Dictionary of Ichthyology
gorge = 1) an old piece of fishing gear comprising a short piece of wood, bone, horn, flint or metal, variously shaped,
but having sharp ends, usually a central attachment for the line, and embedded in bait. When the fish swims away, having
swallowed the baited gorge, it lodges crosswise in the throat. Variants have line attached at one end and the other end pointed,
a cross-shape that spreads open when the line is pulled, and the spring-gorge or spring-angle, q.v.
Courbet Cave, Penne-Tarn, France, Upper Palaeolithic, ca. 12,500 years old,
British Museum, 29 August 2004, showing drawings of fish caught on lines. Photograph by Brian W. Coad.