A Short History of Sport Fishing.

Fishing for food has been around as long as human evolution. Some of the earliest evidence of this can be seen in rock shelter carvings of fish before 10 000 BC. An Egyptian angling scene from about 2000 BC shows figures fishing with rods and lines and with nets. The earliest known depiction of a man using a fishing pole with a reel comes from a painting done in 1195 by Ma Yuan called Angler on a Wintry Lake. It shows a man sitting on a small sampan boat while casting out his fishing line.

How or when fishing for “sport” came about will never be known for sure, however the earliest identified English essay on recreational fishing was published in 1496, shortly after the invention of the printing press. It was titled Treatyse of Fysshynge wyth an Angle, and was published in the second Boke of Saint Albans, a book on hawking, hunting, and heraldry. The article included detailed information on fishing waters, the construction of rods and lines, and the use of natural baits and artificial flies. It also contained issues of conservation and angler etiquette. It is of interest that this essay was written by a woman, Dame Juliana Berners, who was the prioress of the Benedictine Sopwell Nunnery. This writing was much read during the 16th century and reprinted many times There where however concerns at the time by the publisher, and the nobility of the day that such a book should be kept from those who were not gentlemen, since their lack of control in angling might "utterly destroye it".

Izaak Walton first published The Compleat Angler or the Contemplative Man's Recreation in 1653, and continued to add to it for the next quarter of a century. Modern editions still appear and it is considered a celebration of the art and spirit of fishing in prose and verse. The first fishing reels appeared in England around the same time as The Compleat Angler, and until the 1800's they where not much more than storage place for excess line. George Snyder of Paris Kentucky is generally given credit for inventing the first fishing reel in America around 1820. It was the equivalent of a simple bait casting reel. The key advance of this reel was the mechanical action; each turn of the handle of a Snyder reel produced four turns of the spool.

Dr. Charles Frederick Holder, who was a marine biologist and conservationist, and is now considered an early pioneer of “sport fishing”. By 1898, he had published many articles and books on the subject that where noted for their combination of accurate scientific detail with exciting narratives which helped to widen the appeal of the sport.

Today recreational fishing is a multi-billion dollar industry, and according to a 2000 survey, there were 3.6 million active anglers in Canada. So let’s get out there and continue having sport with fish.