Fishing History

Eighteenth century was the commencement of improvements in fishing equipment. Although hooks were already invented and even royalties were already engaged in fishing, the problems with reels, rods, and fly lines remained unresolved. But, later on, the materials used for making rods in eighteenth century eventually became more sophisticated. Before, anglers used to run rings on their rods. However, this initial step gave anglers control in playing the catch, but the rings were ineffective when used with distant casting. Afterwards, rods were jointed using wood or brass, but they were found to be unreliable. There also came a time when bamboo canes used for salmon because they were more flexible and are easier to cast.

Back in 1600, tackle was already in market. The industry penetrated two centuries of success. The brands are still recognizable these days. I hope my fellow anglers are familiar with Ustonson, the firm that supplied tackle to the fourth King George of the great British empire.

The reels industry before received awful remarks. Poorly designed, they were narrow-spindled and caused misery to anglers. Meanwhile, anglers who were using home-made fly lines diverted to improved lines integrated with horsehair. But although this took the burden of making lines by anglers, they found them less appealing because they were so light and ineffective in 'shooting'.

Fishing hooks originated from gorges. Ancient people used bones and hard shells like that of a turtle's or flints. These were affixed to lines knotted inside the gorge's holes. The wisdom behind this structure was that when fishes swallow the ends of the gorges, the line (when pulled) traps the gorge in place. However, gores were hard to burrow, inconvenient to bait, weak in hooking large game, and apt in losing the fishes while they are being pulled out of the water.

Later, hooks are 'remodeled' in the lands of Egypt. They make hooks using copper. Egyptian hooks do not have barbs; instead, their heads are double-shanked, and resemble hook-and-eye shapes. They are two to six centimeters long, enough to be swallowed by big game. It was not until the twelfth dynasty that hooks with barbs appeared. Later, bronze hooks replaced copper hooks. Roman fishermen also used the former hooks.

Anglers survived and improved fishing using the aforementioned hook types. In the early 17th century, the hooks were introduced in the market. However, most anglers depended on homemade hooks because the market sold low-quality hooks. It was during these times that Kirby company produced quality steel hooks and pioneered the art of making sturdy fishing hooks.

Folklores about fly fishing – there are not many of them. But, the first one I heard of, though it sounded senseless to me, in the latter part, I realized what the story is trying to convey. Silly, you might say. A folk tale is worth nothing. Besides, it is only a work of a fictitious mind. But, who the heck knows if the impossible might really happen.

The story goes like this. There was a fisherman named Ed who keeps a trout, or brook salmon, in a barrel. Actually, the barrel is meant to be filled on rainy days. It is plain common sense that Ed put the trout in the barrel because it contains rain water, and is constantly filled. One day, when the hot season came, Ed ran out of drinking water, so he drank from the barrel. To cut the story short, the fish had to sacrifice and live in little water because its keeper needed to drink.

Shall I continue? Well, obviously, the trout adapted to the almost dry environment. For some time, it survived. But, when it finally was brought to a brook, it died. Silly, is it not? Nope, the thing is, the barrel is the fishing environment. I have been to several fishing spots, and as time pass by, the waters are running dry. True, some species might survive and adapt to the environment but once they are brought back to their original habitat, they lose resistance. So, I would like to remind my fellow anglers that fly fishing should have limitations. Who knows, maybe we might just wake up one day with dreaded Dead Seas around us.

Before fishing evolved as a sport, it was one main source of livelihood of ancient people. You may even be familiar of the biblical account of Jesus calling fishermen such as Peter to be his first disciples. Fishing, nonetheless, is more than two thousand years old. Humans have been fishing as far back as they have been hunting.

Stone Age fossils found by archaeologist indicated that fishes are part of the main food diet of pre-historic people. The first historical depiction of fishing can found in an Egyptian tomb, illustrating a man holding a rod with fish line and bait.

Fishing for most people of the industrialized countries is a leisure activity that only few could afford. Budget and time restrictions may hinder their desire to go fishing. The excitement and sense of adventure of catching fish may be rooted from the primal extinct of humans to hunt. In former times, fishing is just one of the means to survive. This type of fishing in the subsistence level is still present among the developing countries where fishing is a profession practiced by residents of coastal areas. On the other hand, commercial fishing is slowly destroying subsistence-level fishing. Fishing today even evolved into being a competitive activity otherwise known as the sports of angling.

Fishing began in pre-historic ancient times when people began to engage in fishing as source of food. Archeological evidence showed that the earliest fish hooks were animal bones and plant vines are used as hooks. The earliest and oldest known picture of a fisherman dates back around 2000 BC in Egypt found on the inside wall of a tomb depicting the use of staff or rod. Plato and Aristotle also mentioned angling or fishing in their writings while the writer Plutarch described some techniques about fishing lines. In about 2nd to 3rd A.D., the Roman writer Claudius Aelian documented Macedonian trout anglers using artificial baits.