Fishing History in Illinois

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Fishing in Illinois has been important to Illinois from the first settlement to today. Back in the day, people needed to feed their families and now people have something that a lot of people find as an enjoyable sport. Fishing has also evolved from its former methods and some traditional methods are still used. The equipment has also changed some overtime, but the fish that are being caught have not changed much at all. Fishing has been essential for life to the people of Illinois and has evolved into a great sport.
People used a lot of different methods to catch fish. Different people use different methods and believe that their method is the best or is the most ethical. Commercial fisherman and the native methods both have their similarities and their differences. Both have been effective. Native Americans for the most part used homemade tools from the resources that they had around them. Flint, bone and wood were some of the natural resources used by Native Americans for their equiptment (Primitive Fishing Tackle). Tools like spears, hooks and gaffs, nets, and weirs were all used by Native Americans for nothing more than catching fish and maybe some other aquatic life. The hooks and gaffs were generally carved from bone. A gaff is bigger than a hook, but gets lodged in the fish once it takes the bait on it. Spears were nothing more than a wooden shaft with a sharp tip (Nickson). The tips were generally carved from bone, flint, and sometimes metal. Three pronged tips were used on smaller fish so it would increase their chances of hitting the fish (Spear Fishing- Native American Way to Survival). Lines with hooks and fish traps were also used to catch fish. The natives used leather and vegetable fibers as line for their hooks an...

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...n “Old Illinois Map”
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Date Unknown

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