Recreational activity the popularity of which transcends racial, ethnic, social, and
economic boundaries. Remarking on the curious allure of angling, folklorist and
fisherman Andrew Lang suggested that “the passion, or instinct, being in all senses blind,
must no doubt be hereditary. It is full of sorrow and bitterness and hope deferred, and
entails the mockery of friends, especially of the fair. But I would as soon lay down a love
of books as a love of fishing” (Lang 1891:7).
The assumption that fishing as a pastime affords pleasure to its participants as well as
amusement to observers is so deeply entrenched in American folklore that it is necessary
to remind oneself that fishing as a traditional sport is by no means a cultural universal, or
even a historical constant in the traditions feeding our own. Anglo Saxon documents
indicate that fishing in that era was regarded as primarily practical, deep-sea fishing being
especially feared; only quite late in the Middle Ages does one find accounts such as that
of the 15thcentury prioress of the convent at Sopwell, Dame Juliana Berners, On
Fysshynge wyth an Angle (1496), in which practical advice is mingled with commentary
on the spiritual value of fishing as an aid to relaxation, concentration, and virtuous
contemplation—values associated with fishing that recur throughout the British and
Anglo American literature on fishing from Izaak Walton to the latest issue of Field and
Stream. African American folklore is rich in the lore of fishing for pleasure as well, but it
is more difficult to trace the roots of these in African tradition.
Despite the abundance of written and other media pub lications at all levels of
sophistication concerning fishing, it is an activity learned initially almost invariably by
example and direct tutelage, ensuring that the body of knowledge held by any one angler
will have a strong and often conservative traditional component. The activity offers a
curious combination of characteristics from the standpoint of cultural analysis: Although
often pursued in solitude and intrinsically personal and isolated in nature, it contains
several elements of performance. At the most primary level, the angler presents a
deceptive performance for the fish that, if convincing enough, results in a catch. At the
secondary level, the angler presents himself or herself to others using an array of
expressive forms that define him or her as a member of one or several subgroups of
anglers, and that account for triumphs or explain away defeats.
Although fishing for pleasure in the United States is not limited to a particular class or
group of individuals and all generalizations are dangerous, it is possible to speak of types
of American anglers in terms of certain “folk taxonomies.” Fly fishermen, for example,
are understood to pursue a technique considered rarefied and a bit arcane, with an
elaborate esoteric vocabulary, garb, and history all of its own. Its roots are deep in the
aristocratic British angling tradition, although the demands of American stream terrain
and species have brought about some characteristic innovations in custom and practice.
At the other end of the continuum is the image of the bait fisherman—the barefoot kid
with a cane pole (now more likely graphite) and a can of worms wending his simple way
to the local fishin’ hole, innocently delighted to bring home a mess of obliging bluegill.
The powerful American tendency toward organization and competition can be observed
in the rather recent phenomenon of groups of bass fishermen engaged in day-long fishing
tournaments, vying for substantial cash prizes. One group of anglers large in number but
neglected in traditional images of fishing in America is that of women—despite the
example of Dame Juliana, their status remains marginalized and their stereotype remains
tainted by the imputation of incompetence or dumb luck.
American fishing folklore offers folk taxonomies of fish as well as fishermen. Unlike
the British tradition’s relatively consistent distinction between “rough” fish and “game”
fish, American categories are as diverse as the American communities of fishermen. Folk
nomenclature reflects this diversity: Pomoxis annularis and nigromaculatus, for example,
known most commonly as white and black crappie, go by at least fifty other regional and
local names, including goggle-eye, papermouth, banklick, lamplighter, Dolly Varden, and
sac-a-lait. From the fierce, elusive muskellunge and the glamorous trout, to lowly
bottomfeeders such as carp and catfish, each variety of fish is characterized according to
appetite, temperament, appearance, and savor by the communities of anglers who seek or
reject them.
Customary folklore concerning fishing is extensive, providing some support for the
theory that ritual and belief practices are especially strong where an activity’s outcome is
uncertain. It is by far the aspect of sport fishing most thoroughly documented by
folklorists. Portents of good and poor fishing days involving observation of the weather,
animal behavior, and lunar cycles are common: The latter can be found in any
contemporary almanac or popular fishing magazine. Luck is attributed to the presence or
absence of numerous factors, the variables of which encompass virtually every aspect of
the fisherman’s circumstances and behavior except those controlled by skill, experience,
and observation.
Fishing folklore is by no means limited to the practice itself: Verbal lore concerning
fabulous catches represents a whole category of exaggerated narrative, highly formulaic
and entertaining in content, with skeptical reaction from the audience an expected part of
the performance. Perhaps in response to this automatic skepticism, many fishermen
nowadays document their more impressive catches by photographs in which the poses
and composition are consistent in pattern—a practice that has largely taken the place of
the older, more expensive tradition of taxidermy.
Erika Brady
References
Hand, Wayland Debs. 1964. Beliefs and Superstitions. Vol. 7 of The Frank C.Brown Collection of
North Carolina Folklore. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, pp. 470–483.
Hand, Wayland Debs, Anna Casetta, and Sondra B. Thiederman. 1981. Popular Beliefs and
Superstitions: A Compendium of American Folklore from the Ohio Collection of New bell Niles
Puckett. Boston: G.K.Hall, pp. 1025–1029.
Lang, Andrew. 1891. Angling Sketches. London: Longmans, Green.
Poggie, John J., Jr., and Carl Gersuny. 1972. An Interpretation of Fishermen’s Folklore in a New
England Community. Journal of American Folklore 85:66–72.