Freshwater Fishing In North America

How long have people been fishing, not only for fun, but as a source of food? The answer, thousands of years. “Egyptian artwork from 2000 B.C. shows people fishing” ( Hopkins 6). It is surprising, yet understandable knowing that even ancient people fished. It would have been an easy source of food. The lakes, rivers, streams were all full of a diverse population of fish, which would have made fish an easy meal to catch and eat. The Egyptians were the first people to begin fishing, so the population of the fish in the waters would have nothing to stop them from growing at a rate that would make the fish have to fight for food. They would bite anything that would touch the water, for example, “fish learn by trial and error what is edible
and what is not” (Oster 10). As soon as anyone would put something in the water the fish would attack, and have no idea that they are about to bite a improvised hook made was to catch anything that bit it. The early fishermen did not have the modern technology like today, so all of their equipment would have to be handmade and improvised. Today the use of tools such as, fish finders make fishing much more efficient. Efficient, because fishermen do not have to look as hard to find fish. Although freshwater bodies of water “hold more gamefish than any time in history” (5), sometimes the fish can still be hard to catch. The United States has a long history of fishing (Hughes 1). This dates way back to the indigenous people of North America, the Native Americans, have been fishing in North America for a very long time, which gives them the right to fish as they please in the waters of North America (Charlton). They never backed down from a challenge. Their early ancestors even fished with “rods” made out of “rocks, bones, or wood” (Hopkins 5). Today, fishing poles are much more modern and are made of better materials (“The New” 8). The rods are made from materials that are lighter and much stronger, like composite. As stated in The New Encyclopedia of Fishing, “the ultimate goal of fishing is to catch a fish” (8), and the best way to do so is with a rod and reel. Fishing with a pole is the best form of fishing in rivers, streams, and lakes for various reasons, a pole can be used in any amount of water, poles can be used to catch virtually any kind of fish, and they can be used in a variety of climates and conditions. First of all, a pole can be used in any amount of water.
They can be used in rivers, lakes, and streams. According to Nishikant Gupta, fishermen try to catch various types of freshwater fish, and freshwater pertains to streams, rivers, ponds, and lakes (7). Many anglers fish in freshwater because it is more accessible, and fishing in the ocean with a pole, due to the fact that a boat is generally used in fishing in the ocean. Fishing from a bank of a lake, or a river, or even a stream with a pole is certainly the best option. “Freshwater fishing is one of the North America’s most popular sports” (5), and using a pole is a prime way to fish. Rivers, lakes, and streams are the three main types of freshwater bodies of water that anglers use to
fish. The first type of freshwater bodies of water is rivers. Rivers can have warm or cold water, and slow or fast moving water. Rivers that have relatively warm water will have fish that are more likely to be much more active and aggressive. The fish will bite almost anything that touches the water, such as a lure that is used with a pole. Also, since the warm water causes the fish to be more active, using a net would make catching fish a hassle and difficult. Rivers that are fed by natural springs near any mountains are going to tend to have colder water. If the water is colder fishermen are not going to want to use nets or to handfish, so obviously the best solution is to use a pole. Also when the water temperature is colder the fish are not going to be moving around as much meaning, the fishermen or anglers are going to have to go to the fish. The easiest way to get to a hard spot to reach is to be able to cast with a pole making the pole more versatile than other forms of fishing. Slow moving rivers generally tend to be much deeper than other rivers. A fisherman knowing that the river, they are going to fish in is very deep will chose a pole over other forms of fishing because it is the only way to catch the big monster fish that live on the bottom of the river. Fast moving rivers are difficult waters to fish, but by far the best way to do so is with a pole. In fast moving rivers there are small deep pools near the banks that are inaccessible to nearly every other fishing technique or tool except a pole. If a fisherman were to try and swim in a pool with a net to catch some fish, the current of the fast moving river could sweep the fisherman away, which could potentially be fatal. Obviously, using a pole is the best way to fish in rivers. The second body of freshwater is lakes.
Lakes can be broken down into two main categories, the first being man-made, and the second being natural lakes. Man-made lakes are usually created by a regular or hydroelectric dams. The backup of the water creates very deep pools that are going to make fishing with anything other than a pole much more difficult. Some lakes can be a few hundred feet deep, and nets do not reach down far enough to catch the fish and using a spear or hand are both certainly not even an option due to the location of the fish. Poles are able to hold hundreds of feet of line to reach very deep areas such as lakes. Natural lakes, which are naturally formed, are much different from man-made lakes. Each natural lake is unique and has different features and sizes (Oster 16). Since natural lakes are naturally formed, some of them are not very deep, and the bottom of the lakes can have large amounts of debris upon which a net or a diver fishing with a spear could get hung. Although a hook could also get caught in the debris from the lakes, it is much easier to replace a hook and some line than to replace a huge, costly net and obviously it is impossible to replace someone's life due to the danger of diving with thick debris. Poles are the best when fishing in all kinds of lakes, big or
small. The third major body of water ideal for pole fishing is streams or creeks. Much like rivers the conditions of the water affect how easy or hard it is to catch fish. Streams are normally fairly small and shallow, but some a little bit bigger and deeper. Even though some are bigger and deeper, a boat is nearly impossible to navigate in a stream. Boats are usually needed to net fish, so net fishing is not an option for fishing in streams. Although fishing with spears can be ideal like fishing with a pole, the temperature of water can give pole fishermen an advantage over spear fishermen. As stated earlier cold water will make the fish sluggish and warm water will make the fish aggressive and highly active, and the reason this a very important factor in fishing streams is because of the small size of the streams will make it easier for the surrounding air temperature to change the water temperature which in turn changes the behaviors of the fish. The habits and behavior of the fish determines the tactics and strategies needed to get the job done, to catch a fish, so using a pole will give a fisherman limitless options as to what to use and to what a fisherman can catch.