History of fishing

Picture of old fishing tools (Barewalls.com) 

Picture of artificial flies (Blacker’s Art of Fly Making)

Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) is located on the Southern end of the Eastern Caribbean archipelago. Our islands receive the outflow of 17 South American rivers with major ocean currents from the North. Thereby bringing a diversity of species of fishes. Fishing in Trinidad has its own roots in T&T from our Carib and Arawak ancestors and was considered as a part of domestic activities. 

Fishing, which is also called angling is the sport of catching fishes for consumption as a means of survival or competition. The earliest reference of fishing was made in 200 Adin a book “Aelian Natural History” a Roman angler where rod, reel and hook were homemade, were very heavy (more than 20 lbs) and tied to branches of trees. The sport of fishing is rooted according to some Chinese to the 4th century BC with bamboo rods, a silk line and a hook made out of a needle. It must be noted that the sport of fishing is different from commercial fishing. It is also a form of relaxation for most people and is growing in popularity.

The art of fishing is largely in part to the tackle; which is the equipment used for fishing. Earlier, a fishing hook was made out of a very thin piece of wood or stone that was pointed at the end and usually had any type of bait attached to it which when swallowed by the fish, the angler will pull on the line to secure the hook in the mouth of the fish which will then be pulled to shore.. The reel was made out of a wooden spool which was held in the hands of the angler. For many years, dated back to the Roman times in the 4th century AD long fishing rods were used with flies used as bait with different methods of "dressing" (how the fly was made). In these times, the line and the rod were the same lengths (approximately 6 ft.). Therefore, the method of catching the fish in these times was most likely dapping (which is gently touching the surface of the water several times). 

In 1770 the line attached to the reel was made alongside the rod. Also, when metal became popular, it was then used to create hooks. Later on, the sport of fishing became more and more developed with improved methods of fishing. In 1650, Charles Kirby invented the Kirby bend which is a distinctive hook. This was later developed into a company and hence the new era of fishing was dawned. It was not until the 1800’s that silk layered with oxidized linseed oil was used to cast as this was lightweight and sunk easily and rods were made much shorter (about 1m long). In the 1900’s the fixed spool reels began to take precedence and grew in popularity with its nylon monofilament or plastic materials for artificial casting (even artificial casting lures). In the 20th century, rods became lighter, shorter and stronger. 


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Further reading:
http://www.oldmaster85.com/history_of_fishing.htm
https://www.britannica.com/topic/fishing-recreation