The History of Sportfishing

From 12-ounce trout to 1200-pound marlin, nothing compares to the feeling of that initial bite. Join us on an intriguing journey covering the earliest known recorded history of fishing in the Far East, to Egypt, Great Britain, and eventually to the shores of the American colonies. Experience how an act of survival weaves itself into the very fabric of America's soul and into the sport it is today.

English settlers in the colonies brought over time-honored traditions of fly fishing for small game like trout, but in the 1800s, in America, fishing as a sport made a major surge forward when pioneering individuals in Florida and California set out to develop and build the tackle and refine techniques necessary to take big game fish in offshore waters.

As the evolution of tackle caught up with the challenges presented by pursuing larger and larger quarry, courageous men like Zane Grey, Tommy Gifford, and Bill Poole set out across open waters on long-range expeditions in search of big game fish. Stories of their adventures became the stuff of legends, and their successes inspired generations of anglers in the decades to follow.

Transforming what was once an act of survival into an art form, creative men and women used their passion and ingenuity to drive the sport forward as the early to mid-twentieth century saw a rapidly expanding fan base for sportfishing, thanks to seemingly endless innovations in everything from terminal tackle to rods, reels, line, and electronics.

Across the globe, the sport continued to grow with advances in everything from boat design, tackle, and equipment. Extraordinary moments occur when fishing that few other sports offer. The exhilaration experienced leading to the bite, the hook set, and the ensuing battle is unique to each and every angler, and when they happen, everything else in the world simply dissolves away.

Fly fishing is one of the oldest recorded forms of fishing. It came to the colonies from Great Britain in the 1700s, but its practice today would be almost unrecognizable to those early pioneers. Often called the purist form of the sport, it is also one of the fastest-growing disciplines of the sport.

Fly fishing began as a sport of kings. Expensive equipment and the rarity of leisure time prior to the Industrial Revolution kept it that way for centuries until a determined group of men and women brought fly fishing into the mainstream of European and American culture. The discipline of fly fishing can be described as an art form, and these pioneering individuals are truly Artisans of the Fly.

The earliest recorded records of anglers fly fishing in saltwater come from the 1600s, but fishermen soon found that rudimentary fly tackle could not stand up to harsh ocean conditions or the strength of big game fish. Little more was heard about saltwater fly fishing until the early 1950s, when a small group of men and women in South Florida started to pursue bigger and bigger fish on the fly.

Bass are the All-American fish, and rightfully so. They are hard-hitting, hard-fighting, resilient fish that during the mid-1800s were transported across the country via bucket brigades. Hear from the man himself, Ray Scott, as he describes how the idea of competitive bass fishing first came to him and what it took to create B.A.S.S. in an amazing, never-before-seen interview hosted by Ken Duke.

With the founding of The International Game Fish Association in 1939, competitive spirits were given a home as anglers worked to have their names entered in the books as official world record holders. In 1967, Ray Scott's first All-American Bass Tournament took competitive fishing to a whole new level. That single tournament changed bass fishing forever.

From the 1960s, competitive angling has seen a meteoric rise in popularity. The numbers and types of tournaments now held across the U.S. and around the world are as varied as the species they fish for. The competitors themselves are equally diverse. These contests have become an important conduit of knowledge for the future of our sport. Practice C.P.R.: Catch, Photograph, and Release.

Fisheries are seeing unprecedented pressure worldwide, which can be directly attributed to massive, unsustainable commercial operations and environmental challenges. It is only by teaching children to be stewards of the history, resources, and the valuable life-lessons found at the end of a fishing line that we can ensure the future of the sport, our fisheries, and the planet itself.