Fishing is among the most ancient and popular pastimes throughout the world, and in this brief history, Glenn Law examines the development of fly fishing, from ancient Egyptian copper hooks dating to 2600 B.C. and the first recordings of catch-and-release fishing in China's Zhou dynasty, to the most modern innovations and the rise of fly-fishing personalities.
Law discusses the landmarks in the tradition of Western fly fishing, beginning with Dame Juliana Berners's essay "The Treatyse of Fysshynge wyth an Angle" and Izaak Walton and Charles Cotton's The Compleat Angler, which stands uncontested as the most-published book in the Western world with the exception of the Bible. He also discusses the English fly fishing traditions and innovations that flourished or perished in North America, and how this combination of traditions and pragmatism became the sport we enjoy today. A CONCISE HISTORY OF FLY FISHING is a fascinating glimpse at our relationship to fishing as it has changed over the centuries, as a sport, as a way of life, and as a universal pastime of patience and contemplation.
Law discusses the landmarks in the tradition of Western fly fishing, beginning with Dame Juliana Berners's essay "The Treatyse of Fysshynge wyth an Angle" and Izaak Walton and Charles Cotton's The Compleat Angler, which stands uncontested as the most-published book in the Western world with the exception of the Bible. He also discusses the English fly fishing traditions and innovations that flourished or perished in North America, and how this combination of traditions and pragmatism became the sport we enjoy today. A CONCISE HISTORY OF FLY FISHING is a fascinating glimpse at our relationship to fishing as it has changed over the centuries, as a sport, as a way of life, and as a universal pastime of patience and contemplation.
