T: Thanks for asking. I know a little bit about fishing.

The answer to your question is resoundingly, YES!

The first academic evidence of fishing with a flexible rod comes from a 1st century Friese in Italy. It shows a man with a rod and net landing a trout.

In 200 AD the Roman historian/achivist Claudius Aelinus described Macendonians fishing for trout with hooks wrapped in red wool.

The earliest Medieval references to fly fishing from from german romance novels of the time. Circa 1210 or so in the book authored by Wolfram von Eschenbach the romantic hero of the story fished the rivers and streams of the German plains with feathered hooks.

In the 15th century many texts describe fishing with flys there is a German manual (of course!) kept in the Bavarian abbey of Tegernsee that details over 50 fly patterns that are used to catch Pike, catfish, burbot, trout and salmon

The United Kingdom is a rich source of period angling artifacts, and texts. We know for fact that fly fishing was done recreationally for period manuals exist, as do many fly manuals.

Artifacts from this era also exist, forged fish hooks, braided horsehair, or linen line and poles of ash, willow or hazel. The poles where much like our jigging poles of today, some of the artifact poles are up to 15 ft in length.