Fishing

Fishing is a popular and ancient practise of hunting for fish and other aquatic species like shellfish, octopus, turtles, squid and frogs. Fishing can be performed by trapping, hooking, gathering or by hand. The equipment mostly employed for fishing is fishing rods and fishing hooks. The activity of fishing began about 10,000 years ago in the Mesolithic period. During this period, fish was an important food item. Fishing by hand was performed for trout in the British Isles and the activity was called trout tickling. Today, sea divers generally catch lobsters by hand. In the past, fishing was done with ordinary spears. However, today there are many techniques for fishing including the use of fishing nets, fishing lines, kite fishing, ice fishing, fish trap/trap nets and electro fishing, among others.

Fishing baits include dough, potatoes, molluscs, worms, green beans, peas, cheese, slugs and freshwater mussels, maggots or red earthworm, and many more. Many books on fishing have been written. These books help one in learning and sharpening fishing skills. Some of the popular books on fishing include ‘In Pursuit of the Largest’, ‘Strategic Carp Fishing’, ‘Fly Fishing’ by J R Hartley, ‘The Observers Book of Coarse Fishing 1979’, ‘Tales from the Waters Edge’ and ‘Complete Fishing’ by Wayne Thomas, among others. Books on fishing techniques are available extensively online.