A fish hook, or “angle” (from the Old English angol), linked to a fishing line is used in the fishing method known as “angling” to entangle individual fish in the mouth. Although rod less methods like handlining and longlining do exist, most fishing is done with a fishing rod.

When fishing, the fisherman (sometimes referred to as the angler) will first cast (i.e., drop) the hook into a selected body of water, and then wait patiently for fish to attack and consume the hook bait.

Before even setting the hook, it’s not unusual for the fisherman to distribute some loose bait (ground bait) about the area to help draw fish in with odors.

The hook tip will penetrate into and anchor itself within the fish mouth, gullet, or gill if a fish has given in to its innate eating impulse and swallowed the hook (i.e., “bite” or “strike”), and the fish in turn becomes securely attached to the fishing rod through the fishing line.

The primary way of fishing for sport is with an angling rod, although trolling and longlining are also used in commercial fisheries. Sport fisherman increasingly engage in catch and release fishing. That is why it’s called fishing angling.