Fishing. Fishing, additionally known as sportfishing , the game of catching fish, fresh or brine , usually with rod, line, and hook. Like searching , fishing originated as a way of providing food for survival. Fishing as a sport, however, is of goodish antiquity. associate Egyptian sportfishing scene from concerning 2000 BCE shows figures fishing with rod and line and with nets. A Chinese account from concerning the fourth century BCE refers to fishing with a silk line, a hook made up of a needle, and a bamboo rod, with overdone rice as bait. References to fishing also are found in Greek , Assyrian, Roman, and Judaic writings. oday, despite accumulated human populations making an excellent range of demands on rivers and lakes, fishing for ...