How To Make A Fishing Hook The Old Fashioned Way

I’ve shared an article before about how to make a fishing hook using thorns.

In this post, I’m sharing another tutorial, this one via hedgehogleatherworks.com. It shows a different way to fashion a fishing hook in the style of the primitive people.

Materials

Making a primitive fishing hook is easy, and you will need natural cordage and a thorn in making it. You can try and find a thorn, i.e. a thorn from a locust tree. But if you can’t find a suitable thorn, you can carve your own hook from a splinter of wood.

How to carve the hook

Carve a hook until you have something similar to the hook pictured above. Carve the hook down to a point on one side and a dull end on the other. You will notice that there is a small cordage groove on the other end of the hook. This should be a shallow depression and it will act as a stopping point. Make sure that you do not weaken the wood too much.

How to attach the cordage

Attaching the cord is very easy, all you need to do is go to the end of the cord and unravel it slightly. This will now create a small loop wherein you can pierce the point of the hook through.

Another Loop

After piercing the hook in the first loop, go up to the very next spot and then untwist it to create another loop or opening, after that pierce the hook through it.

Last step

The next thing that you’re going to do is to slide the cordage all the way down to the base and to the cordage groove. Twist the cord to tighten the fixture and you’re done making your fishing hook.
You may notice that the hook was carved down a bit; this is to make it easier to swallow. When placing your bait, make sure that the hook lays parallel with the cordage. The fish will swallow the bait and the hook easily and it will open up when force is applied.

You can watch the video below to see how to make and use a DIY primitive fishing hook.