History of Fly Fishing

Interested in the history of Fly Fishing? I came across a great site dedicated to the history of Fly Fishing. It was put together by Andrew N. Herd. The site is available at http://www.flyfishinghistory.com/.

Here is an excerpt on the origins of fly fishing:

The first reference to fly fishing is in Ælian’s Natural History, probably
written about 200 A.D. Ælian was born in about A.D. 170 at Praeneste, where he
later held a religious post, dying in about A.D. 230. At some point he became a
pupil of Pausanias of Caesarea, who taught him rhetoric, and as a good student
Ælian also learnt excellent Attic Greek. He later studied history under the
patronage of the empress Julia Domna, and moving within her circle would have
allowed him to meet not only Galen, but Oppian.

Here is a history of hooks:

The hook had its origins in the gorge, a device used by many primitive cultures,
which is frequently found in prehistoric sites. Gorges were made from slivers of
bone, flint or turtle-shell which were attached to a line which was knotted
through a hole in the centre of the gorge. The fish swallowed the gorge end
first in a bait, and the pull of the line levered the gorge across the fish’s
throat, trapping it in place...

There is a lot more interesting information available at the site. Check it out!