STL All Sports

In 1732 the first fishing club on the North American continent was formed. It was called the Schuylkill Fishing Company, with headquarters at Philadelphia. The organization still functions in an obscure way, and, thus, is probably the oldest sports body-of any type-on the continent in the matter of continuous existence. It now is known as the Fish House Club with headquarters in Andalusia, Pa. Membership is limited to 30 and annual meetings are held, at which a toast is made to George Washington, who was an early day guest.

The American Rod and Reel Association was founded in the United States over 100 years ago, with all members pledged to fish only by fly casting. The activities of this organization were limited and no national impetus was given the sport until the formation in 1893 of the Chicago Fly-Casting Club, which seized upon the World's Fair of that year as a medium of exploitation by staging the first United States national tournament. The events were accuracy, accuracy fly, delicacy fly, long-distance bait and long-distance fly. The distances were 75, 80 and 85 feet. All casts were made on a lawn because methods for measuring casts on water had not been perfected.

Although the records of the early activities of the fly-casters, prior to 1893, are vague, there is a memorandum that "a pational tournament first was arranged in 1861," and the supposition is that others followed periodically. But the 1893 event is the first which is replete with details.
In 1897 the Chicago Fly-Casting Club held the second National tournament. The third was in 1903 and the fourth in 1905. At the fifth tournament, at Kalamazoo, Mich., in 1906, the idea of a permanent organization took shape and evolved into the National Association of Scientific Angling Clubs, at Racine, Wis., where the sixth tournament, the first under the auspices of the N.A.S.A.C., was held in 1907.

This permanent organization was made up of nine pioneer clubs-Chicago, Cincinnati, Fox River Valley, Grand Rapids, Kalamazoo, Kansas City, Racine, San Francisco and Illinois. Other clubs since have become part of the Association, which, until 1972, was strictly amateur and governs the fly-casting sport.

In 1969, several events were changed, dropped, or added: the Wet Fly Accuracy was dropped, the 3/8 Oz. Distance (Revolving Spool Reel) was also dropped, the Trout Fly Distance was renamed "I-Hand Fly Distance," the Salmon Fly Distance was renamed "2-Hand Fly Distance"; added, were 1 Oz. Plug Distance (Fixed Spool), 3/8 Oz. Distance (Fixed Spool Reel), Trout Fly Accuracy, Bass Bug Accuracy, and 1/4 Oz. Plug Accuracy.

The official name of the governing body of fly-casting was changed to American Casting Association in January, 1961. Before that it had been called the National Association of Angling and Casting Clubs.