Authors: Ben Ruhe
Date Submitted: August 31, 1998
Article Type: Journal

Kites are well known for fun and games. Their ceremonial significance in Asia and elsewhere is also clear. What is less understood is their ancient and continuing utilitarian use.

In Oceania and Southeast Asia, kites have been employed in fishing for many centuries, probably before recorded time. Locals in north Sulawesi, Indonesia, still use them to catch a kind of garfish. The lure is a tangle of spiderweb, which entangles itself in the teeth of the fish. Elsewhere in Indonesia, in Lampung, Sumatra, fishermen use kites to catch the same kind of surface feeding, ultra-wary fish, but here they use a noose and bait trap.

The use of kites in modern day Western sport fishing may date back to 1911 when fishing guide George Farnsworth introduced them in California. They were used to troll bait fish well away from the boat. Farnsworth discovered that the shadow and noise of his boat scared the tuna he was seeking. This innovation allowed him to sail well away from a tuna school, while keeping the angler’s bait skipping invitingly in front of the fish’s nose.

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