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Jimbo · 09-11-2006, 03:16 PM

There's some interesting theories out there on the origins of fishing. Here's two I found:
1) The use of the hook in angling is descended, historically, from what would today be called a "gorge." The word "gorge", in this context, comes from an archaic word meaning "throat." Gorges were used by ancient peoples to capture fish. A gorge was a long, thin piece of bone or stone attached by its midpoint to a thin line. The gorge would be fixed with a bait so that it would rest parallel to the lay of the line. When a fish would swallow the bait, a tug on the line would cause the gorge to orient itself at right angles to the line, thereby sticking in the fish's gullet.
2) Incidentally, the English term angling is derived from "angle" which in its earliest use appears to mean fish hook, although it has in later times been used to mean "tackle", hook line and rod, collectively. The writer was therefore inclined to believe that it is the baited hook that makes a fisherman an angler, not the rod.

09-11-2006, 03:16 PM	#11
Jimbo Registered User Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: S. Yarmouth, MA Posts: 1,604	There's some interesting theories out there on the origins of fishing. Here's two I found: 1) The use of the hook in angling is descended, historically, from what would today be called a "gorge." The word "gorge", in this context, comes from an archaic word meaning "throat." Gorges were used by ancient peoples to capture fish. A gorge was a long, thin piece of bone or stone attached by its midpoint to a thin line. The gorge would be fixed with a bait so that it would rest parallel to the lay of the line. When a fish would swallow the bait, a tug on the line would cause the gorge to orient itself at right angles to the line, thereby sticking in the fish's gullet. 2) Incidentally, the English term angling is derived from "angle" which in its earliest use appears to mean fish hook, although it has in later times been used to mean "tackle", hook line and rod, collectively. The writer was therefore inclined to believe that it is the baited hook that makes a fisherman an angler, not the rod.