History+of+fishing

=The History of Freshwater Fishing=

Fishing is an ancient practice which dates back to the Paleolithic period, 40,000 years ago. Some historians think it began in North America, while other historians think freshwater fishing began in eastern Asia. There were no written books or essays until 1496, shortly after the invention of the printing press. The author was Julia Berners. The essay was titled __//Treatyse of Fysshynge Wyth an Angle.//__ During the 16th century the work was much read and reprinted many times. Treatyse included detailed information on fishing waters, construction of rods and reels, and use of natural baits and artificial flies. It also included concerns on etiquette. Even when the art was spread widely across the world, the rods were almost identical. No rod exceeded around 6 feet until the Roman Times, about 6th century. Before they even had rods, spear fishing was more common, a method involving a long pole with barbs being thrown at the fish.

A long time ago, the Nile River was full of fish. Fresh fish and dried fish were a food for much of the population. The Egyptians invented various methods for fishing which are clearly showed in tomb scenes, drawings, and papyrus documents. But they only used simple reed boats for fishing. Woven nets, weir baskets made from willow branches, harpoons(bottom right) and hook and line (the hooks had a length of between eight millimeters and eighteen centimeters) were all being used. By the 12th dynasty, metal hooks with barbs were being used. As is fairly common today, the fish were clubbed to death after capture. Nile perch, catfish and eels were the most important fish. Some representations show fishing being a pastime.

Fishing scenes are rarely represented in ancient Greek culture, which shows of the low social status o fishing. But there is a wine cup, dating from 500 BC, that shows a boy crouched on a rock with a fishing-rod in his right hand and a basket in his left. In the water below there is a rounded object of the same material with an opening on the top. This has been identified as a fish-cage used for keeping live fish, or as a fish-trap. It is clearly not a net. This object is currently in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.



__The Evolution of Freshwater Fishing__
How did fishing evolve from a couple cavemen with a hook and some string to professional fishermen competing to catch the most amount of a certain type of fish and winning millions of dollars for doing that? The answer is evolution. Over time, people have always been progressing and pushing to be better than the other. Fishing is a great example of that.

Year Creation or invention 40,000 BCE..............Fishing Begins 14,000 BCE..............Harpoons are used 1991-1802 BCE.........Hooks and barbs are used 2,000-6,000 BCE.......Basic modern fishing method is created in the neolithic period. 100 CE.....................Fly Fishing is created 300 CE.....................Fishing Reel is created 500 BCE.................. Fishing rods are used in Greece 1496 CE...................First published fishing book 1771 CE...................Oyster harvesting starts 1908 CE...................First commercial fishing vessel 19th century.............Fly fishing and tackle evolves to modern-day fly fishing 1971........................Bassmaster Classic, a professional fishing league, is created

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