Fish are encouraged with bait or by using a lure.

When lining, the fish hook will pierce the mouth parts of a fish or when bait fishing the bait may be swallowed.

Hooks are barbed to make escape less likely. The tightening of the line fixes the hook into the fish.

Long lining

Catching fish on hook and line can be traced back to early days when hooks were fashioned out of bone and used line from any twisted strands that were available. 

The use of multiple hooks on one line (long-line) probably did not start to come into its own until the late 1800s when the construction of hooks became more mechanised. The next major step would have been in 1950-1970 when automated line systems were introduced to bait and shoot haul and stow the lines. 

Prior to this, every hook would have been baited by hand before shooting.