Hello, I'm the OUTDOOR PROFESSOR from DiscoveringTheOutdoors.com/
Here's your outdoor tip on the history of fishing.
Surveys have shown that more than 90 million people participate in outdoor activities each year and more than one third of them fish. It can be argued that recreational fishing is popular, but fishing probably did not start out as a recreational sport.
The Paleolithic period is when people were first documented to fish. There are early drawings of people fishing and bones of fish that they consumed have been found. These people’s hunting and gathering styles probably transferred to fishing with a harpoon and spear with which the person fishing would wait patiently for fish to swim near them in order to spear it.
There is not complete agreement on the origin or exact timeline of the development of fishing. Most agree that it did originate as a means of providing food. Even fishing as a sport is so old that we can argue about its origins. Egyptian angling scenes of about 2000 BC show people fishing with rod and line and with nets. Early Chinese accounts of about the 4th Century refer to fishing with a silk line, a hook made from a needle, and bamboo rod and cooked rice for bait. Many references can be found to fishing in ancient writings from a variety of civilizations.
It is thought that people have been fishing as long as they have been hunting for food. It was not a difficult transition to move people from spearing fish in shallow water to more productive fishing methods. More than 60,000 years ago it is felt that many people used nets. These could be made using grasses or animal fur knotted together and using clay or lead to weight the bottom of the net down. Wood could be attached to the top of the net so it would float. People could wade out into shallow water as far as they could go. People on one end of the net could then walk towards the other side of the net catching the fish and other creatures in its weave and dragging the catch to shore. In deeper water, small wooden boats were used pulling the net up to the boat. Many of these scenes were popularized in earlier Christian literature. At this same time artificial fish ponds were being created around the Mediterranean to compensate for the shortage of fish in some areas. Moving into Medieval times more information can be found about the development of fishing methods.
Fishing history is very much the history of fishing tackle. It is the historical remnants or artifacts that we find that give us the best idea about the development of fishing methods over the years. One of the earliest tools was the predecessor of the fishhook is a piece of bone or other material pointed at both ends and tied to the on its center with some kind of line. This instrument was then covered with some kind of bait. When a fish swallowed the bait, a pull on the line wedged it across the gullet of the fish enabling it to be pulled in. There are records of Egyptians introducing the use of boats and nets to finding and catching fish that were in the Nile River. Captured fish were clubbed until they were dead and could be eaten.
The development and manipulation of metals enabled the hook to be one of the first tools developed. It was attached to a handline and made fishing from a boat an effective method of catching fish. Attaching the line to the end of a long tree branch made it possible to cast the hook out from the boat or shore lead to new fishing capabilities and the later development of a reel to collect the line. One of the earliest references to a longer jointed rod is from 4th century AD Rome. Macedonians caught trout on artificial flies and historical records even discuss how each fly was made. The rod was about 6 feet long with a line of the same length to gently lay the bait on the surface of the water.
Fishing for food slowly evolved to become more popular as a way to relax and enjoy the outdoors. It is said the history of sport fishing began in England with the printing of the second edition of a hunting book that discussed fishing back to the 14th century. The artificial flies discussed in these early writings were similar to modern flies with rods being as long as 20 feet. Some of the first major documented improvements were in the 17th century with Izaak Waton and the book The Compleat Angler. About this time a wire loop at the end of the rod was added to allow running line out from the rod and then a reel to hold line were developed. Charles Kirby in 1650 is known for developing the “Kirby bend” in a fishhook that is still in use today.
The first rudimentary reel was made of a wooden spool with a metal ring that fit over the angler's thumb. Rod guides came along in 1770, helping line pass along a rod to a reel collecting and releasing line. The prototypes of the bait casting reel were developed by two Kentucky watchmakers in the early 1800s. Improvements in rods were made by the use of more elastic woods such as bamboo. After 1880, horsehair fishing line was replaced by silk covered with coats of linseed oil.
From 1880, tackle design evolved rapidly. Horsehair for the fishing line was replaced by silk covered with coats of oxidized linseed oil. Such lines were easily cast and sank heavily if ungreased, or floated if greased. William Shakespeare, of Kalamazoo, Michigsn, devised the level-wind reel in 1896, which automatically spread the line evenly as it was wound on the reel
In the 20th century, rods became shorter and lighter without sacrificing strength. Fiber glass and finally carbon fiber replaced bamboo as rod material. Nylon monofilament line was developed in the late 1930s and became the dominant line material after World War II along with braided lines in other synthetic materials. Various plastic coatings started to be used for fly lines allowing them to float or sink without greasing. Plastic also became the main material for artificial casting lures.
With new technologies, fishing equipment and methods have been changing rapidly in recent years. Emphasis has been on lighter tackle for both saltwater and freshwater fishing. Increased interest in competitive fishing has also expanded the support for new technologies that make the fisherman more effective. Now, there is equipment that enables the angler to see the structure under the water along with even individual fish on a monitor in a boat. The growth of air travel has also made access easier to fishing locations all over the world.
Today, species of almost any size and shape have anglers somewhere fishing for them. Old favorites, trout and salmon remain popular, and bass fishing has become so popular in the United States that boats for bass fishing have been specially designed, and professional competitions produced elite bass anglers. These organizations promote a catch-and-return policy, so that only fish of trophy or record size are kept.
The challenge for modern anglers is similar to that of their ancestors—where to find fish and how to best catch them. The pressures of commercial fishing and pollution have also added to the lack of availability of fish for consumption and sport. Fishermen must understand the habits of fish and the effects of weather on fishing. The challenges of the wild or nature still are a major factor in fishing as it has throughout history.
This is the OUTDOOR PROFESSOR from DiscoveringTheOutdoors.com/
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References-Additional Reading
The History of Fishing
http://www.oldmaster85.com/history_of_fishing.htm
The History of Fishing
http://www.keepamericanfishing.org/the-history-of-fishing.php
Fishing
http://www.historyforkids.org/learn/economy/fishing.htm
Nature Quotient.
eBook @Amazon.com
Outdoor Professor’s Tips: Exploring the Wonders of Nature
eBook @Amazon.com
