Figure 1.-- These barefoot Texas boys probably in the 1920s are on the ways to their favorite fishing hole, surely not far from home. Notice the boys' homemade cane fishing poles and cans of worms. It is an iconic image, but no longer common in America.

Fishing in America was different than Europe where hunting and fishing in many years was limited to the nobility or the owners of estates. There were strict laws reserving fish and game to the nobility or landowner, commonly one and the same. People including boys could get into a lot of trouble for what became known as poaching. Game keepers were hired to drive off poachers. Land was much more widely held in America. Brooks and streams were rarely limited to a family farm. And rivers and streams were open to the public in a way that was not the case in much of Europe. Thus while America was a largely rural country, most boys were able to fish. Fishing was an activity that a boy could do alone or with a brother/friend. It was a major boyhood activity in the years before urbanization and the rise of sports as a dominant youth activity. Thus by a large margin, most images we have found of boys fishing are American images. Fishing in America was an activity that everyone could enjoy regardless of social status or income. A barefoot boy with a simple fishing pole and a straw hat became a virtual icon for Ameican boyhood, although today woefully out of date. It was fun and even the poorest boy could afford a fishhook and line.

Created: 6:09 PM 6/30/2016
Last updated: 6:09 PM 6/30/2016