Bet Nam Tao (Thai Gourd-Float Hook) — a Gourd Float on a Turned Wooden Spindle, an Eight-Strand Braided Line, Floated to Catch Big River Fish

"When a big fish takes the hook, it drags the gourd float under, and when the fish tires the gourd rises above the water again, bobbing up and down as they fight. Once sure the fish is hooked, the fisher paddles over and lifts the float, and the fish is easily caught." (Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, author ทำนุ วรธงไชย (Thamnu Worathongchai), CC BY 4.0)

Use a dry, mature gourd with a thick shell and a balanced shape, about 14 cm across. Cut off the narrow neck so it stands about 9 cm high, scrape out the dry flesh and seeds, and cut a small square hole in the bottom, in line with the top.

Make a hardwood spindle about 21 cm long and 4 cm thick. Turn the top 10 cm decoratively; make the bottom a square bar that fits the gourd's bottom hole. Push the spindle through from top to bottom, seal it firmly with resin (yang chan) so no water gets in, and bore a hole through the base of the spindle.

Use a large hook, about 4 cm from the bend to the shank end. Tie eight cords firmly to the hook shank, braid all eight for about 20 cm, then pass the remaining ends through the hole at the spindle base and tie them fast.

Photos of a real bet nam tao from the Nong Bua Khok Folk Museum (Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, author ทำนุ วรธงไชย (Thamnu Worathongchai), CC BY 4.0).

Several are used at a time. Bait with ripe banana cut to fit the hook, or rice mixed with fresh bran pounded sticky, with cotton or kapok fluff mixed in so it does not dissolve. Paddle out to deep water, stake a long bamboo pole firmly, and tie the cord at the spindle base on each gourd to the pole, at different lengths so the floats keep apart. Let them float and watch: the float jerks when a fish takes the bait.

Floating hooks commonly use floats of bamboo tube, coconut shell, foam or sponge; some areas use a gourd and call it bet nam tao. It is rarely used today, perhaps because there are fewer big fish, or because it is fiddly to make, so foam floats are more common. Take care paddling in deep water. Source: Sirindhorn Anthropology Centre, Traditional Objects of Everyday Use database, "เบ็ดน้ำเต้า", author ทำนุ วรธงไชย (Thamnu Worathongchai), Nong Bua Khok Folk Museum, Buriram (CC BY 4.0 licence). **Limits** There is no listing for dried gourds, yang chan resin or the hook, so they are named in the text.