Long before Spanish explorers arrived on Florida’s shores, the state’s rivers, estuaries, and coastlines were home to thriving Indigenous communities. For thousands of years, these first people—like the Calusa, Timucua, Tequesta, and Apalachee—lived almost entirely from what the water provided.
Their fishing skills were so advanced that early European settlers marveled at their techniques. In fact, some methods they used thousands of years ago still influence how we fish today.
How Florida’s First People Caught Fish
1. Fish Traps & Water Courts
The Calusa, the “Shell People” of Southwest Florida, engineered complex fish corrals (water courts). Made from rows of wooden pilings and woven branches, these enclosures trapped fish as the tides shifted. Fish were herded into holding pens, allowing the Calusa to keep a live “pantry” of mullet, snapper, and other species.
2. Spears & Bone Hooks
The Timucua and Apalachee crafted fish spears with sharpened bone or shell tips. They stood quietly in shallow water, waiting to strike, or used dugout canoes to spear larger fish. Bone and shell hooks, carefully carved and tied with plant fibers, were also common.
3. Cast Nets – A Florida Legacy?
While the first true cast nets likely originated thousands of years ago in the South Pacific, Florida’s first people used similar net-throwing techniques. Archaeologists have found remnants of net weights made from shells and stones in ancient midden heaps. These weights suggest the Calusa and Timucua used weighted throw nets to encircle schools of mullet and other shallow-water fish—arguably an early form of what we now call cast net fishing.
4. Weirs & Basket Traps
In rivers and creeks, woven basket traps were placed in narrow channels to funnel fish downstream. These low-tech but highly effective traps caught everything from freshwater gar to catfish.
Protecting Florida’s Waters
The Calusa and Timucua once fished Florida’s waters with sustainability in mind, taking only what they needed. Modern anglers can honor that legacy by following the rules, practicing catch-and-release when possible, and keeping our waters clean for the next generation of Floridians.