Fly Fishing’s Roman Origins

Fly fishing was invented by accident during a Roman military disaster. In 200 AD,

Roman soldiers stationed in Macedonia were starving during a harsh winter campaign. Desperate for food,

they noticed local fish ignoring their standard bait. A clever soldier wrapped red wool

around a hook to mimic the insects dancing on the water surface. The fish attacked

it instantly. This technique saved the entire garrison from starvation and spread throughout

the Roman Empire. The earliest written record comes from a Roman author named Aelian,

who documented Macedonians using artificial flies with red wool and rooster feathers. They called it the

Hippouros fly. What makes this incredible is that fly fishing remained virtually unchanged