Fly fishing is an ancient style of fishing that has become an important part of popular culture. Images of fly fishing gear often evoke powerful emotions in the viewer.
Fly fishing was practiced as early as the 2nd century by Macedonian anglers. However, some argue that fly fishing may have originated even earlier with the Chinese.
Little is known about the development of fly fishing from the 2nd century through the end of the 15th century. The English publication of a book in 1496 detailing dozens of artificial fly designs suggests that the sport was kept active during this period, though. Fly fishing continued to grow in popularity for some time in England, Scotland, Scandinavia, and the United States. However, the sport eventually came to be viewed as an elitist sport, in part due to the high cost of fly fishing gear. Early fly rods were crafted from tropical wood and later from bamboo. Both types of rods were expensive. By the 1920s interest in fly fishing in the United States had peaked.
Following World War II, fly fishing interest increased in the United States again. The introduction of fiberglass fly fishing rods, monofilament leaders, and synthetic lines all served to lower the cost of fly fishing gear. Fly fishing interest in the United States was once again on the rise. Many of our fathers and grandfathers were fly fishermen of this era, and the overall respect that is given that generation in American culture may be reason enough to explain the enduring strength of fly fishing in popular culture.
Over the years, Western fly fishing has emerged with its cultural image. This may be due to several factors, including the American romanticizing of Western culture in general, along with some brilliant marketing by early Western fly fishing entrepreneurs. The Western American cultural image of fly fishing is inextricably linked with horses, wide-brimmed hats, and leather apparatus. Western-clad fly fishers wading a rocky river while horses graze nearby on the aspen-lined shore is a powerful picture that transports most of us to a place we want to be. Whether the image is rooted in reality is not important.
Consider how many images designed to communicate masculinity feature fly fishing gear. Artists and graphic designers know that fly fishing images are a powerful way to communicate masculinity – whether attempting to speak to men or about men. Even those who have not held a fly rod in years are powerfully impacted by the image of a fly rod or a fly fishing scene. The picture instantly transports people back in time. Fly fishing is so deeply embedded in the American culture that a single picture can take us back to childhood or transport us to a faraway place. In this place, the world seems right again; everything is once again as it should be.
Fly fishing is an important part of popular American culture. Images of fly fishing abound in movies, magazines, books, and homes. Even an image of fly fishing apparatus communicates powerfully to many Americans. Fly fishing is an important part of American popular culture and history.
