Angling
Hook

The use of the hook in angling is descended, historically, from what would today be called a gorge. The word "gorge", in this context, comes from the French word meaning "throat". Gorges were used by ancient peoples to capture fish and animals like seal, walrus and birds. A gorge was a long, thin piece of bone or stone attached by its midpoint to a thin line. The gorge would be baited so that it would rest parallel to the lay of the line. When the game would swallow the bait, a tug on the line would cause the gorge to orient itself at right angles to the line, thereby sticking in the fish or animal's throat or gullet. Gorges evolved into the modern fishing hook which is J-shaped with a loop on one end and a sharp point on the other. Most hooks have a barb near the point to better anchor the point and prevent a fish from unhooking itself while being reeled in. Some laws and regulations require hooks to be barbless, typically to facilitate catch and release. This rule is commonly implemented to protect populations of certain species, as a barbed hook could cause significant collateral lacerations (especially when it penetrates the gill) that can kill a fish even after released alive.
length_constraints:number_words[183]