Man has caught fish for food for thousands of years using a variety of fishing equipment such as rods, hooks, nets and spears. Images of men fishing appear in the Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics but this was most probably for food rather than pleasure. The Ancient Romans were known to enjoy various sports and it is recorded that they employed the use of artificial flies to catch fish. It is, therefore, highly likely that they enjoyed the sport of fly fishing.

In fly fishing the artificial fly is attached to a fine line and carefully cast into the water. Fish are drawn to the fly and take it into their mouths whereby the hook penetrates the flesh enabling the fish to be worked ashore. Great skill is involved in using the fly fishing rod, line, fly and cast style to fool the fish into thinking it is suitable food or just making it look so interesting that they have to investigate further.

In the United Kingdom fly fishing was mainly enjoyed in Northern England and Scotland. Queen Victoria visited Scotland frequently and, almost single handedly, helped create that nation's tourist industry. Many of the members of 'polite society' partook in many of the sports available in Scotland which included hunting and fishing. Fly fishing was the main method used to catch fine specimens of salmon and trout which was often preserved and displayed proudly in upper class homes across Great Britain.

The 19th century saw something of a boom in fly fishing. Cottage industries worked to supply all of the anglers requirements including hand made rods and reels. Such items were very expensive as it required a certain level of skill and a deep understanding of fly fishing to be able to produce a finely balance rod and reel. So fine was the craftmanship of the period that when such items come up at auction they are enthusiastically fought over by keen anglers of today.

One of the greatest skills of the day was the creation of elaborately designed fly fishing flies. Using such materials as horse hair, feathers and fur, a fly would be crafted to a specific pattern. Some patterns can prove deadly and some of the patterns that proved highly successful at catching fish in the 19th century remain popular to this day.

There are two distinctive types of fly fishing flies, wet flies and dry flies. Wet flies are those types that are allowed to sink into the water. As such flies can often appear, in the eyes of the fish, as small underwater creatures or small fish, they can, if used correctly, be an incredibly effective fly. On the other hand dry flies are those types that are not allowed to sink and remain floating on the surface. Appearing to fish as an insect that has just landed or fallen onto the water, or even looking like an insect emerging from the water, such flies are excellent when used by the hands of a skillful angler who understands how to cast properly.

Over the years the fly fishing industry has gone from strength to strength. The sport is now very popular around the world and there are a number of excellent destinations in Europe and America that are simply amazing places to fish. The famous salmon rivers of Scotland attract anglers in large numbers and Scotland is one of the places which most anglers long to visit for a fly fishing vacation.