Why Is It Called Angling?

[BigFish]

Can anyone give me a reason why fishing is and has been referred to as "angling"???? Angle of your cast, angle in relation to the waves, angle you hold the rod at????? Just a curious question I have often asked myself......any answers?

[fishaholic18]

Hmmmmmm, good ?? BF..

angle:
intransitive verb : to turn or proceed at an angle
transitive verb
1 : to turn, move, or direct at an angle.
2 : to present (as a news story) from a particular or prejudiced point of view.

Makes no sense.

[clambelly]

here's a good one...

an-gler  /ang-ler/ Pronunciation Key - Show Spelled Pronunciation[ang-gler] Pronunciation Key - Show IPA Pronunciation

–noun
1. a person who fishes with a hook and line.
2. a person who gets or tries to get something through scheming.

#2 is the key. i guess you could say if you were trying to get a girl, you could consider yourself an angler as well.

[striprman]

Larry, its the hook. In the "olden days" a wire was used as a hook and it was bent at an angle, like a "V". one end was the "pointed" end and one end was flattened and tied (wrapped around) the silk thread. Check out the history of Salmon fishing.

[fishaholic18]

Yup, Striprman's right..Googled this up.

Angling is a form of fishing. It is often used synonymously with the terms sport fishing and recreational fishing, although subtle semantic distinctions exist among the three terms. Specifically, angling is the practice of catching fish by means of an "angle" (hook). The hook is usually attached by a line to a fishing rod. A bite indicator such as a float is sometimes, but not always, used. Frequently, the rod is outfitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook can be dressed with lures or bait. Generally, angling is thought of, principally, as a method of sport fishing but some commercial fisheries use methods which are quite similar.

[BigFish]

Thankyou gentlemen....I can die happy now!

[BassyiusMaximus]

I may be wrong however, I believe angling is about the angle of the line from the rod or rod's tip down to the fishes mouth, and in order to sucessfully get the fish to the fisherman, one had to change the "angles." That is, by pulling one way, then pulling the other, that by changing the angles, one can turn the fish and change the angle.

There are almost no angles on a hook save for the barb, only decreasing or increasing radii, math. There is math in fishing???

[JohnR]

My guess would be since English is based mostly on French and German that it might have root in the German word Angeln (Krispy can correct me if I'm wrong) - Angeln = Fishing.

[reelecstasy]

so, if I want to go out tonight I can just tell my girl I am going out with a bunch of "hookers" that should work...

[fishaholic18]

Originally Posted by reelecstasy

so, if I want to go out tonight I can just tell my girl I am going out with a bunch of "hookers" that should work...

Try it Chris and let me know how it worked..

[Jimbo]

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.

[Flaptail]

Hah. I know the answer to this one. In Dame Juliana Berners wrote her "treatise on ctahing a fish with an angle" written in 1604 I belive, she writes of how to catch fish with bait on a hook, then known not as a hook but an "angle". Incidently, the best part is the first book evr written on fishing was by a woman and a nun to boot!

[JohnR]

Uhhh, I would think the act of fishing - perhaps even with a hook - predates the english language ... Hmmm, we need one a dem scholary like poepple to luuk it up

[striprman]

Originally Posted by Flaptail

Hah. I know the answer to this one. In Dame Juliana Berners wrote her "treatise on ctahing a fish with an angle" written in 1604 I belive, she writes of how to catch fish with bait on a hook, then known not as a hook but an "angle". Incidently, the best part is the first book evr written on fishing was by a woman and a nun to boot!

That predated "The Compleat Angler" by Izaac Walton
google Isaac Walton. I read that old book, It is a "classic" of English literature.
Still looking for a copy of the "treatise"

Ever heard of the Izaac Walton League ?