-
4
First time fishin'
There have been accounts of the Chinese fishing dated back in the 4th century. Fishing from the Chinese usually consisted of a bamboo rod, silk for fishing line, and using bent needles as hooks for catching fish. The Chinese would commonly use rice on their hooks as bait for the fish.
"4" refers to the 4th century because the exact date and year are unknown. http://www.oldmaster85.com/history_of_fishing.htm -
Jan 1, 1496
Developing Fishing
In 1496(exact date unknown), fishing in England became more popular as artificial flies were introduced in the activity. Some of the flies introduced in the time are still in modern fishing today. The rods were 18-22 feet long with a line of plaited horse hair tied on an end. The horsehair was used as fishing line to attach the artificial flies to. http://www.oldmaster85.com/history_of_fishing.htm -
Great Improvement
In 1667(exact date unknown), large improvements in fishing began. At this period, new methods and tackle were introduced in fishing. About this time, a fisherman put a ring at the top of the rod, now called a guide, to let the fishing line run through. A man named Barker was salmon fishing with a 26 yard piece of line, which led to the creation of the fishing reel. http://www.oldmaster85.com/history_of_fishing.htm -
Introducing the Fishing Reel
By 1770(exact date unknown), a fishing reel was invented which held the fishing line on a spool. The first reel was made of wood and a metal ring to put thumb on. Fishing rods had multiple guides throughout the rod to keep the line straight at this time. Both these inventions made casting much farther and smooth to get a bait further out in the water. http://www.oldmaster85.com/history_of_fishing.htm -
Improving Fishing Rod
By this time(exact date unknown), fishing rods were being improved.Bamboo rods were improved by cutting the pieces into 6 which caused the rods to be much smaller and lighter. Also, native woods were introduced that were soft and more flexible than bamboo. http://www.oldmaster85.com/history_of_fishing.htm -
Improving Tackle Design
By 1880(exact date unknown), horse hair for fishing line came to an end as silk line was introduced which was coated in oxidized linseed oil. Lines with this could cast much further and could float if greased or sink if not greased. http://www.oldmaster85.com/history_of_fishing.htm -
Reel Improvements
By 1896(exact date unknown), William Shakespeare, of Kalamazoo, devised the level wind. This was a very useful design on the fishing reel because it automatically spread the line evenly as it was wound. This is very common in modern fishing and is present on every reel made today. http://www.oldmaster85.com/history_of_fishing.htm -
Modern Fishing
From 1930's to today, fishing rods are made of fiber glass and carbon fiber instead of bamboo which is much stronger, flexible, and better for casting. Rods now are much shorter than those of previous times. New synthetic materials such as braid and mono-filament were used for fishing line. These materials were much better than previous fishing lines in many ways. Spin-casting was introduced in this time because of its easier casting ability. http://www.oldmaster85.com/history_of_fishing.htm
