Fishing has been a part of our survival for as long as recorded history and probably much longer. Ancient cave paintings from 10,000 years ago depict fishing along with fish bone remains and animal bone hooks. Even ancient stone anchors are currently being displayed in museums. Everywhere on this planet, what ever culture, each has its own history in fishing and techniques, most of which are still used today. In fact, almost all ancient cultures have used boats, hooks, nets and spears of some kind. The ancient Romans used rods and lines, nets and spears. The ancient Greeks used rods and woven baskets and woven cages that stay under water where caught fish are kept alive until they are needed. Some cultures have been more creative than others and have very interesting techniques such as the night fishing in Japan. It is called cormorant fishing. It requires 7 to 8 cormorant birds that have handlers to train them. Once trained, they go out at night on a long narrow boat that has a long rod in front of it with a hanging basket that is in flames, the birds are each on a leash and are trained to dive down and catch fish, which they are experts in. This technique is still being practiced today and if you are for any reason going to Japan, you may want to sign up to see this phenomenon. In the Columbian basin, ancient tribal salmon fishers have past down a fishing technique that is still being practiced today. Tribal families for many generations have built wooden scaffolding that is very strong and stable that spans the river. This enables them to drop the nets that capture many salmon at one time. In the smaller rivers of the basin, dip nets are used because you can control them better. These nets historically have been made with hemp twine, sinew and tree pitch. These nets have a long pole attached to them and one stands in the water and scoops up the fish. In medieval Europe, V shaped structures were built to herd fish into waiting nets. Some cultures have used poisonous plants to stun fish so that it is easy to catch them. This is a dangerous practice and has been made illegal to fish this way due to the obvious safety issues. One does not want to risk eating a fish that has been poisoned. Fishing today is not only for survival but is a huge sport all over the world. But when you really look at it, not much has really changed in how we fish. The major difference really is in the advancements made in hooks and nets. How ever you fish, may the ones you catch be as big as the ones that got away. |
