But throughout modern human history, the fish hook has proven to be one of our most dependable tools.

FORBES: No. 19: The Fish Hook

It took me four hours to hook a fish and 40 minutes to reel him in.

WSJ: Learning to Fly Fish��And Fend Off the Grizzlies | Traveler's Tale

Edison would go fishing in the middle of a workday at a nearby pond, and he would fish with a baitless hook.

FORBES: Investing Lessons From Da Vinci And Edison

In March he will likely head to fish the saltwater flats in Florida for bonefish and tarpon and perhaps permit (a species of fish that has thus far eluded his hook).

FORBES: Gone Fishing: Paul Volcker Retires From Public Life, Heads For the River

But the number of fish, and their seeming eagerness to get on my hook, made up for my shortcomings.

BBC: Kluane, Canada (Credit: Parks Canada/Fritz Mueller)

The Chinese have totally outsmarted Moscow by keeping Russia on the hook, all while landing major supply side fish in Central Asia, Australasia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and even North America.

FORBES: President Putin's Growing Gas Insanity

His fishing methods were different: he used aluminium beer barrels as floats because wooden ones would break up in a minute, and rather than harpoons, with their stainless-steel darts that folded back and slipped right out of the fish, he preferred hand-held gaffs with a three-inch hook that went in and stayed there.

ECONOMIST: Frank Mundus

He keeps bringing the camera to his shoulder as we run up on the busting schools of fish, then despondently bringing the camera back down to his waist as we fail to hook one.

FORBES: Scenes from the 2010 Montauk Redbone Fishing Tournament