Image by Graham Owen

Fishing, one of the oldest and most useful pastimes in human history has been around since the dawn of time. The History of Fishing  had its beginnings in a time before history was even recorded. Fishing during this time period was done with only the hands of the men and, presumably women, who waded into the water to  capture these beautiful aquatic creatures.

As man invented things to ease their physical burden, as is our nature, the gorge hook came about. This useful implement was one of extremely simple design, it was simply a piece of bone, wood, or any other material that could be sharpened at both ends. This primitive hook was attached slightly off-center to a line, and then baited so it sat vertically in the water column. When the fish ate the bait, it engulfed the hook along with it. It was at this critical moment when the man, or woman, holding the line would feel the movement and lift the line. This would turn the sharpened piece of bone or wood horizontally in the fishes throat and impale them, allowing them to be brought to the surface without getting wet and exerting all of the extra effort that would be required if our ancient fisherman had to wade in to the water and attempt to wrangle his slippery prey from the depths.

The gorge hook also allowed fisherman to go to deeper water where one could not stand and target the larger fish that inhabited its depths. As the technology progressed a new piece of tackle was born, a hook made of stone, wood, or shell, shaped similar to the metal hooks of today. This hook was attached to a line, made from silk, horse hair, or linen as time progressed (Allen 2011). During the Bronze Age the metal fishing hook was invented. The Design and Materials of the hook, the most essential part of any fishing outfit, continue to improve even today.

Image by jcl-MD

Recreational fishing has been around for as long as man has time to do things he enjoys rather than  just time to do what is necessary to survive. There are images from ancient Egypt dating back to 2000 B.C. that depict people fishing with nets and rods. There are accounts from Japan, from the 4th century of people using silken line and hooks made of needles, and the Romans were of the first people to use jointed fishing poles in the 4th century.

As technology improved , so did the ease and frequency of fishing. In the 1700’s the British invented what can be called a fishing reel although not in the likes of what is called a reel today. It was a spool that allowed line to float with the current. The first reel that was geared, meaning that every turn the the handle turned the spool several rotations with the spool taking up line with each rotation, was invented in the late 1700’s and inspired the design of the bait casting reel developed in Kentucky in 1801 (Allen 2011).

Now when someone says fishing, what is the first thing you think about? One usually first thinks of fish, then the rod and reel used to catch them, along with the tackle such as a hook and some line. The final piece of vital equipment for any aspiring angler is a Rod. The first rods were most likely just sticks picked up from the side off the stream that the line was attached to the end of. This evolved to a rod made of wood that had a wire loop at the end, implemented some time in the early 1600’s in England. As fisherman realized the advantage this gave them over a fish both in casting distance and the ability to play a fish, more wire loops, called guides, were attached to the length of the pole. This gave the pole the appearance of a modern cane pole. In the late 1800’s, lighter and more springy woods imported form South America and Africa were used in the construction of these fishing poles, bamboo being the most popular choice.

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After about a one-hundred and fifty year rule of the fishing pole industry, bamboo’s reign came to an end with the advent of fiberglass in the after years of WWII, although there are several bamboos fly fishing rods are still available for purchase today ( Lee 2019).

There are so many pieces of tackle that one can use to tempt a fish onto a hook that to discuss it would take much more time than anyone has available to them. While not everything was discussed, if you venture out to a stream, lake, pond, or river with only the aforementioned pieces of equipment, a hook, line, reel, and a rod, you can catch a fish and join the ranks of millions recreational anglers all over the world. After managing to land it, you will experience the same  satisfaction that other men have experienced since the dawn of human existence.

 

“History of Fishing Rods.” Fishing Rod History – Who Invented the First Fishing Rod?, 2019, www.historyoffishing.com/fishing-tackle/fishing-rod-history/.

Ward-Allen, Jon. “The Brief History of the Hook.” The Fishing Museum Online – A Brief History of the Hook, 2011, www.fishingmuseum.org.uk/hooks_overview.html.

Petri, Robert Lee, et al. “Fishing.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 29 Aug. 2019, www.britannica.com/topic/fishing-recreation.