Hooking a Halibut

Back in Hoonah, while exploring the Indian Art Center and observing the carving of the totem pole I looked over at another informative board about carved halibut hooks. How interesting! Having had the salmon charter fishing morning and now looking ahead to planning a halibut fishing charter trip I was drawn to reading about these fascinating shapes. Before the introduction of the steel fishhook by Europeans, the Eastern Alaskan Tlinget and Haida fisherman used a lure with a carved wood section with a bone or iron barb bound to it. When these enticing contraptions were attached to a line of kelp stalks and weighted with a stone they would move with the current attracting the unsuspecting halibut to “go for it”. The barb would lodge in the halibut’s mouth when they tried to spit it out. I did not know fish could spit things out!
On a walk this morning to the National Park Forest Office for the Tongass National Forest outside of The Village of Hoonah I spotted this interesting shape again. Now I am curious if any of these old wooden fish hooks can be found???