Weave a Willow Fish Trap

Woven fish traps made entirely from pliable plants such as willow, hazel and even brambles have been used to great effect for thousands of years all around the world, ancient examples sometimes turning up almost intact, buried in mudflats and dry stream beds, preserved like little time capsules.

Their rigid, woven construction has the advantage of letting the water flow naturally through the fitched weave whilst the natural materials blend in perfectly amongst the reeds and other aquatic vegetation. A funnelling opening is woven separately and held in place with cordage, to be easily removed when extracting your days catch.

We’ll use willow to weave your fish trap during this one day workshop. The age old construction and techniques you’ll learn while weaving can be applied to other natural materials and weaving projects too – another string to your bow.

All materials and tools you’ll need are provided, along with hot drinks and snacks (but please bring some lunch).

This workshop can be booked as private training for groups of two or more people. Please get in touch to choose your own date

Please expect to be constantly busy on our craft workshops. To get as much as possible from your experience, please arrive fully prepared to work hard between the advertised start and finish times. Traditional crafts ask a lot from your hands, muscles and minds but the long term gains will be worth it!

Weave a Willow Fish Trap