CHAPTER I 



ANCIENT ANGLERS AND THEIR 

 LITERATURE* 



HO was the first angler, how he fished, and 



whether he was an honest spinner of yarns, are 



questions of high import, doubtless never to be 



answered. The first fish story was told very 



long ago, for, in all probability, the first men were anglers. 



In many of the implement collections, fish hooks are 

 found, and stones which were intended as sinkers. The 

 present writer has taken many hooks and other angling tools 

 from the old mounds on the Southern California islands. 

 The lines were made from! the long " bull kelp," with hooks 

 of abalone shell. Nearly all have the barb on the outside, 

 which suggests that Andrew Lang is incorrect in imputing 

 to Maui, the Maori hero, the discovery of the barb, which 

 many honest anglers of to-day file away. 



Bone hooks are taken from shell deposits on the Florida 

 coast. Bronze hooks have been found in Ireland, and the 

 famous Limerick hook is said to have been modeled after 

 them. 



The oldest races known to man were skilful anglers, and 

 caught fishes with hooks. Some of the best stories of the 

 day were, doubtless, invented by anglers, soulful and con- 

 scienceless, tens of thousands of years before they were 

 handed down to us. Even Aelian refers to artificial May 

 flies, which were used by the Illyrians. Pictures of fisher- 

 men are seen on ancient bas-reliefs. At Santa Catalina 



* The common and scientific names of all fishes referred to in 

 this volume will be found in the Appendix. 



