone or copper attached to a wooden shaft, this type of spear was used to catch bigger fish. The type of spears that was used to catch smaller fish was usually a trident (a three pronged tip) that would catch the fish either on a point or between the points.

In the spring after the ice had thawed they would take out canoes and fish from them. They usually fished at night by the light of a torch, which made it easier to spot fish under water. They would stand up in the canoe and wait for a fish to come then they would stab down at the fish.