The ancient practice of fishing can be traced back to around the Paleolithic era, around forty thousand years ago. The river Nile was a huge source of food for the ancient Egyptians and it was not uncommon to see fresh fish at the Nile’s edge markets for sale on a daily basis. Also, because the Egyptians had mastered the art of drying fish, dried fish was also for sale. In those days fishing was not particularly pursued as a pastime, although there are drawings and illustrations to suggest that it was, to some degree, done for leisure purposes.
Fishing can be done simply, using the old fashioned method as seen in Huckleberry Finn, sitting on the side of a raft with a fishing pole, string and a hook. However, the modern angler’s prefer to use complex technologically styled lures, rods and reels to catch their prey.
Modern Fishing and the Recreational Attraction
Nowadays, fishing is not just done for business, but also for recreational purposes and sporting purposes. Competition fishing has become hugely popular in the last century and competitors regularly travel hundreds of miles to compete at large competitions. Also, big game and deep sea fishing have become vastly popular too with anglers catching tuna, small sharks, mackerel, marlin and sailfish, among many others. Perhaps it’s the challenge of beating that large sea creature that serves to lure people into the fishing habit, but whatever the cause the hobby has millions of devoted followers.
You can see fishing lures in California, CA all along the coast line and peers, as well as on lakes and rivers, as anglers consistently load their hooks with bait. Because the weather in California is generally warm most of the year round, anglers can set out at any time of the year to spend a few hours out in a boat, sitting on the dock of the bay or at the edge of the peer. Nowadays most anglers using public fishing areas must acquire a fishing license before they can be permitted to fish. Licenses do not cost a great deal and most anglers it is worth it just to get a few hours peace with the hope of catching dinner at the end of the day.