Around 30 species of fish live in Lake Constance. This provided a rich source of food, which was caught using equipment that has hardly changed to this day. During the spawning season, the pile-dwelling people would hunt for pike and catfish in the shallow waters using harpoons and spears. Using wooden paddles, they herded entire shoals of fish along rows of stakes into their nets. Willow fish traps did the work almost by themselves: to ensure the fish strayed into the traps, they simply had to be lowered into the water from the house stakes or tied to stakes on the shore. In open water, floating nets were used. Fitted with net floats made of tree bark at the top and stone weights at the bottom, they hung vertically in the water like a curtain – with small or large mesh sizes for small or large fish.