Bay of Plenty Times
  • Bay of Plenty Times home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Sport
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport

Locations

  • Coromandel & Hauraki
  • Katikati
  • Tauranga
  • Mount Maunganui
  • Pāpāmoa
  • Te Puke
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Bay of Plenty Times

Boning up on old fishing skills

By Kiri Gillespie
Bay of Plenty Times·
15 Nov, 2012 08:53 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

It's a fisherman's tale with a hook - a couple of bone hooks that is.

Greerton youth worker Rangi Ahipene has successfully caught fish with traditional Maori fish hooks made of bone.

Mr Ahipene carved the hooks himself before heading out on a charter fishing trip on Saturday to put them to the test.

"The first fish I caught I threw it back to honour Maori tradition and to honour the significance of what I'd achieved," he said.

It was Mr Ahipene's third attempt at using bone hooks - the first time they were too big for tarakihi's small mouths, the second time the neck of the hook was too weak and broke off while a fish was reeled in.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"So if someone finds a fish with a bone hook in it's mouth, it's not 150 years old," he said before cracking up laughing.

On Saturday, Mr Ahipene caught four more fish including two that were thrown back as undersized blue cod.

The two tarakihi he took home were "the sweetest fish I've ever eaten".

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

The keen fisherman is now planning to return to the sea with a completely traditional fishing set up, involving a flax line and stone sinkers. "I think in this day and age where we've gone so far in one direction with technology, I like to rediscover this older technology and pass that on to the kids I work with."

Mr Ahipene works with troubled youth through Te Tuinga Whanau Trust and uses traditional Maori technology to bring youth back to their roots.

He already knows survival skills such as how to start fire from friction and has taught this to the youth he works with.

"I just think it's such a boost to self-esteem, to know that you are able to do that if you needed to.

"These are sorts of things that I've been using as means to engage with youth and reconnect them with their heritage. I do an activity and follow through with history and meaning."

Maori elder and fisherman Hauata Palmer said Mr Ahipene's traditional catches were a real achievement and not really heard of these days.

"I think he's done well, good on him," Mr Palmer said.

Mr Palmer said traditionally, hooks were made of bones from birds and other animals and binded on to flax lines known as "aho", which had stones attached to act as sinkers.

Maori would roll the aho on their skin and use shark oil to help make the line water resistant.

"That's how they fished. I don't think they needed to have very long lines.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It wasn't unknown to be fishing off a waka with a hand-held line."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

Bay of Plenty Times

'Needs to be killed': Gang president allegedly ordered fatal attack on fellow member

03 Jul 08:00 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

'Oh hell, yeah': Pensioner moves from leaky caravan to new elder village

03 Jul 07:32 AM
Bay of Plenty Times

Heavy rain warnings: BoP acts like 'scoop' for wild weather

02 Jul 09:19 PM

There’s more to Hawai‘i than beaches and buffets – here’s how to see it differently

sponsored
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Bay of Plenty Times

'Needs to be killed': Gang president allegedly ordered fatal attack on fellow member

'Needs to be killed': Gang president allegedly ordered fatal attack on fellow member

03 Jul 08:00 AM

After nearly three weeks of evidence, counsel have begun delivering closing statements.

'Oh hell, yeah': Pensioner moves from leaky caravan to new elder village

'Oh hell, yeah': Pensioner moves from leaky caravan to new elder village

03 Jul 07:32 AM
Heavy rain warnings: BoP acts like 'scoop' for wild weather

Heavy rain warnings: BoP acts like 'scoop' for wild weather

02 Jul 09:19 PM
'Scary stuff': Locals on crash corner fear it will take a death to get it fixed

'Scary stuff': Locals on crash corner fear it will take a death to get it fixed

02 Jul 09:11 PM
From early mornings to easy living
sponsored

From early mornings to easy living

NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • Bay of Plenty Times e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Bay of Plenty Times
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP