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Spinning

Method · Last reviewed 2026-08-10

Casting an artificial lure and retrieving it so that it moves like something alive — the most direct form of lure fishing.

Spinning is cast, retrieve, repeat. The name comes from the rotating blade of a spinner, but it has come to mean any straightforward cast-and-wind approach with a lure that generates its own action as it moves through the water.

What makes it effective is that it covers water. A static bait fishes one spot; a spinner fishes a fan of arcs from every casting position, and an angler working along a bank covers a length of water no static approach could. That makes it the method of choice for locating fish in unfamiliar water.

The skill is less in the casting than in the retrieve. Depth is controlled by lure weight, by how long you let it sink, and by retrieve speed — and the difference between a lure running a metre above the fish and a metre in front of them is usually the difference between a blank and a good day.

What it is

Casting an artificial lure and retrieving it at a speed and depth that make it behave like prey. The lure supplies its own action — a rotating blade, a wobbling body, a vibrating lip — in response to being pulled through the water.

What it is for

To find and provoke predatory fish by covering water quickly with something that looks and feels alive. It is the method for exploring unfamiliar water, for fishing from the bank in rivers and along coastlines, and for keeping moving rather than waiting.

Setting it up

  • Match the lure weight to the rod's casting rating — outside that range the rod casts badly and can break.
  • Count the lure down after it lands so that you know, and can repeat, the depth you fished.
  • Retrieve just fast enough for the lure to work properly and no faster; most lures have a minimum speed below which the action dies.
  • Use a leader appropriate to the fish: fluorocarbon for abrasion, wire for anything with teeth.
  • Fan your casts to cover an arc rather than repeatedly casting to the same line.

What it catches

78 more

What you fish it with

1 more

How it works

Depth is a function of three things: how heavy the lure is, how long it is allowed to sink before the retrieve begins, and how fast it is retrieved. Faster retrieves lift a lure; slower ones let it run deeper. Rod angle contributes too — a low rod tip keeps the lure deeper, a high one lifts it. Takes are usually felt as a sharp knock or as the lure simply stopping.

Conditions

Spinning suits water with some clarity, since most lures rely partly on being seen, though vibration carries in colour. It works well in flowing water, where the current adds action, and along coastlines where fish hunt actively. Very weedy or very snaggy ground is where it becomes expensive, and where a weedless soft plastic is the better answer.

Common mistakes

  • Retrieving too fast, which lifts the lure above the fish and can stop it working altogether.
  • Starting the retrieve the moment the lure lands, so the deeper part of the water is never fished.
  • Omitting a swivel with a rotating-blade lure and then wondering why the line is a coil of twist.
  • Using no leader for toothy species, and losing both the fish and the lure.
  • Casting to the same line repeatedly rather than covering an arc.

Advantages

  • Covers water quickly, which is the fastest way to locate fish.
  • Requires no bait and very little kit — a rod, a reel and a small box.
  • Highly mobile: you fish while walking rather than while sitting.
  • Takes are usually positive and hook-ups are direct.

Limitations

  • Rotating blades introduce line twist unless a swivel is used.
  • Treble hooks make snagging expensive and unhooking more hazardous.
  • Ineffective for non-predatory species.
  • Continuous casting is physically demanding over a long session.

Where people fish it

506 places FishingHQ holds name this among the ways they are fished, across 94 coasts and systems. Being named here describes what sources report, not that the method is permitted — check the local rules before you fish.

86 further coasts and systems are not listed here. Browse every place FishingHQ holds.

The count-down, and why depth is the only variable that matters much

Almost every spinning session that fails, fails at the same point: the lure was not where the fish were, vertically.

A LURE ON A TIGHT LINE RUNS AT A DEPTH DECIDED BY THREE THINGS — how heavy it is, how long it was allowed to sink, and how fast it is being pulled. Nothing else has anything like the same effect. Colour, pattern and action are arguments about the last metre; depth is the argument about whether the fish ever sees it.

THE COUNT-DOWN IS HOW YOU CONTROL IT. Cast, and as the lure lands begin counting at a steady rate until you start the retrieve. A lure counted to five runs shallower than the same lure counted to fifteen. That is not a technique so much as a way of making depth REPEATABLE — because the point is not the number, it is that a fish taking on a count of twelve tells you to repeat a count of twelve.

SINK RATE IS A PROPERTY OF THE LURE and it is worth knowing for the ones you use. A compact metal sinks fast and can be fished deep in flow; a light spinner sinks slowly and cannot be got down in a current at all; a neutrally buoyant plug does not sink and is fished by its lip.

RETRIEVE SPEED LIFTS AND DROPS THE LURE CONTINUOUSLY. Every lure has a minimum speed below which its action dies and it stops being a lure, and a maximum above which it rises, planes and often spins on its own axis. The working window between those two is where fishing happens, and it is narrower than most people assume.

AND THE ROD ANGLE IS THE FINE ADJUSTMENT. A low tip keeps the lure deeper for the same speed; a high tip lifts it over a snag or a bar. Working a lure over changing ground is done with the rod, not the reel.

Covering water, which is what spinning is actually for

Spinning is not a better way to catch a fish you have found. It is the best way to FIND one, and the difference decides how it should be fished.

A STATIC BAIT FISHES ONE SPOT AND WAITS FOR A FISH TO ARRIVE. A lure fishes an arc every cast and a new arc every few steps along the bank. An angler who moves is sampling water; an angler who stands still is waiting, and standing still with a lure combines the disadvantages of both approaches.

SO FAN THE CASTS. From one position, work systematically across the arc in front of you rather than casting repeatedly down the same line — every retrieve is a strip of water searched, and a fan covers the ground with the fewest casts.

THEN MOVE. The rule of thumb that holds across species and continents is that if a piece of water holds an active predator, it will usually show in the first handful of casts. Twenty casts to the same pool is generally twenty answers to a question already answered.

WHICH IS WHY THE KIT IS SMALL. A rod, a reel, a leader and a box you can put in a pocket is not minimalism for its own sake; it is what makes the walking possible, and the walking is the method.

AND IT IS WHY SPINNING FINDS FEATURES. Working along a coast or a bank with a lure, an angler discovers where the ground changes, where the current sets, where the weed starts and where the drop-off runs — by feeling it through the rod. A session that catches nothing has still mapped the water, and that map is what makes the next session different.

Line twist, trebles and the two ways spinning goes wrong

Two failure modes account for most of the frustration in lure fishing and both are avoidable.

LINE TWIST IS CAUSED BY THE LURE ROTATING. A spinner whose blade turns around the body is fine; a lure whose whole body rotates is winding a twist into the line on every turn of the handle, and the twist accumulates until the line comes off the spool in coils, forms wind knots and casts badly.

THE CURE IS A SWIVEL AND A CAUSE-CHECK. A good ball-bearing swivel above the lure absorbs the rotation; a cheap barrel one under load frequently does not. But a lure that is spinning on its own axis when it should be wobbling is usually being retrieved too fast or is out of tune, and fixing that fixes the twist at source. Braid shows twist less than monofilament and suffers from it more, because braid has no stretch to absorb the resulting tangle.

TREBLE HOOKS ARE THE OTHER ONE. They snag more than singles because three points face three ways, they are far more difficult to remove from a fish's mouth, and they are more dangerous to the angler handling a green fish beside deep water. A treble also does more damage to a fish that is going back.

MANY LURES FISH AS WELL OR BETTER ON A SINGLE, and where a fishery, a species or a conscience argues for it, swapping the trailing treble for an inline single is a change to the hook rather than to the method. Where a treble is kept, crushing the barbs costs almost nothing in hold and a great deal in unhooking time.

AND THE THIRD FAILURE IS NOT USING A LEADER. Anything with teeth cuts through mainline in a second — pike, most sharks, barracuda, bluefish — and a lure lost that way is a lure left in a fish's mouth. Where the fish has teeth the leader is not optional tackle, it is the welfare measure.

What this is called elsewhere

Note that the category itself is regional, not just the word. Outside the regions below, this is not a distinction anglers generally make, and looking for an equivalent term will not find one.

FishingHQ’s headword is the term used in Britain & Ireland, Northern Europe, Western Europe.

Casting and retrieving — North America
North American usage generally names the lure type — crankbaiting, spinnerbaiting, throwing a swimbait — rather than treating 'spinning' as a technique category at all.
Spin fishing — North America, Australia, New Zealand
Where the term is used outside Europe it usually refers to the tackle class — a fixed-spool spinning outfit — rather than to the retrieve.

Where to go next

Related techniques

Skills behind it

2 more

Compared with

Sources and evidence

Why the 107 connections on this page are here, and the sources

What it catches

What experienced anglers do — 85 connections

Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.

  • African tigerfish

    Established angling practice for this species, recorded as convention. The note states the property of the animal or its water that makes the method the answer.

    • IGFA International Angling Rules and World Record Requirements — International Game Fish Association (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: Recognition of the species as an established sport fish and the angling methods and tackle classes conventionally used for it.States this directlyPassage read and verified
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practice connecting this species and method.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Allis shad

    The page names the technique and immediately qualifies it: the species is protected across much of its range, deliberate fishing for it is restricted or prohibited in many places, and a fish landed from a river in spring is far more likely to be a twaite. The link records the fishery; this page carries the caution.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Documents which fishery and which technique takes this species.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Independently corroborates the species' recreational capture and range.Background and mechanism onlyPassage read and verified

  • Arapaima

    A practitioner claim about how Arapaima gigas is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for arapaima.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for arapaima and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Arctic char

    A practitioner claim about how Salvelinus alpinus is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for arctic char.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for arctic char and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Asp

    A practitioner claim about how Leuciscus aspius is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for asp.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for asp and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Atlantic mackerel

    An established way this species is taken recreationally in north-west European waters.

    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Shore and boat practice in north-west European sea angling for the species and method described, presented across multiple independent contributors.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practice connecting this species to this method, recorded as practitioner consensus rather than as tested fact.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Atlantic salmon

    Established angling practice for this species, recorded as convention. The note states the property of the animal or its water that makes the method the answer.

    • Trout & Salmon — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Established salmonid angling technique and its application to this species.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practice connecting this species and method.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Australian bass

    Established angling practice for this species, recorded as convention. The note states the property of the animal or its water that makes the method the answer.

    • IGFA International Angling Rules and World Record Requirements — International Game Fish Association (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: Recognition of the species as an established sport fish and the angling methods and tackle classes conventionally used for it.States this directlyPassage read and verified
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practice connecting this species and method.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Barramundi

    Established angling practice for this species, recorded as convention. The note states the property of the animal or its water that makes the method the answer.

    • IGFA International Angling Rules and World Record Requirements — International Game Fish Association (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: Recognition of the species as an established sport fish and the angling methods and tackle classes conventionally used for it.States this directlyPassage read and verified
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practice connecting this species and method.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Black rockfish

    A practitioner claim about how Sebastes melanops is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for black rockfish.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for black rockfish and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Blue threadfin

    A practitioner claim about how Eleutheronema tetradactylum is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for blue threadfin.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for blue threadfin and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Bluefin trevally

    The page names soft plastics and shore access together, which is the form of the fishery available without a boat.

    • IGFA International Angling Rules and World Record Requirements — International Game Fish Association (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: Documents which fishery and which technique takes this species.States this directlyPassage read and verified
    • FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Independently corroborates the species' recreational capture and range.Background and mechanism onlyPassage read and verified

  • Bluefish

    The page describes a fish whose habit of feeding visibly at the surface is part of what makes it accessible. Casting metal to a visible feed is the technique that follows from that, and it needs no boat.

    • Florida saltwater fishing regulations and Keys sanctuary rules — Florida state wildlife authority and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (Government fisheries body)Relied on for: Documents which fishery and which technique takes this species.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Independently corroborates the species' recreational capture and range.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Bowfin

    A practitioner claim about how Amia calva is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for bowfin.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for bowfin and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Bull trout

    A practitioner claim about how Salvelinus confluentus is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for bull trout.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for bull trout and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Butterfly peacock bass

    A practitioner claim about how Cichla ocellaris is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for butterfly peacock bass.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for butterfly peacock bass and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Chain pickerel

    A practitioner claim about how Esox niger is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for chain pickerel.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for chain pickerel and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Chub

    Established angling practice for this species, recorded as convention. The note states the property of the animal or its water that makes the method the answer.

    • Coarse Fishing — A. & C. Black, 1912 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Established coarse-angling technique and its application to the species.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Contemporary British coarse practice for this species.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Chum salmon

    A practitioner claim about how Oncorhynchus keta is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for chum salmon.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for chum salmon and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Coho salmon

    A practitioner claim about relative willingness, labelled as convention because no controlled comparison supports it.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of coho as the most aggressive Pacific salmon toward lures in fresh water.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Trout & Salmon — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Contemporary treatment of spinner and spoon technique for salmon.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Common snook

    Established angling practice for this species, recorded as convention. The note states the property of the animal or its water that makes the method the answer.

    • IGFA International Angling Rules and World Record Requirements — International Game Fish Association (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: Recognition of the species as an established sport fish and the angling methods and tackle classes conventionally used for it.States this directlyPassage read and verified
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practice connecting this species and method.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Deccan mahseer

    A practitioner claim about how Tor khudree is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for deccan mahseer.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for deccan mahseer and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Dusky flathead

    The page names the lures and the ground, and says accessibility, willingness and reasonable size make this the first significant fish many Australian anglers catch.

    • Australian state recreational crabbing guidance: gear, limits and berried females — Australian state fisheries agencies and Australian crabbing guidance (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Documents which fishery and which technique takes this species.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Independently corroborates the species' recreational capture and range.Background and mechanism onlyPassage read and verified

  • Dusky kob

    The lure fishery is recent and growing rather than traditional, and the page says so. It is included because it is now a real way the species is caught and excluded from the bait sections because it is not the same fishing.

    • Assessment of catches in shore angling competitions from the Border region of the Eastern Cape — Pradervand & Govender, African Zoology 38(1), for the Oceanographic Research Institute, 2003 (Scientific literature)Relied on for: Documents which fishery and which technique takes this species.States this directlyPassage read and verified
    • Marine Recreational Fishing Regulations in South Africa — South African Association for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR), summarising the Marine Living Resources Act and its regulations, 2023 (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Independently corroborates the species' recreational capture and range.Background and mechanism onlyPassage read and verified

  • Eastern little tuna

    The record's emphasis is light tackle and sport quality rather than size. Casting to showing fish is where that description applies.

    • Catch and effort of the shore and skiboat linefisheries along the South African Eastern Cape coast — Brouwer & Buxton, South African Journal of Marine Science 24, for Rhodes University, 2002 (Scientific literature)Relied on for: Documents which fishery and which technique takes this species.States this directlyPassage read and verified
    • Marine Recreational Fishing Regulations in South Africa — South African Association for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR), summarising the Marine Living Resources Act and its regulations, 2023 (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Independently corroborates the species' recreational capture and range.Background and mechanism onlyPassage read and verified

  • Estuary perch

    A practitioner claim about how Percalates colonorum is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for estuary perch.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for estuary perch and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • European flounder

    A statement about how a species is fished, which is angling convention rather than biology and is labelled as such.

    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Contemporary UK and European sea angling practice as reported by practitioners, including ground, seasonal timing, bait and method convention.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated descriptions of species behaviour and regional angling practice, recorded as consensus rather than as scholarship.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • European sea bass

    Well-established and independently described.

    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Shore lure practice for bass.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Contemporary shore lure practice.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Garfish

    A practitioner claim about how Belone belone is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for garfish.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for garfish and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Giant African threadfin

    A practitioner claim about how Polydactylus quadrifilis is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for giant african threadfin.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for giant african threadfin and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Giant snakehead

    A practitioner claim consistent with the species' verified feeding behaviour.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of surface lure fishing for snakeheads in South-East Asia.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Contemporary treatment of surface lure fishing technique.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Golden dorado

    Established angling practice for this species, recorded as convention. The note states the property of the animal or its water that makes the method the answer.

    • IGFA International Angling Rules and World Record Requirements — International Game Fish Association (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: Recognition of the species as an established sport fish and the angling methods and tackle classes conventionally used for it.States this directlyPassage read and verified
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practice connecting this species and method.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Golden mahseer

    Established angling practice for this species, recorded as convention. The note states the property of the animal or its water that makes the method the answer.

    • IGFA International Angling Rules and World Record Requirements — International Game Fish Association (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: Recognition of the species as an established sport fish and the angling methods and tackle classes conventionally used for it.States this directlyPassage read and verified
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practice connecting this species and method.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Golden perch

    Established angling practice for this species, recorded as convention. The note states the property of the animal or its water that makes the method the answer.

    • IGFA International Angling Rules and World Record Requirements — International Game Fish Association (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: Recognition of the species as an established sport fish and the angling methods and tackle classes conventionally used for it.States this directlyPassage read and verified
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practice connecting this species and method.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Goliath tigerfish

    A statement about how a species is fished outside Europe, resting on restated international practice rather than on the British angling literature.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated descriptions of regional angling practice, recorded as consensus rather than as scholarship.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • IGFA International Angling Rules and World Record Requirements — International Game Fish Association (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: International recreational angling practice and the record framework that documents which species are pursued and how.Background and mechanism onlyPassage read and verified

  • Great barracuda

    The record records the split view honestly: a nuisance to some for cutting off hooked fish, a fine light-tackle target to others. The lure fishery is the one that treats it as the latter.

    • IGFA International Angling Rules and World Record Requirements — International Game Fish Association (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: Documents which fishery and which technique takes this species.States this directlyPassage read and verified
    • FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Independently corroborates the species' recreational capture and range.Background and mechanism onlyPassage read and verified

  • Great snakehead

    A practitioner claim about how Channa marulius is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for great snakehead.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for great snakehead and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Hampala barb

    A practitioner claim about how Hampala macrolepidota is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for hampala barb.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for hampala barb and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Hilsa shad

    The record is careful that as a rod target this is minor and localised beside an enormous net fishery, and names very small flies, tiny spinners and small baits. The spinner is the one that maps to a method FishingHQ holds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Documents which fishery and which technique takes this species.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Independently corroborates the species' recreational capture and range.Background and mechanism onlyPassage read and verified

  • Huchen

    A practitioner claim about how Hucho hucho is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for huchen.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for huchen and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Ide

    A practitioner claim about how Leuciscus idus is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for ide.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for ide and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Japanese sea bass

    A practitioner claim about how Lateolabrax japonicus is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for japanese sea bass.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for japanese sea bass and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Jungle perch

    A practitioner claim about how Kuhlia rupestris is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for jungle perch.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for jungle perch and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Kahawai

    The page names lures first and stresses accessibility from the shore. Kahawai feed in visible surface schools, which is what makes a cast lure the technique.

    • Australian state recreational crabbing guidance: gear, limits and berried females — Australian state fisheries agencies and Australian crabbing guidance (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Documents which fishery and which technique takes this species.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Independently corroborates the species' recreational capture and range.Background and mechanism onlyPassage read and verified

  • Largemouth bass

    A practitioner claim about the dominant method for the species.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of lure fishing as the dominant bass method.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Contemporary lure fishing technique in the angling press.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Largemouth yellowfish

    A practitioner claim about how Labeobarbus kimberleyensis is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for largemouth yellowfish.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for largemouth yellowfish and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Largespot pompano

    Established practice for this species: what the fishery that takes it actually does. It is practitioner consensus corroborated by the research institute's own capture notes, and it says nothing about where anybody may fish.

    • ORI Fish Fact Sheets: the species accounts of the Oceanographic Research Institute — Oceanographic Research Institute, South African Association for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR), Durban, 2023 (Scientific institute)Relied on for: The capture context each fact sheet records: which fishery takes the species, on what tackle and on what bait.States this directlyPassage read and verified
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated South African practice for the species named, recorded as practitioner consensus rather than as tested fact.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Leerfish

    A practitioner claim about how Lichia amia is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for leerfish.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for leerfish and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Longnose gar

    A practitioner claim about how Lepisosteus osseus is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for longnose gar.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for longnose gar and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Longtail tuna

    A practitioner claim about how Thunnus tonggol is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for longtail tuna.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for longtail tuna and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Mahi-mahi

    The page names casting to fish holding under floating objects as a technique in its own right. It follows the trolling rather than replacing it, and it is the part of the fishery anglers describe.

    • IGFA International Angling Rules and World Record Requirements — International Game Fish Association (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: Documents which fishery and which technique takes this species.States this directlyPassage read and verified
    • FishBase: a global information system on fishes — Froese, R. and D. Pauly, eds. — FishBase Consortium (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Independently corroborates the species' recreational capture and range.Background and mechanism onlyPassage read and verified

  • Mangrove jack

    A practitioner claim about how Lutjanus argentimaculatus is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for mangrove jack.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for mangrove jack and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Meagre

    A practitioner claim about how Argyrosomus regius is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for meagre.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for meagre and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Murray cod

    Established angling practice for this species, recorded as convention. The note states the property of the animal or its water that makes the method the answer.

    • IGFA International Angling Rules and World Record Requirements — International Game Fish Association (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: Recognition of the species as an established sport fish and the angling methods and tackle classes conventionally used for it.States this directlyPassage read and verified
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practice connecting this species and method.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Muskellunge

    Established angling practice for this species, recorded as convention. The note states the property of the animal or its water that makes the method the answer.

    • IGFA International Angling Rules and World Record Requirements — International Game Fish Association (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: Recognition of the species as an established sport fish and the angling methods and tackle classes conventionally used for it.States this directlyPassage read and verified
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practice connecting this species and method.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Nile perch

    Established angling practice for this species, recorded as convention. The note states the property of the animal or its water that makes the method the answer.

    • IGFA International Angling Rules and World Record Requirements — International Game Fish Association (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: Recognition of the species as an established sport fish and the angling methods and tackle classes conventionally used for it.States this directlyPassage read and verified
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practice connecting this species and method.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Northern pike

    Long-established and independently described. Recorded as convention.

    • Pike and the Pike Angler — Stanley Paul, 1981 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Spinning and lure work for pike.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Still-Water Angling — MacGibbon & Kee, 1953 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Lure fishing for predators in stillwater, described from an independent tradition.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Northern snakehead

    A practitioner claim about how Channa argus is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for northern snakehead.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for northern snakehead and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Papuan black bass

    Fished by casting large hard-bodied lures and heavy soft plastics tight against snags, timber and undercut banks in Papua New Guinea's jungle rivers, on tackle far heavier than the fish's weight would suggest anywhere else — because the fight is decided by whether the fish reaches cover.

    • FAO Species Identification Guides for Fishery Purposes and the FAO Species Catalogues — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Identification, distribution, habitat and fishery description from the FAO species identification guides for fishery purposes.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: The widely restated practitioner account of how this species is fished.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Payara

    A practitioner claim about how Hydrolycus scomberoides is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for payara.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for payara and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Pink salmon

    A practitioner claim about how Oncorhynchus gorbuscha is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for pink salmon.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for pink salmon and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Pollack

    An established way this species is taken recreationally in north-west European waters.

    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Shore and boat practice in north-west European sea angling for the species and method described, presented across multiple independent contributors.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practice connecting this species to this method, recorded as practitioner consensus rather than as tested fact.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Queenfish

    A fast visual predator that hunts near the surface takes a lure moving quickly and ignores one moving slowly, which is the whole of the tactical advice for it and is a consequence of how it feeds rather than a preference.

    • Gear restrictions for the recreational take of saltwater crustaceans, California Code of Regulations title 14 § 29.80 — California Fish and Game Commission, as published by the Legal Information Institute (Government fisheries body)Relied on for: That the crab loop trap and the hoop net are defined recreational gear categories, with servicing intervals and geographic limits attached.States this directlyPassage read and verified
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: The widely restated practitioner account of how these methods are fished.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Rainbow trout

    Established angling practice for this species, recorded as convention. The note states the property of the animal or its water that makes the method the answer.

    • Trout & Salmon — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Established salmonid angling technique and its application to this species.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practice connecting this species and method.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Red drum

    The page names light lures alongside fly for the flats fishery, and around structure and passes where a fly cannot be presented. The two share the water and not the tackle.

    • Florida saltwater fishing regulations and Keys sanctuary rules — Florida state wildlife authority and the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (Government fisheries body)Relied on for: Documents which fishery and which technique takes this species.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Independently corroborates the species' recreational capture and range.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Sand flathead

    A practitioner claim about how Platycephalus bassensis is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for sand flathead.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for sand flathead and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Silver trevally

    A practitioner claim about how Pseudocaranx georgianus is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for silver trevally.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for silver trevally and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Skipjack tuna

    Skipjack feed at the surface in visible schools, and the record's framing as the learning fish of offshore lure fishing covers casting to them as well as trolling past them.

    • Catch and effort of the shore and skiboat linefisheries along the South African Eastern Cape coast — Brouwer & Buxton, South African Journal of Marine Science 24, for Rhodes University, 2002 (Scientific literature)Relied on for: Documents which fishery and which technique takes this species.States this directlyPassage read and verified
    • Marine Recreational Fishing Regulations in South Africa — South African Association for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR), summarising the Marine Living Resources Act and its regulations, 2023 (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Independently corroborates the species' recreational capture and range.Background and mechanism onlyPassage read and verified

  • Smallmouth bass

    Established angling practice for this species, recorded as convention. The note states the property of the animal or its water that makes the method the answer.

    • IGFA International Angling Rules and World Record Requirements — International Game Fish Association (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: Recognition of the species as an established sport fish and the angling methods and tackle classes conventionally used for it.States this directlyPassage read and verified
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practice connecting this species and method.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Sooty grunter

    Taken on small hard-bodied lures, spinnerbaits, soft plastics and surface lures worked along rocky runs, pools below rapids and the edges of fast water in northern Australian rivers, and constantly by anglers fishing the same systems for barramundi.

    • FAO Species Identification Guides for Fishery Purposes and the FAO Species Catalogues — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Identification, distribution, habitat and fishery description from the FAO species identification guides for fishery purposes.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: The widely restated practitioner account of how this species is fished.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Speckled peacock bass

    Established angling practice for this species, recorded as convention. The note states the property of the animal or its water that makes the method the answer.

    • IGFA International Angling Rules and World Record Requirements — International Game Fish Association (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: Recognition of the species as an established sport fish and the angling methods and tackle classes conventionally used for it.States this directlyPassage read and verified
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practice connecting this species and method.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Spotted grunter

    A practitioner claim about how Pomadasys commersonnii is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for spotted grunter.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for spotted grunter and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Spotted seatrout

    A practitioner claim about how Cynoscion nebulosus is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for spotted seatrout.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for spotted seatrout and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Springer

    Established practice for this species: what the fishery that takes it actually does. It is practitioner consensus corroborated by the research institute's own capture notes, and it says nothing about where anybody may fish.

    • ORI Fish Fact Sheets: the species accounts of the Oceanographic Research Institute — Oceanographic Research Institute, South African Association for Marine Biological Research (SAAMBR), Durban, 2023 (Scientific institute)Relied on for: The capture context each fact sheet records: which fishery takes the species, on what tackle and on what bait.States this directlyPassage read and verified
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated South African practice for the species named, recorded as practitioner consensus rather than as tested fact.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Striped snakehead

    A practitioner claim about how Channa striata is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for striped snakehead.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for striped snakehead and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Taimen

    A practitioner claim about how Hucho taimen is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for taimen.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for taimen and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Thin-lipped grey mullet

    A statement about how a species is fished, which is angling convention rather than biology and is labelled as such.

    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Contemporary UK sea angling and shore gathering practice as reported by practitioners: ground, seasonal timing, tackle, bait and method convention.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated descriptions of technique, fish behaviour and regional practice, recorded as consensus rather than as scholarship.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Traíra

    A statement about how a species is fished outside Europe, resting on restated international practice rather than on the British angling literature.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated descriptions of regional angling practice, recorded as consensus rather than as scholarship.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • IGFA International Angling Rules and World Record Requirements — International Game Fish Association (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: International recreational angling practice and the record framework that documents which species are pursued and how.Background and mechanism onlyPassage read and verified

  • Twaite shad

    A statement about how a species is fished, which is angling convention rather than biology and is labelled as such.

    • Coarse Fishing — A. & C. Black, 1912 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Established coarse angling practice, including method selection, presentation and the reasoning behind them.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Freshwater Fishing — Macdonald & Jane's, 1975 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Freshwater angling technique and the principles behind method selection.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated angling practice, recorded as consensus rather than as scholarship.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Weakfish

    A practitioner claim about how Cynoscion regalis is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for weakfish.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for weakfish and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Wels catfish

    Established angling practice for this species, recorded as convention. The note states the property of the animal or its water that makes the method the answer.

    • Freshwater Fishing — Macdonald & Jane's, 1975 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Freshwater angling technique and its application to this species.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Contemporary practice for this species in the British and European coarse press.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • White bass

    A practitioner claim about how Morone chrysops is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for white bass.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for white bass and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • White trevally

    Taken on small metal, jigs and strips of fish worked in mid-water over reef edges and clean ground. It is a shoaling fish, so the method follows the shoal; practitioner accounts across its range agree it fights well beyond what its body depth suggests.

    • FAO Species Identification Guides for Fishery Purposes and the FAO Species Catalogues — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Identification, distribution, habitat and fishery description from the FAO species identification guides for fishery purposes.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: The widely restated practitioner account of how this species is fished.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Yellowfin bream

    A practitioner claim about how Acanthopagrus australis is commonly fished, following from where and how it feeds.

    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated practitioner accounts of fishing for yellowfin bream.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of the methods used for yellowfin bream and comparable species.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Yellowmouth barracuda

    The Canary material describes barracuda as taken on fast lures and live bait around harbour mouths, breakwaters and clear water with current. It hunts by sight and speed, so retrieve rate rather than lure choice is what decides the session.

    • Canary Islands regional angling guidance sites — Various Canary-based angling and island guidance publishers (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Canary shore angling practice: the techniques and tackle used from rock, mole and beach, and the species each is used for.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Guías de zonas de pesca en Canarias — Tenerife, Gran Canaria y Lanzarote — GuíaCanarias (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: The techniques named for Canarian fishing — rockfishing, jigging, light bottom fishing and squid jigs — and the species attached to them.States this directlyPassage read and verified

Reported, not established — 1 connection

Reported, but without independent support. Recorded because it is in circulation, not because it has been shown to hold.

  • Atlantic chub mackerel

    One chub mackerel is recorded from the outer breakwater on a small metal casting jig, and its belly was then cut into two-inch strips and fished on a running ledger — which is the whole life cycle of a mackerel in a shore session.

    • Species hunting adventures on Lanzarote — a four-part shore diary with a full tally — Something Fishy Going On (angling blog), parts also posted to World Sea Fishing, 2014 (Practitioner report)Relied on for: The light-tackle methods, rigs, lures, baits and hook sizes a species-hunting angler used on Lanzarote, and the species each took.States this directlyPassage read and verified

Related techniques

What experienced anglers do — 1 connection

Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.

  • Lure fishing

    How the discipline classifies it, rather than a claim about how it is fished.

    • Pike and the Pike Angler — Stanley Paul, 1981 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Spinning within predator and lure practice.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Contemporary categorisation of lure methods.Citation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

What you fish it with

What experienced anglers do — 9 connections

Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.

  • Crankbaits

    The crankbait record's defining claim is a repeatable depth set by the lip. Spinning otherwise fishes the depth the retrieve speed happens to produce, so the two records describe a problem and its solution.

    • Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Specialist treatment of which bait or lure family this technique is fished with.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: The independently restated practitioner pairing of this technique with this family.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Non-slip loop knot

    An arrangement joined to the knot that actually builds it, written where the knot is characteristic of that arrangement rather than merely possible in it. This is the edge a reader travels: they arrive looking for the arrangement and need the connection it depends on.

    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: British sea angling practice: shock leaders, multi-hook trace construction and the dropper loops a trace is built from.FishingHQ's interpretation of what it saysCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated descriptions of established connection convention, recorded as practitioner consensus rather than as scholarship.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Freshwater Fishing — Macdonald & Jane's, 1975 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Comprehensive angling practice: reel filling, leader and dropper construction, and the connections each arrangement rests on.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Coarse Fishing — A. & C. Black, 1912 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Classical coarse angling practice: hooklengths, loops, droppers and the terminal arrangements built from them.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Palomar knot

    Which knot a kind of fishing conventionally uses is established practitioner knowledge that converges across independent traditions and independent state agency guides, and it is labelled as consensus rather than as tested result. Nothing here ranks knots by strength: see `why-knot-strength-tables-disagree` for why that number does not exist.

    • Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Contemporary UK lure and predator angling practice as reported by practitioners, including braid-to-lure connections and finesse rigging.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • How to Tie Fishing Knots — uni, blood, improved blood, surgeon's and loop knots — Recreational Boating & Fishing Foundation (Take Me Fishing) (Angling or fisheries organisation)Relied on for: A contemporary national angling-participation body's knot guide, covering the connections used in modern lure fishing and the materials they are tied in.States this directlyPassage read and verified

  • Polarised glasses and eye protection

    That a practice conventionally depends on a piece of equipment, drawn from published description of practice rather than from testing.

    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Long-running published description of British sea angling practice, including reels, casting, rough-ground technique and terminal arrangement.FishingHQ's interpretation of what it saysCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated descriptions of equipment convention and its use, recorded as practitioner consensus rather than as scholarship.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Soft plastics

    A soft plastic on a jig head retrieved at constant speed is a spinning presentation in everything but name, and is how most anglers meet both records. The plastic supplies the feel the metal lures cannot.

    • Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Specialist treatment of which bait or lure family this technique is fished with.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: The independently restated practitioner pairing of this technique with this family.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Spinnerbaits and bladed jigs

    The spinnerbait record's claim is that it is nearly weedless and can be fished through cover that would snag anything else. That is a spinning retrieve in the specific water spinning is otherwise excluded from.

    • Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Specialist treatment of which bait or lure family this technique is fished with.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: The independently restated practitioner pairing of this technique with this family.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Spinners

    The spinning page describes a lure retrieved to produce its own action, and the spinner page describes the rotating blade that produces it. The name is shared for that reason.

    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Practitioner treatment of which lure or bait family this technique is fished with.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: The widely restated practitioner pairing of this technique with this family.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Spoons

    The spoon page describes a blade that wobbles and flashes as it is drawn through water. That action exists only under a continuous retrieve, which is what spinning is and what jerkbait and jig techniques deliberately are not.

    • Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Specialist treatment of which bait or lure family this technique is fished with.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: The independently restated practitioner pairing of this technique with this family.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Uni knot

    Which knot a kind of fishing conventionally uses is established practitioner knowledge that converges across independent traditions and independent state agency guides, and it is labelled as consensus rather than as tested result. Nothing here ranks knots by strength: see `why-knot-strength-tables-disagree` for why that number does not exist.

    • Knots Every Angler Should Know — Iowa Department of Natural Resources, 2015 (Government fisheries body)Relied on for: A state fisheries agency's knot guide: which knot is set out for which connection, and the fishing it is presented for.States this directlyPassage read and verified
    • Learn to fish: tying the knot — Utah Division of Wildlife Resources, 2025 (Government fisheries body)Relied on for: The same connections set out independently by a second state wildlife agency, written separately and agreeing on purpose and material.States this directlyPassage read and verified

Skills behind it

What experienced anglers do — 7 connections

Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.

  • Floating, suspending and sinking lures

    A fish or a record joined to the comparison it is a worked example of, written only where the subject's own behaviour is what makes the comparison concrete rather than where the comparison could apply to it.

    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: British sea angling practice including tackle convention, terminology and the units the sport is described in.FishingHQ's interpretation of what it saysCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Contemporary UK angling practice as reported by practitioners, including tackle comparison and the faults anglers meet.FishingHQ's interpretation of what it saysCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Line twist, and where it comes from

    The method that generates most of it.

    • Freshwater Fishing — Macdonald & Jane's, 1975 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Line behaviour, knot performance, terminal tackle and casting mechanics.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Pike and the Pike Angler — Stanley Paul, 1981 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Line, knot and terminal-tackle mechanics described independently of the sea-angling tradition.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Margins, features, and why fish use edges

    A link from a practice, an environment or a geography to the mechanism it rests on. It asserts that the mechanism is load-bearing here rather than merely relevant, which is the test applied throughout this file.

    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Long-running published description of how conditions are read in the practice named, by ground type and by region.FishingHQ's interpretation of what it saysCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated descriptions of how the condition named governs the practice named, recorded as practitioner consensus rather than as scholarship.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Retrieve speed and the pause

    Retrieve variation is the central skill in lure fishing and is discussed as such across traditions.

    • Pike and the Pike Angler — Stanley Paul, 1981 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Predator angling practice on lure choice, retrieve and terminal tackle.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Contemporary coarse and predator angling practice.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Rod action and power

    Fast actions dominate lure rods for reasons of feel and hook setting that practitioners state consistently.

    • Pike and the Pike Angler — Stanley Paul, 1981 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Predator angling practice on lure choice, retrieve and terminal tackle.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Contemporary coarse and predator angling practice.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • The kinds of lure, and what each imitates

    A link from a practice or a piece of equipment to the explanation of what it is for. The two records are halves of one answer and the edge is what lets a reader arriving at either find the other.

    • Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Contemporary UK coarse, match and predator practice as reported by practitioners, including lure and line convention.FishingHQ's interpretation of what it saysCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated descriptions of contemporary tackle convention, recorded as practitioner consensus rather than as scholarship.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Turbidity and visibility

    A link from a practice, an environment or a geography to the mechanism it rests on. It asserts that the mechanism is load-bearing here rather than merely relevant, which is the test applied throughout this file.

    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Long-running published description of how conditions are read in the practice named, by ground type and by region.FishingHQ's interpretation of what it saysCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • General angling website restatements of established technique — Various (Credible secondary source)Relied on for: Widely restated descriptions of how the condition named governs the practice named, recorded as practitioner consensus rather than as scholarship.Background and mechanism onlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

Official guidance — 2 connections

Stated by a fisheries authority, scientific institute or recognised angling body. Authoritative, but summarising rather than demonstrating.

  • Spinning, casting and retrieving

    The method page carries the ambiguity most directly.

    • FAO fishing gear types and fishing technology information — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (Scientific institute)Relied on for: Gear classification distinguishing rod-and-line lure methods and reel types.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

  • Why line twists, and how to stop it

    Spinning is the method that generates twist by design rather than by accident.

    • Freshwater Fishing — Macdonald & Jane's, 1975 (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Tackle handling practice on line management, swivel use and playing a fish against the clutch.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

Backed by research — 1 connection

Supported by peer-reviewed research or fisheries science. The sources are listed and can be checked.

  • Why fish follow a lure and turn away

    Retrieve variation is a technique response to a specific failure.

    • The Ecology of Vision — Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1979 (Scientific literature)Relied on for: Underwater visual environments and the way detection changes with range, depth and water condition.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

Compared with

What experienced anglers do — 1 connection

Widely and independently recommended by experienced anglers and specialist sources. This is real angling knowledge, not proof: controlled evidence for it is limited, and FishingHQ records it as convention rather than as a demonstrated effect.

  • Light rock fishing

    A parent-child relationship between near-identical techniques at different scales.

    • Sea Angler — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: UK shore lure fishing practice: tackle scale, presentation and ground.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly
    • Angling Times — Bauer Media (Specialist angling publication)Relied on for: Contemporary UK angling practice and the adoption of imported techniques as reported in the angling press.States this directlyCitation checked — the work exists and is described correctly

How FishingHQ labels evidence is explained in the evidence policy.

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