Terminology lookup

182 of 182 entries.

AgachonSpearfishing

The Spanish and French term for the same waiting technique as aspetto. Two words for one practice, and which one a diver uses says where they learned.

Where this is the ordinary word: Mediterranean

Called elsewhere: Aspetto (Italy)

From the terminology register

Ajing

The Japanese shore lure discipline aimed at horse mackerel — aji — with very light jig heads, and one of the two traditions LRF is descended from.

Defined on a method record — Light rock fishing

Anchor trolleyKayak fishing

A rope loop running along the side of a kayak that lets the anchor point be moved fore or aft from the cockpit, so the craft can be held bow or stern to the tide rather than side on.

From the terminology register

Anchor trolley

A loop of line running along the side of the kayak that lets the anchor attachment point be moved fore or aft, so the craft can be held bow or stern into wind and tide rather than broadside.

Defined on a method record — Kayak fishing

Arbalète

What FishingHQ calls spearfishing terminology, in Western Europe, Mediterranean. French for crossbow, and the standard word for a band-powered speargun across much of Europe.

Where this is the ordinary word: Western Europe, Mediterranean

Called elsewhere: Spearfishing terminology

A regional name recorded on — Spearfishing terminology

AspettoSpearfishing

The spearfishing technique of descending, settling on the bottom or against structure, and waiting motionless for curious fish to approach. Italian in origin and used untranslated across European spearfishing.

Where this is the ordinary word: Mediterranean

From the terminology register

Aspetto and agguato

What FishingHQ calls spearfishing terminology, in Mediterranean. The waiting and the stalking techniques. Used internationally in Italian because the techniques travelled with the words.

Where this is the ordinary word: Mediterranean

Called elsewhere: Spearfishing terminology

A regional name recorded on — Spearfishing terminology

Atarraya

The Spanish name for a cast net, and the one most commonly seen on nets sold in the Americas.

Defined on a method record — Cast netting

Aught

The larger half of the hook size scale, written 1/0, 2/0, 3/0 and up and spoken 'one aught' or 'one oh'. Numbers rise as the hook gets bigger, which is the reverse of the smaller scale below it, where a size 20 is tiny and a size 1 is substantial.

Not to be confused with: The two scales run in opposite directions and meet in the middle, so a size 1 and a 1/0 are adjacent, not far apart. Neither scale is standardised between manufacturers.

From the terminology register

Barotrauma

Injury caused by pressure change. In fish it is the expansion of the swim bladder as a fish is brought up from depth; in divers it is the failure to equalise an air space such as the ears, mask or sinuses.

Not to be confused with: Sharks, skates and rays have no swim bladder, so they do not suffer swim-bladder barotrauma — which is exactly why releasing a deep-caught elasmobranch genuinely works.

From the terminology register

Bass

Bass names at least four unrelated groups of fish on three continents, and the word carries no taxonomic meaning at all — which matters because advice written for one is regularly read by somebody holding another.

Not to be confused with: This word means different things in different traditions, which is why it has a record of its own rather than a one-line definition.

This word is contested; the full explanation is on — Bass: the same word for unrelated fish

Belly boat

The common informal name, from the original round tube design that the angler sat inside with the tube around their waist.

Defined on a method record — Float-tube fishing

BerriedGathering

A female crustacean carrying eggs beneath her abdomen. A berried crab, lobster or crayfish is the reproductive output of the ground she came from, and is returned everywhere the practice is taken seriously.

From the terminology register

Berried

A female carrying eggs on her underside. Returning berried animals is a legal requirement in most jurisdictions and good practice in all of them.

Defined on a method record — Recreational potting

Bite trace / shock trace

What FishingHQ calls wire traces, in Britain & Ireland. British sea-fishing usage distinguishing the short abrasion-resistant section at the hook from the longer shock leader used for casting. Two different jobs sharing the word trace.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

Called elsewhere: Wire traces

A regional name recorded on — Wire traces

BivvyCarp fishing

The shelter a carp or specimen angler sleeps in beside the water. British, and central to a style of fishing that measures sessions in nights rather than hours.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

From the terminology register

BlackoutSpearfishing

Loss of consciousness from lack of oxygen during or after a breath-hold dive, frequently in the last few metres of the ascent and frequently without warning. It is silent, and the diver does not know it is coming.

Not to be confused with: It is not fainting and it is not caused by the urge to breathe. Hyperventilating before a dive removes the urge to breathe WITHOUT adding oxygen, which is why it makes blackout more likely rather than less.

From the terminology register

Bobber

One object, four vocabularies, and a genuine difference underneath the words — between something that only signals a bite and something that also controls where the bait sits.

Not to be confused with: This word means different things in different traditions, which is why it has a record of its own rather than a one-line definition.

This word is contested; the full explanation is on — Float, bobber and quill

Bobber

What FishingHQ calls floats, in North America. The standard North American word. British float fishing has developed a far more elaborate range of shapes and loadings than the word bobber implies, but the object and its job are the same.

Where this is the ordinary word: North America

Called elsewhere: Floats

A regional name recorded on — Floats

Bobber fishing

What FishingHQ calls float fishing, in North America. The same technique. 'Bobber' is the standard North American word for what Britain calls a float, and the tackle is generally simpler than the British float range.

Where this is the ordinary word: North America

Called elsewhere: Float fishing

A regional name recorded on — Float fishing

BoilieCarp fishing

A rolled and boiled paste bait with a skin tough enough to resist small fish, developed in British carp fishing and now used across Europe. The hard skin is the point: it is a bait a nuisance fish cannot strip.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland, Western Europe, Central & Eastern Europe

From the terminology register

Bottom fishing

Fishing a bait on or near the bottom with the weight resting rather than suspended — the most widely practised approach in the world, and the one with the least consistent name.

Not to be confused with: This word means different things in different traditions, which is why it has a record of its own rather than a one-line definition.

This word is contested; the full explanation is on — Ledgering, bottom fishing and legering: one idea, three words

Bottom fishing

What FishingHQ calls ledgering, in North America, Australia, New Zealand, East & Southern Africa, South-East Asia, Global. The general international term for the same technique, in both fresh and salt water. Far more widely understood than 'ledgering', which is essentially a British word.

Where this is the ordinary word: North America, Australia, New Zealand, East & Southern Africa, South-East Asia, Global

Called elsewhere: Ledgering

A regional name recorded on — Ledgering

Brail lines

The lines running from the net's centre to the lead line, which draw the weighted rim closed into a purse when the hand line is pulled.

Defined on a method record — Cast netting

BreakoutSea fishing

Freeing a gripped lead that has dug into the seabed. Also the name of the lead design whose wires are held in a clip and release under a sharp pull, so it grips while fishing and returns streamlined.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

From the terminology register

Cane pole fishing

What FishingHQ calls pole fishing, in North America. The traditional North American fixed-line equivalent, though without the take-apart sections and elastic that define the modern European pole.

Where this is the ordinary word: North America

Called elsewhere: Pole fishing

A regional name recorded on — Pole fishing

Casting

Three words that anglers use interchangeably and practitioners do not — and one of them names a reel, a technique and a lure category simultaneously, which is where most of the confusion starts.

Not to be confused with: This word means different things in different traditions, which is why it has a record of its own rather than a one-line definition.

This word is contested; the full explanation is on — Spinning, casting and retrieving

Casting and retrieving

What FishingHQ calls spinning, in 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.

Where this is the ordinary word: North America

Called elsewhere: Spinning

A regional name recorded on — Spinning

CentrepinCoarse fishing

A reel with the spool rotating directly on a spindle and no gearing, so line pays out under almost no resistance. Its virtue is trotting: a float can take line at the speed of the current without being checked.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

From the terminology register

Char

Three words covering one family and three genera, applied so inconsistently that two of the most familiar trout in the world are not trout at all.

Not to be confused with: This word means different things in different traditions, which is why it has a record of its own rather than a one-line definition.

This word is contested; the full explanation is on — Trout, char and salmon: what the words actually mean

Clipped downSea fishing

A rig in which each hook length is held against the rig body by a small clip during the cast and released on impact with the water. Streamlines the rig in flight, which buys distance and stops bait being torn off.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

From the terminology register

Coalfish

Two spellings, at least three fish and a set of commercial names that cross over each other — and the fish a reader means depends on which side of the Atlantic they are standing.

Not to be confused with: This word means different things in different traditions, which is why it has a record of its own rather than a one-line definition.

This word is contested; the full explanation is on — Pollock and pollack

CoarseCoarse fishing

In British and Irish usage, freshwater fish other than salmon, trout and char. The category is regional rather than biological, and it does not travel: it corresponds to nothing in North American or most continental usage.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

Called elsewhere: Rough fish (older North American usage, and pejorative) · Non-salmonid (neutral)

Not to be confused with: It is not a judgement about the fish and not a size class. Outside Britain and Ireland the split does not exist, and a reader elsewhere should treat 'coarse' as meaning 'not a salmonid'.

From the terminology register

Coarse fish

A British classification with no biological content, invented socially rather than scientifically, and meaningless in most of the world — including to readers who will nonetheless encounter it constantly in British writing.

Not to be confused with: This word means different things in different traditions, which is why it has a record of its own rather than a one-line definition.

This word is contested; the full explanation is on — Coarse fish: a category that does not travel

CodlingSea fishing

A small cod. It is a size class rather than a species or a life stage with a defined boundary, and where the line falls is a matter of local usage.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

Not to be confused with: It is not a different fish, and it is not a formal juvenile category. A catch report listing 'cod and codling' is describing two size ranges of one species.

From the terminology register

Competitive angling

What FishingHQ calls match fishing, in Global. The general international term. Competition formats elsewhere are usually organised by species or by weight of a limited bag rather than by total weight taken from a drawn peg.

Where this is the ordinary word: Global

Called elsewhere: Match fishing

A regional name recorded on — Match fishing

Controller

A buoyant, part-submerged float fished well above a long hooklength, providing casting weight without pulling the bait under. The standard solution to casting something that weighs almost nothing.

Defined on a method record — Surface fishing for coarse fish

Cork

What FishingHQ calls floats, in East & Southern Africa, South Asia, Caribbean. Widely used where the traditional float was literally a piece of cork, and still current as the general term in several places.

Where this is the ordinary word: East & Southern Africa, South Asia, Caribbean

Called elsewhere: Floats

A regional name recorded on — Floats

Cork fishing

What FishingHQ calls float fishing, in East & Southern Africa, South Asia. Widely used where the traditional float was a piece of cork, and still current as a general term.

Where this is the ordinary word: East & Southern Africa, South Asia

Called elsewhere: Float fishing

A regional name recorded on — Float fishing

Creel

The Scottish and Irish term for a pot, and the usual word in the commercial fishery there.

Defined on a method record — Recreational potting

Crypsis

The animal's camouflage-and-stillness strategy. It is what makes a flounder hard to catch on a rod and easy to find with a light.

Defined on a method record — Gigging

CultchGathering

Old shell laid on the seabed for oyster larvae to settle on. Oyster restoration begins with it, because a dredged bed loses not only its adults but the surface the next generation needs.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland, North America

From the terminology register

Cut off

Being separated from the shore by a rising tide. On a wide flat it happens because the drainage channels fill before the flat does, so the route back goes under while the ground underfoot is still dry.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

From the terminology register

Darkhouse

The blacked-out shelter placed over the hole. Its darkness is what makes the water below visible, so it is the method's essential equipment rather than a comfort.

Defined on a method record — Darkhouse spearing

Dead drift

A presentation in which the fly travels at exactly the speed of the current, with no pull from the line.

Defined on a method record — Nymphing

Decoy

The weighted, usually carved fish worked on a line below the hole to draw a pike within reach. A recognised folk art in the upper Midwest, with makers and collectors.

Defined on a method record — Darkhouse spearing

DoggieSea fishing

In British shore fishing, almost always the small-spotted catshark — a small, abundant, sandpaper-skinned shark that curls round your arm while you unhook it.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

Not to be confused with: 'Dogfish' is used loosely for several unrelated small sharks, including the spurdog, which has sharp defensive spines in front of each dorsal fin and is a genuinely different handling problem. The name does not tell you which you have.

From the terminology register

Double haulFly fishing

A sharp pull on the line with the line hand during both the back cast and the forward cast, which increases line speed without increasing rod effort. The technique that makes casting into coastal wind possible.

From the terminology register

DowntideSea fishing

Fishing directly down-tide from an anchored or drifting boat, with the lead held off the bottom by the flow. The conventional opposite of uptiding, and the normal approach in deeper water.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

From the terminology register

DrogueKayak fishing

A fabric cone streamed from a boat or kayak to slow and steady a drift. It does not anchor anything; it increases drag so the craft moves with the water rather than with the wind.

From the terminology register

Drogue

A small drift chute streamed to slow the rate of drift and hold the kayak at a chosen angle to wind or tide. Not an anchor and not a substitute for one.

Defined on a method record — Kayak fishing

Drop netGathering

A baited hoop net lowered from a wall or pier and lifted quickly, used for crabs and prawns. The commonest introduction to fishing anywhere with a harbour.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

From the terminology register

Drop-backSea fishing

A bite in which the rod tip springs back and the line goes slack, because a fish has picked up the bait and moved towards the angler, taking tension off rather than adding it.

Not to be confused with: The absence of a bite. It is the bite most often ignored, and large fish produce it more often than small ones.

From the terminology register

DropperFly fishing

An additional fly fished above the end fly on a short branch of leader. The end fly is the point fly; the ones above it are droppers.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

Not to be confused with: In sea fishing a 'dropper' more often means the short line carrying a hook on a multi-hook rig, which the same anglers would also call a snood.

From the terminology register

Dropper

A short length of line standing out from the main trace, carrying one lure or hook. The number of droppers is the number of hooks in the water.

Defined on a method record — Feathering and multi-lure traces

Duck diveSpearfishing

The technique of getting from the surface to depth head-first with minimal noise and effort — bend at the waist, lift the legs clear of the water, and let their weight drive the descent.

From the terminology register

Eggbeater

What FishingHQ calls fixed spool reels, in Australia, New Zealand. Australasian colloquial usage, from the rotor's resemblance to a hand whisk. Informal but very widely understood there.

Where this is the ordinary word: Australia, New Zealand

Called elsewhere: Fixed spool reels

A regional name recorded on — Fixed spool reels

EgiLure fishing

A squid jig, and by extension the Japanese technique of fishing one. The lure carries crowns of upward-facing barbless spines that hold a squid's arms rather than piercing it.

Where this is the ordinary word: East Asia

Called elsewhere: Squid jig (general)

From the terminology register

Escape gap

A hole of a defined dimension in the pot's side, sized so that undersized animals can leave of their own accord during the soak. A legal requirement in most regulated fisheries.

Defined on a method record — Recreational potting

Feathers

The British and Irish name for a multi-lure trace, from the hackle feathers traditionally used to dress the hooks.

Defined on a method record — Feathering and multi-lure traces

FeederCoarse fishing

A weight that also carries loose feed, so that bait and attractant arrive together at the hook. A British coarse fishing development that has spread widely in Europe and barely at all in North America.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland, Western Europe, Central & Eastern Europe

From the terminology register

Fixed spool

A reel whose spool stays still while a rotor lays line onto it. The default reel almost everywhere, and the one a beginner should start with.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

Called elsewhere: Spinning reel (North America) · Eggbeater (Australia) · Threadline (older British usage)

From the terminology register

FizzSea fishing

Puncturing the swim bladder of a fish brought up from depth so it can return. Widely practised, widely argued about, and a procedure with real risk of injury done badly — which is why it is a decision rather than a routine.

Where this is the ordinary word: North America, Australia

From the terminology register

FlapperSea fishing

A shore rig whose hook lengths hang free rather than being clipped down, so they flap in the air during the cast. Presents bait well and casts badly, which is the whole trade.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

Not to be confused with: Nothing to do with a flatfish, despite sounding as though it should be.

From the terminology register

Float

One object, four vocabularies, and a genuine difference underneath the words — between something that only signals a bite and something that also controls where the bait sits.

Not to be confused with: This word means different things in different traditions, which is why it has a record of its own rather than a one-line definition.

This word is contested; the full explanation is on — Float, bobber and quill

Float lineSpearfishing

The line joining a speargun to a surface float. It marks the diver's position for boat traffic, gives a shot fish something to fight, and is the standard alternative to a gun-mounted reel.

From the terminology register

Floater

A floating bait, and by extension the whole approach. In British usage a floater is most often a dog or trout pellet designed to float, or a piece of bread crust.

Defined on a method record — Surface fishing for coarse fish

Freelining

Fishing a bait with no float and no weight at all, relying on the bait's own mass to cast. At short range with a heavy floating bait it is the simplest and most delicate presentation available.

Defined on a method record — Surface fishing for coarse fish

Fucile

What FishingHQ calls spearfishing terminology, in Mediterranean. Italian, literally rifle. The same object as an arbalète, named after a different weapon.

Where this is the ordinary word: Mediterranean

Called elsewhere: Spearfishing terminology

A regional name recorded on — Spearfishing terminology

Gape

The distance between a hook's point and its shank. It decides what the hook can take hold of, and a bait that fills it is the commonest reason a beginner's bites do not turn into fish.

From the terminology register

Ghost fishing

Lost or abandoned gear continuing to catch and kill indefinitely. The principal environmental objection to potting and the reason gear marking and retrieval matter.

Defined on a method record — Recreational potting

Gig

The spear itself: a short shaft with a multi-pronged barbed head, usually three to five prongs.

Defined on a method record — Gigging

GrilseGame fishing

An Atlantic salmon returning to fresh water after a single winter at sea. Smaller than a multi-sea-winter fish and a distinct thing to a salmon angler rather than merely a small salmon.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland, Northern Europe

From the terminology register

GroundSea fishing

The seabed considered as something you fish over, described by what it does to tackle: clean ground is sand or fine gravel that a lead sits on and a rig comes back from; rough ground is rock, kelp and structure that takes leads and holds fish; mixed is both within a cast.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

Not to be confused with: Not the bank or shore you stand on, and not groundbait. Almost every sea-fishing sentence containing 'ground' is about the bottom.

From the terminology register

Ground swellSea fishing

Wave energy arriving from a distant weather system rather than generated by local wind. It can be large on a calm, windless day, which is why a flat forecast does not mean a safe rock mark.

From the terminology register

GroundbaitCoarse fishing

Bait introduced to attract and hold fish rather than to be hooked. In British coarse fishing it usually means a moistened meal mixture; the same idea appears at sea as rubby-dubby and in North America as chum.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland, Western Europe

Called elsewhere: Chum (North America, sea) · Rubby-dubby (British sea fishing) · Amorce (France)

Not to be confused with: In North American usage 'chumming' often implies a scent slick from oily fish or fish oil, which is a different practice from a British groundbait mix and is regulated differently in some places.

From the terminology register

Gun

What FishingHQ calls spearfishing terminology, in Australia, New Zealand. Ordinary Australasian usage for a speargun, where elsewhere the longer word is normal.

Where this is the ordinary word: Australia, New Zealand

Called elsewhere: Spearfishing terminology

A regional name recorded on — Spearfishing terminology

Hair rigCarp fishing

A presentation in which the bait sits on a short filament beside the hook rather than on the hook itself, so that a fish taking the bait draws a bare hook into its mouth. One of the few genuinely decisive inventions in modern angling.

From the terminology register

Hana-kan

The nose ring through which the decoy is held, allowing it to swim while remaining under the angler's control.

Defined on a method record — Tomozuri

Hawaiian sling

What FishingHQ calls spearfishing terminology, in Pacific Islands, North America, Caribbean. A handheld track launching a free shaft. Named for its origin and now used far beyond it.

Where this is the ordinary word: Pacific Islands, North America, Caribbean

Called elsewhere: Spearfishing terminology

A regional name recorded on — Spearfishing terminology

Holding back

Slowing the float slightly against the current so that the bait swings up and forward ahead of it. Frequently the moment a fish takes, and the single technique most worth learning in the method.

Defined on a method record — Trotting

Hooklength

What FishingHQ calls fluorocarbon leaders, in Britain & Ireland. British coarse-fishing usage for the final section of line carrying the hook, usually finer than the main line. Neither 'leader' nor 'trace' quite covers it, so this one genuinely is a separate concept rather than a synonym.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

Called elsewhere: Fluorocarbon leaders

A regional name recorded on — Fluorocarbon leaders

Horn

The fitting at the centre of the net where the brail lines and the hand line meet.

Defined on a method record — Cast netting

HRF

Hard rock fishing. A step up in weight and target size from LRF, aimed at larger wrasse, bass and pollack over rougher ground, and a Japanese distinction that came across with the rest of the vocabulary.

Defined on a method record — Light rock fishing

Jig

Jigging names at least four techniques that share only a vertical component, and they use different tackle, different lures and different physical effort — so the word alone tells a reader almost nothing.

Not to be confused with: This word means different things in different traditions, which is why it has a record of its own rather than a one-line definition.

This word is contested; the full explanation is on — Jigging: a word covering several different techniques

Jigging

Jigging names at least four techniques that share only a vertical component, and they use different tackle, different lures and different physical effort — so the word alone tells a reader almost nothing.

Not to be confused with: This word means different things in different traditions, which is why it has a record of its own rather than a one-line definition.

This word is contested; the full explanation is on — Jigging: a word covering several different techniques

Kakebari

The small trailing treble that hangs behind the decoy and hooks the attacking fish.

Defined on a method record — Tomozuri

Kebari

The fly. Traditional patterns are simple and few, frequently with a soft reversed hackle, and the tradition argues that how it is fished matters more than which one it is.

Defined on a method record — Tenkara

KeltGame fishing

A salmon or sea trout that has spawned and not yet recovered. Thin, dark and in poor condition, and returned without exception.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

From the terminology register

Kick boat

A larger pontoon-style craft, fin- or oar-propelled, which the angler sits above rather than in. More capable and less portable than a float tube.

Defined on a method record — Float-tube fishing

Landing net

What FishingHQ calls landing and unhooking equipment, in Global. Universal, though the British specimen-fishing net — very large, deep, knotless, with a wide spreader block — is a distinct object from the small trout net used elsewhere.

Where this is the ordinary word: Global

Called elsewhere: Landing and unhooking equipment

A regional name recorded on — Landing and unhooking equipment

Lead

Three words for the same object across three traditions — and one of them, lead, names a material that a growing number of jurisdictions restrict, which turns a vocabulary question into a compliance one.

Not to be confused with: This word means different things in different traditions, which is why it has a record of its own rather than a one-line definition.

This word is contested; the full explanation is on — Sinker, weight and lead: regional vocabulary

Lead

What FishingHQ calls sinkers and leads, in Britain & Ireland. British usage names the object after the material, which has become awkward as non-lead alternatives have spread. A tungsten lead is a normal phrase in Britain and reads as nonsense elsewhere.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

Called elsewhere: Sinkers and leads

A regional name recorded on — Sinkers and leads

Lead line

The weighted rope around the net's circumference. Its weight per unit length decides how fast the net sinks, which decides what it can catch.

Defined on a method record — Cast netting

LedgerCoarse fishing

Fishing a bait on or near the bottom with the weight resting on the bed, as opposed to suspending it under a float. Spelled both ways in Britain and generally called bottom fishing elsewhere.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

Called elsewhere: Bottom fishing (general) · Still fishing (North America)

From the terminology register

Ledgering

Fishing a bait on or near the bottom with the weight resting rather than suspended — the most widely practised approach in the world, and the one with the least consistent name.

Not to be confused with: This word means different things in different traditions, which is why it has a record of its own rather than a one-line definition.

This word is contested; the full explanation is on — Ledgering, bottom fishing and legering: one idea, three words

Legering

Fishing a bait on or near the bottom with the weight resting rather than suspended — the most widely practised approach in the world, and the one with the least consistent name.

Not to be confused with: This word means different things in different traditions, which is why it has a record of its own rather than a one-line definition.

This word is contested; the full explanation is on — Ledgering, bottom fishing and legering: one idea, three words

Legering

What FishingHQ calls ledgering, in Britain & Ireland. The same word, spelt with one 'd'. Both spellings are current in British angling writing and neither is more correct.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

Called elsewhere: Ledgering

A regional name recorded on — Ledgering

Level line

An untapered line, usually fluorocarbon, of the same diameter throughout. Lighter and more wind-affected than a tapered line and preferred for keeping line off the water.

Defined on a method record — Tenkara

Lip grip / boga

What FishingHQ calls landing and unhooking equipment, in North America, Australia, New Zealand, Caribbean. A gripping tool clamped on the lower jaw. Common internationally and viewed with more suspicion in British coarse fishing, where the concern is the weight of a fish hanging on its jaw.

Where this is the ordinary word: North America, Australia, New Zealand, Caribbean

Called elsewhere: Landing and unhooking equipment

A regional name recorded on — Landing and unhooking equipment

LRFLure fishing

Light rock fishing: ultralight shore lure fishing with lures of roughly half a gram to seven grams. A British and European adaptation of the Japanese ajing and mebaring traditions.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland, Mediterranean, East Asia

Called elsewhere: Ultralight (North America) · Ajing, mebaring (Japan)

From the terminology register

LRF

Light rock fishing. The British and European name for ultralight shore lure fishing, generally taken to mean lures of about 0.5 to 7 grams.

Defined on a method record — Light rock fishing

MarkSea fishing

A place people fish, on the shore or at sea. In boat fishing a mark is usually a specific piece of ground located by chart or plotter; on the shore it is looser.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

Called elsewhere: Spot (North America) · Ledge, platform (rock marks specifically)

From the terminology register

Match the hatchFly fishing

Choosing a fly that resembles the insect the fish are currently taking. A fly-fishing principle that generalises badly: it is sound where a single insect is dominant and misleading where fish are feeding opportunistically.

From the terminology register

Mebaring

The Japanese equivalent aimed at rockfish — mebaru — usually fished at night around structure and lights. The other parent tradition.

Defined on a method record — Light rock fishing

Mermaid's purseGathering

The tough leathery egg capsule of a skate, ray or catshark, usually found empty on a strandline after the young fish has left it. The shape, the horns and the size differ between species, so a purse can often be identified.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

Not to be confused with: It is not a seed pod or a piece of weed, which is what most people walk past assuming.

From the terminology register

MethodCoarse fishing

A specific style of feeder in which groundbait is moulded around a frame with the hookbait sitting on or in it, so that the fish feeds directly at the feeder. Named with a capital in older writing to mark it out as one particular approach.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

Not to be confused with: The general word for a way of fishing. In coarse and carp writing 'the Method' names one thing, and a sentence like 'he was on the Method' is not saying which technique in the general sense.

From the terminology register

Mini species

The small shore fish that are the usual quarry: blennies, gobies, rocklings, small wrasse, sea scorpions, pipefish and similar. Frequently the object of the trip rather than an incidental catch.

Defined on a method record — Light rock fishing

MultiplierSea fishing

A reel whose spool rotates as line leaves it, in line with the rod. Called a multiplier in Britain, a baitcaster in North American lure fishing, and a conventional or overhead reel in boat and big-game fishing — three names for one layout.

Called elsewhere: Baitcaster (North America, lure) · Conventional (North America, boat) · Overhead (Australia)

From the terminology register

Otori

The decoy fish itself.

Defined on a method record — Tomozuri

Panfish and rough fish

What FishingHQ calls coarse fishing, in North America. The nearest North American terms, and neither is a real equivalent — 'rough fish' carries a dismissive sense that 'coarse' has largely lost in Britain.

Where this is the ordinary word: North America

Called elsewhere: Coarse fishing

A regional name recorded on — Coarse fishing

Parlour

A second chamber behind the entrance chamber, entered through a further funnel and much harder to escape from.

Defined on a method record — Recreational potting

Pêche au coup / pêche aux blancs

What FishingHQ calls coarse fishing, in Western Europe. French practice recognises a comparable set of species and techniques, though the boundary is drawn by method more than by which fish are considered noble.

Where this is the ordinary word: Western Europe

Called elsewhere: Coarse fishing

A regional name recorded on — Coarse fishing

PeelerSea fishing

A crab about to shed its shell, whose old shell peels away to expose the soft new one beneath. The most effective bait on many British shores, because the animal is at its most vulnerable and every predator knows it.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

Called elsewhere: Soft crab, peeler (North America — used for blue crab)

From the terminology register

PegMatch fishing

The position an angler fishes from on a bank. In match fishing a peg is a numbered, drawn position and the word is administrative; outside matches it is loose and interchangeable with 'swim'.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

Called elsewhere: Spot (North America) · Poste (France)

From the terminology register

Plumbing the depth

Finding the actual depth of a swim by attaching a heavy weight to the hook and adjusting the float until it sits correctly.

Defined on a method record — Float fishing

Pollack

Two spellings, at least three fish and a set of commercial names that cross over each other — and the fish a reader means depends on which side of the Atlantic they are standing.

Not to be confused with: This word means different things in different traditions, which is why it has a record of its own rather than a one-line definition.

This word is contested; the full explanation is on — Pollock and pollack

Pollock

Two spellings, at least three fish and a set of commercial names that cross over each other — and the fish a reader means depends on which side of the Atlantic they are standing.

Not to be confused with: This word means different things in different traditions, which is why it has a record of its own rather than a one-line definition.

This word is contested; the full explanation is on — Pollock and pollack

Push netGathering

A wide framed net pushed ahead of a wader across shallow sand, disturbing the sediment so buried shrimp break out into the bag. The traditional method from Morecambe Bay to the Wadden Sea.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland, Western Europe

From the terminology register

Quill

One object, four vocabularies, and a genuine difference underneath the words — between something that only signals a bite and something that also controls where the bait sits.

Not to be confused with: This word means different things in different traditions, which is why it has a record of its own rather than a one-line definition.

This word is contested; the full explanation is on — Float, bobber and quill

Re-entry

Getting back onto the kayak from deep water unassisted. The defining skill of the discipline, and the one most likely never to have been practised.

Defined on a method record — Kayak fishing

ReddGame fishing

The gravel nest a salmon or trout cuts to lay eggs in, visible as a pale disturbed patch on the riverbed. Walking through one destroys a season's eggs, which is why wading over spawning gravel in winter matters.

From the terminology register

Rig

The arrangement of hooks, weights, swivels and line below the main line. In carp fishing 'rig' often means specifically the hooklink and hook arrangement; at sea it means the whole assembly.

From the terminology register

Rotten bottomSea fishing

A deliberately weakened piece of line joining the lead to the rest of the rig, so that a snagged lead breaks off and the rig, the trace and any fish on it come back. It is designed to fail, and choosing where tackle breaks is the point of it.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

Called elsewhere: Weak link · Break-away link

Not to be confused with: It is not a description of the seabed. A reader meeting it in a sentence about rough ground reasonably assumes it means soft or foul bottom, and it means a component.

From the terminology register

RoundfishSea fishing

Any fish that is not a flatfish — that is, one with an eye on each side and a body that is roughly symmetrical about the vertical. A shape category borrowed from the fish trade and used constantly in sea angling.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

Not to be confused with: It says nothing about how round the fish is in cross-section. A conger and a bass are both roundfish.

From the terminology register

Rubby-dubbySea fishing

Minced or mashed oily fish hung over the side of a boat to produce a scent trail down-tide. The basis of British shark fishing, and the sea equivalent of groundbait.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

Called elsewhere: Chum (North America)

From the terminology register

Sabiki

A Japanese-origin multi-lure trace with finer hooks and more delicate dressings, developed for catching livebait and now widely sold internationally.

Defined on a method record — Feathering and multi-lure traces

Saithe

Two spellings, at least three fish and a set of commercial names that cross over each other — and the fish a reader means depends on which side of the Atlantic they are standing.

Not to be confused with: This word means different things in different traditions, which is why it has a record of its own rather than a one-line definition.

This word is contested; the full explanation is on — Pollock and pollack

Salmon

Three words covering one family and three genera, applied so inconsistently that two of the most familiar trout in the world are not trout at all.

Not to be confused with: This word means different things in different traditions, which is why it has a record of its own rather than a one-line definition.

This word is contested; the full explanation is on — Trout, char and salmon: what the words actually mean

ScratchingSea fishing

Fishing small baits on small hooks for whatever is there, rather than for a particular species. British sea angling usage, and usually said with affection.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

From the terminology register

Self-rescueKayak fishing

Getting back onto a kayak after capsizing, without help, in the conditions you actually capsized in. The skill that decides whether a capsize is an inconvenience or an emergency, and it is practised rather than read.

From the terminology register

SewinGame fishing

The Welsh name for sea trout — the same species as the brown trout, having gone to sea and returned. Used constantly in Wales and unfamiliar elsewhere.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

Called elsewhere: Sea trout (general) · Peal (south-west England) · Finnock, herling (Scotland — small sea trout)

From the terminology register

Shock leaderSea fishing

A heavier length of line at the business end of the reel line, long enough to take several turns round the spool, which absorbs the load of a heavy lead being accelerated hard. Its job is to stop the main line parting during the cast — a lead breaking off at speed is dangerous to everyone on the beach.

From the terminology register

Shooting headFly fishing

A fly line built as a short heavy front section joined to a thin running line, so the head carries the energy and the running line follows through the rings with little resistance. Buys distance at some cost in delicacy and control.

From the terminology register

Shot

What FishingHQ calls weights and leads, in Britain & Ireland, Western Europe. Small round split weights pinched onto the line. The British sizing scale — from SSG down through AAA, BB and numbered shot — is its own system and does not correspond to anything used elsewhere.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland, Western Europe

Called elsewhere: Weights and leads

A regional name recorded on — Weights and leads

Shotting

The arrangement of small weights down the line beneath the float, which controls how the bait falls and how sensitive the float is.

Defined on a method record — Float fishing

Sight fishingFly fishing

Locating an individual fish visually and casting to it, rather than covering water. The defining approach on tropical flats and in clear chalk streams, and a different skill from anything blind fishing teaches.

From the terminology register

Sighter

A short section of brightly coloured leader material used in tight-line nymphing as a visual take indicator, in place of a float.

Defined on a method record — Nymphing

Sinker

Three words for the same object across three traditions — and one of them, lead, names a material that a growing number of jurisdictions restrict, which turns a vocabulary question into a compliance one.

Not to be confused with: This word means different things in different traditions, which is why it has a record of its own rather than a one-line definition.

This word is contested; the full explanation is on — Sinker, weight and lead: regional vocabulary

Sinker

What FishingHQ calls weights and leads, in North America, Australia, New Zealand, East & Southern Africa, Global. The standard term almost everywhere outside Britain and Ireland, and the more durable one — it names the function rather than the material.

Where this is the ordinary word: North America, Australia, New Zealand, East & Southern Africa, Global

Called elsewhere: Weights and leads

A regional name recorded on — Weights and leads

Sinker

What FishingHQ calls sinkers and leads, in North America, Australia, New Zealand, East & Southern Africa, Global. The standard term almost everywhere outside Britain and Ireland, and the more literal one — the object's job is to sink.

Where this is the ordinary word: North America, Australia, New Zealand, East & Southern Africa, Global

Called elsewhere: Sinkers and leads

A regional name recorded on — Sinkers and leads

Sit-on-top

A self-draining hull the paddler sits on rather than in. It is the standard fishing hull because it can be re-entered from deep water; a sit-inside generally cannot without assistance or specific training.

Defined on a method record — Kayak fishing

Slack waterSea fishing

The period around high or low water when the tidal stream is at its weakest. Not the same as high or low water itself, which is about height rather than flow, and the difference matters when planning a drift.

From the terminology register

SmoltGame fishing

A young salmon or sea trout that has undergone the physiological change allowing it to live in salt water, and is running down to sea. The stage the whole migratory life history turns on.

From the terminology register

SnoodSea fishing

A short length of line carrying a hook, attached to a rig body rather than to the main line directly. Standard on sea paternosters and multi-hook traces.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

From the terminology register

Species hunting

Fishing with the number of distinct species caught as the objective, rather than the size or number of fish. The competitive and record-keeping form of the discipline.

Defined on a method record — Light rock fishing

SpecimenCoarse fishing

A fish notably large for its species, and by extension the branch of angling that pursues them. British usage, and defined relative to the species rather than by an absolute weight.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

Called elsewhere: Trophy fish (North America)

From the terminology register

SpeyGame fishing

A family of casts made with a double-handed rod that change direction and lift line without a back cast, developed on Scottish salmon rivers where there is no room behind the angler.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

From the terminology register

Spin fishing

What FishingHQ calls spinning, in 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 this is the ordinary word: North America, Australia, New Zealand

Called elsewhere: Spinning

A regional name recorded on — Spinning

Spinning

Three words that anglers use interchangeably and practitioners do not — and one of them names a reel, a technique and a lure category simultaneously, which is where most of the confusion starts.

Not to be confused with: This word means different things in different traditions, which is why it has a record of its own rather than a one-line definition.

This word is contested; the full explanation is on — Spinning, casting and retrieving

Spinning reel

What FishingHQ calls fixed spool reels, in North America, Australia, New Zealand, Global. The near-universal term outside Britain. The two names describe the same mechanism from different angles: one names the stationary spool, the other names what the line does coming off it.

Where this is the ordinary word: North America, Australia, New Zealand, Global

Called elsewhere: Fixed spool reels

A regional name recorded on — Fixed spool reels

Springs and neaps

The fortnightly cycle in tidal range. Spring tides have the largest range and the fastest flow, neaps the smallest. 'Spring' has nothing to do with the season — it is the older sense of springing forth.

Not to be confused with: A spring tide is not a tide that happens in spring. The cycle runs roughly every fortnight, all year, following the moon.

From the terminology register

Stick floatCoarse fishing

A slim float attached top and bottom, used for trotting a bait down a river with the line controlled from the rod. The float for moving water, as the waggler is the float for still.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

From the terminology register

Stick float

A float attached at top and bottom, designed for controlled work in moving water at close range. The float most associated with the method and the one that responds best to being held back.

Defined on a method record — Trotting

Strike indicator

What FishingHQ calls floats, in Global. Fly fishing's name for a float used to suspend a nymph. The distinction is cultural rather than physical — some fly anglers are uncomfortable calling it a float, which is what the separate word is for.

Where this is the ordinary word: Global

Called elsewhere: Floats

A regional name recorded on — Floats

Strip strikeFly fishing

Setting the hook in saltwater fly fishing by pulling hard on the line with the line hand while the rod stays low and pointed at the fish, instead of lifting the rod.

Not to be confused with: It is the opposite of the trout-fishing reflex. Lifting the rod on a hard-mouthed saltwater fish moves the fly without driving the hook in, and if the fish is missed the rod is out of position to cast again.

From the terminology register

Stripping apron

A mesh panel across the front of the tube on which fly line is stripped, so it does not sink and tangle around the angler's legs.

Defined on a method record — Float-tube fishing

Surfcasting

What FishingHQ calls ledgering, in North America, Australia, New Zealand, East & Southern Africa. Bottom fishing from a surf beach with a long rod specifically, rather than the technique in general. FishingHQ covers that as its own record.

Where this is the ordinary word: North America, Australia, New Zealand, East & Southern Africa

Called elsewhere: Ledgering

A regional name recorded on — Ledgering

SwimCoarse fishing

The area of water an angler is fishing, considered as a place fish move through. Used as a noun for the water rather than the bank position, though the two blur.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

From the terminology register

TenkaraFly fishing

A Japanese fixed-line fly fishing method: a long rod, a line roughly the length of the rod, a fly, and no reel. The absence of the reel is the design rather than a limitation.

Where this is the ordinary word: East Asia

From the terminology register

Tenkara

What FishingHQ calls pole fishing, in East Asia. A Japanese fixed-line method with no reel, developed independently for mountain streams. Not the same technique — it casts a fly line rather than shipping a rig out — but it solves the same problem of control without a reel.

Where this is the ordinary word: East Asia

Called elsewhere: Pole fishing

A regional name recorded on — Pole fishing

Tenkara

Commonly rendered as 'from heaven' or 'from the skies', describing a fly arriving on the water from above. The name is Japanese and the method travelled under it.

Defined on a method record — Tenkara

The lift

The rise of the fly through the water at the end of a drift as the line tightens, which imitates an ascending insect and frequently triggers a take.

Defined on a method record — Nymphing

Threadline reel

What FishingHQ calls fixed spool reels, in Australia, Britain & Ireland. An older term now largely historical, but it appears throughout mid-twentieth-century angling literature and is worth recognising when reading it.

Where this is the ordinary word: Australia, Britain & Ireland

Called elsewhere: Fixed spool reels

A regional name recorded on — Fixed spool reels

TippetFly fishing

The final, finest section of a fly leader, to which the fly is tied. Replaced as it shortens with fly changes, so the leader's taper survives the session.

From the terminology register

Tippet

What FishingHQ calls fluorocarbon leaders, in Global. Fly fishing's term for the final, finest section of a tapered leader. Used internationally and specific to fly tackle.

Where this is the ordinary word: Global

Called elsewhere: Fluorocarbon leaders

A regional name recorded on — Fluorocarbon leaders

Tomozuri (友釣り)

'Friend fishing' — the method's Japanese name, from the use of one ayu to catch another.

Defined on a method record — Tomozuri

Tournament fishing

What FishingHQ calls match fishing, in North America, Australia. Usually implies boat-based, species-specific competition — bass tournaments above all — which is a different sport from British match fishing despite the shared idea.

Where this is the ordinary word: North America, Australia

Called elsewhere: Match fishing

A regional name recorded on — Match fishing

TraceSea fishing

The length of line between the main line and the hook, chosen for a property the main line lacks — abrasion resistance, invisibility, or resistance to teeth. British sea anglers say trace; fly and North American anglers usually say leader.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

Called elsewhere: Leader (general, fly, North America) · Snood (a short trace on a multi-hook rig)

From the terminology register

Trace

What FishingHQ calls fluorocarbon leaders, in Britain & Ireland. The British word for the same component in sea and predator fishing. A wire trace and a wire leader are the same thing, and 'trace' is barely used outside these islands.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

Called elsewhere: Fluorocarbon leaders

A regional name recorded on — Fluorocarbon leaders

TrottingCoarse fishing

Letting a float travel downstream at the pace of the current while the line is controlled from the rod, so the bait moves naturally ahead of everything else. The technique the centrepin exists for.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

Called elsewhere: Drift fishing a float (North America)

From the terminology register

Trotting

Allowing a float to travel downstream with the current, controlling its speed from the reel so the bait covers a length of water naturally.

Defined on a method record — Float fishing

Trotting down

Letting the float run further and further down the swim on successive casts, covering new water each time rather than fishing the same few metres repeatedly.

Defined on a method record — Trotting

Trout

Three words covering one family and three genera, applied so inconsistently that two of the most familiar trout in the world are not trout at all.

Not to be confused with: This word means different things in different traditions, which is why it has a record of its own rather than a one-line definition.

This word is contested; the full explanation is on — Trout, char and salmon: what the words actually mean

Tubercles

Small hard bony bumps in the skin of a fish. On flatfish and rays they are a leading identification character — a flounder has rows of them along the bases of the dorsal and anal fins where a plaice is smooth, and a turbot has them scattered over the eyed side where a brill has none.

From the terminology register

TurnoverFly fishing

Whether the leader and fly straighten out at the end of a fly cast rather than landing in a heap. A cast that goes the distance and does not turn over has not presented anything.

Not to be confused with: Nothing to do with the seasonal turnover of a lake's water layers, which is a different word used in the same sport.

From the terminology register

Unhooking mat

What FishingHQ calls landing and unhooking equipment, in Britain & Ireland, Western Europe. A padded mat for laying a fish on out of the water. The equipment and the expectation around it grew from British carp fishing and are far less standard elsewhere, which is a genuine cultural difference rather than a naming one.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland, Western Europe

Called elsewhere: Landing and unhooking equipment

A regional name recorded on — Landing and unhooking equipment

UptideSea fishing

Casting away from an anchored boat, up-tide of it, so the lead settles and the bait sits well clear of the hull's disturbance. A British invention for shallow, fast-tide grounds.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

From the terminology register

V-notch

A notch cut into the tail fan of a breeding female before release, marking her as protected. A notched animal must be returned wherever the scheme operates, and the mark persists through several moults.

Defined on a method record — Recreational potting

WagglerCoarse fishing

A float attached to the line by the bottom end only, so that the line runs to it below the surface. Named for the way it wags on the surface, and the standard stillwater float in British coarse fishing.

Where this is the ordinary word: Britain & Ireland

From the terminology register

Weight

Three words for the same object across three traditions — and one of them, lead, names a material that a growing number of jurisdictions restrict, which turns a vocabulary question into a compliance one.

Not to be confused with: This word means different things in different traditions, which is why it has a record of its own rather than a one-line definition.

This word is contested; the full explanation is on — Sinker, weight and lead: regional vocabulary

Wire leader

What FishingHQ calls wire traces, in North America, Australia, New Zealand, Global. The same component under the international word for the section it belongs to. 'Trace' is British; 'leader' is everywhere else.

Where this is the ordinary word: North America, Australia, New Zealand, Global

Called elsewhere: Wire traces

A regional name recorded on — Wire traces