ATTRACTOR FLY A large, flashy dry fly designed to grab a trout’s attention; does not mimic a specific insect.
BACK CAST Any point during fly casting when the line is in the air behind you.
BACKLASH When the line on the spool of a reel tangles or knots. This is usually caused by loose line on the spool, wind, or the spool revolving too quickly on the cast.
BANK SINKER A rounded weight designed to roll and move across the bottom instead of anchoring a rig or bait.
BEADHEAD A small brass or tungsten head used to add extra flash and weight to nymph and streamer flies.
BEDDED Refers to any fish that’s positioned over or guarding a nest of eggs.
BELLY BOAT A tube with shoulder straps and a seat harness that allows an angler to float in a body of water; fins are worn on the feet to allow the angler to maneuver.
BOBBER STOP A knot of string or rubber bead threaded on the line that stops a slip bobber from sliding up the line. Placement of a bobber stop determines how deep the bait or jig below can sink before it suspends below the float.
BOTTOM BOUNCER A weight with a long wire arm that ticks along the bottom while drifting. The arm helps keep the weight from hanging in rocky bottoms.
BRAIDED LINE Any fishing line woven from strands or fibers of materials such as Dyneema, Dacron, or Spectra. Typically thinner and stronger than monofilament.
BUCKTAIL JIG A lure with a weighted lead head and a tail made from the hair of a deer’s tail.
BULLET WEIGHT A bullet-shaped sliding sinker most often used to rig soft-plastic lures Texas or Carolina style.
BUTT The last section of a fishing rod, located behind the reel seat.
BUZZBAIT A skirted topwater lure with a wire arm that features a plastic propeller on the end. When retrieved, the propeller creates noise and a bubble trail on the surface.
CADDIS A classification of water-borne insects that consists of over 12,000 species found in rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes throughout the U.S. Many fly styles mimic caddis in various stages of their life cycle.
CANE POLE A fishing rod made from bamboo. There is no reel, but rather a fixed length of line tied to the end.
CAROLINA RIG A rig with a bullet weight slid up the main line, followed by a glass bead. A barrel swivel is then tied to the end of the main line to stop the weight and bead from sliding any lower. A leader is tied to the other end of the barrel swivel, and the hook that will hold the soft-plastic lure is tied to the opposite end of the leader. The bead and weight will bang together to make a clicking sound.
CIRCLE HOOK A round hook that is designed specifically to catch in the corner of a fish's mouth. Circle hooks are supposed to thwart gut hookings, thus improving the odds of healthy releases. These hooks are favored by anglers who chase large species that require giving the fish time to run off with the bait.
CLEVIS A piece of terminal tackle that holds a spinner blade to the wire arm of an in-line spinner or spinnerbait. The clevis rotates around the arm, giving the blade its action. Some clevises are designed to allow anglers to quickly change blade colors and styles.
CONEHEAD WEIGHT A conical metal head used to add weight to streamer flies.
CRANKBAIT A family of lures usually made of hard plastic that produce a tight wobble when reeled with a steady retrieve. Most crankbaits have lips that determine how deep they dive, though some lipless versions exist. Crankbaits are typically used to mimic baitfish or crayfish.
CREATURE (lure) Soft-plastic lures that do not mimic a particular species of forage, but rather incorporate unnatural tentacles, arms, ribs, fins, and claws into their designs to grab the attention of a bass by producing more action, visual stimulation, and vibration than standard soft-plastic styles.
CUTBANK A bank of a river or stream that’s been gouged out by the current, creating an indented pocket underwater, and an overhanging lip above the water.
DEAD DRIFT This term refers to the drifting of fly down a section of river or stream when the objective is to make the presentation look as natural as possible by not imparting any movement with the rod and controlling your line so the current does not speed up or slow down the fly’s drift.
DEADFALL A tangled cluster of dead trees, limbs, or brush in the water.
DEPTHFINDER An electronic device used on boats that measures water depth with sonar.
DORSAL FIN The fin on a fish’s back closest to the head.
DOWNRIGGER A device used while trolling to place a lure or bait at the desired depth. It consists of a 3- to 6-foot horizontal pole, which supports a large cannonball weight by a steel cable. A release clip attaches a fishing line to the cannonball weight, which is lowered to the desired depth manually or electronically. When a fish strikes, the line is yanked free of the release clip.
DROPPER RIG A rig used in flyfishing that usually consists of a bulky dry fly and a small nymph. To rig it, a short piece of tippet is tied to the hook of the dry fly, while the nymph is tied to the other end of the tippet. The dry fly keeps the nymph, a.k.a, the “dropper,” suspended in the water below it like a bobber during the drift. This allows you to entice fish on and below the surface simultaneously.
DROP-SHOT RIG A rig used with soft-plastic lures that keeps the lure suspended off the bottom. The hook that holds the lure is usually tied directly to the main line or a loop in the main line, and a 12- to 15-inch tag end is left below the hook or loop. A special drop-shot weight connects to the bottom of the tag end.
DRY FLY Any bug-imitating fly designed to float or drift on the water’s surface.
DUBBING Any material—usually fine hair, fur, or synthetic fibers—used for creating the body of a fly.
EDDY Any point in the flow of moving water where the current moves in the opposite direction of the main current, often creating a small whirlpool or area of calmer slack water. Eddies form most often behind obstructions, such as deadfalls and boulders.
EMERGER Any fly tied to mimic an aquatic insect during the point in its life cycle when it has just hatched off the bottom of a lake or river and is swimming to the surface, where it will dry its wings and fly away.
FALSE CAST Any stroke in fly casting that is made while the line is in the air before it is laid down on the water. Used to work line through the guides to extend a cast’s length or to build shooting momentum to give a cast more reach.
FISHFINDER An electronic device that uses sonar to draw a digital image of the water column, thereby showing the depth and position of gamefish or baitfish under the boat.
FLASHER An electronic device used to find gamefish and baitfish through ice. Flashers emit sonar beams, and fish or bait appear as bars of varying thickness on the screen.
FLIP A style of casting used most often in bass fishing to cast jigs or soft-plastic lures to small targets, such as dock pilings or submerged tree stumps only a short distance away from the end of the rod.
FLOATING LINE A fly line engineered to float on the surface. This is the most commonly used style of fly line.
FLUOROCARBON A material used to make fishing line and leader material that’s praised for its abrasion resistance and near invisibility underwater.
FOOTBALL JIG A bass lure with a rubber skirt and a weighted head with an oblong shape.
FREE LINE A live bait presented with no weight on the line, allowing it to swim as naturally and freely as possible.
FRENCH-FRY WORM A style of soft-plastic worm, short in length, with a curled body shape.
GAFF A large hook mounted to the end of a pole used to land large fish once they’re brought to the side of the boat.
GLIDER A style of muskie and pike lure that darts side to side in long strides underwater when a twitching action is imparted with the rod.
HACKLE Feathers used to create wispy collars or bodies on flies. The term can also refer to the collar of a dry fly.
HATCH Refers to a lot of aquatic insects leaving a body of water after their wings have formed and dried.
HOOK HANGER A U-shaped eyelet usually found above the reel seat on a rod that offers a place to attach a hook when the rod is not in use.
HYDROLOGICAL MAP Any map that specifically depicts the distribution of water on the Earth’s surface.
INDICATOR A small float made specifically for flyfishing that allows the angler to detect strikes when drifting nymphs or wet flies; also called strike indicators.
IN-LINE SPINNER Any type of lure with a spinner blade that revolves around a single, straight wire post.
JERKBAIT A style of lure designed to dart erratically when the rod tip is twitched. Most hard jerkbaits have lips to control how deep they dive with each twitch, and longer, more slender bodies than crankbaits. Hard versions of these lures are also called twitchbaits or stickbaits.
JIG Any lure designed to work with a rise-and-fall motion directly below the boat or during the retrieve after casting a distance. Most jigs have a weighted head and tail made from hair, feathers, rubber, or soft-plastic material, though others, such as long, slender metal lures that imitate various baitfish, can also be considered jigs.
JIG-AND-PIG A rubber-skirted lure with a weighted head, coupled with a pork skin or soft-plastic trailer threaded onto the hook to give the lure more action in the water.
JIGHEAD A weight with a hook and eyelet molded directly into lead. Jigheads come in all shapes and sizes and are most commonly used with soft-plastic lures.
LEADER Any length of monofilament, fluorocarbon, or wire added by the angler to the end of the main line or fly line for purposes such as bite protection, shock absorption, or reducing the fish’s ability to detect the line underwater.
LINDY RIG A bottom rig for live bait presentations that uses a flat sliding sinker that will “walk” over rocky bottoms without getting snagged.
LINE-COUNTER REEL Any reel with a built-in counter that’s internally connected to the spool and tells the angler exactly how many feet of line is being let out or reeled in.
LINE-TIE EYE A term used to describe the eye on a lure to which the main line or leader is tied.
LIVIE An angling term that refers to any baitfish that’s used in live form.
LOGJAM A group of logs, tree trunks, or limbs that has gotten stuck in one area of a moving piece of water and created an obstruction.
LUNKER A slang term that usually refers to a big largemouth bass.
MARKER BUOY Any man-made floating or stationary marker that aids in navigation on the water by denoting the edges of a channel, a shipping lane, the entrance to a harbor, or an underwater obstruction.
MAYFLY A classification of water-borne insects with very short life spans. Mayflies are found in rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes throughout the U.S. They are common trout forage in both larval and adult form. Many fly styles mimic mayflies in various stages of their life cycle.
MEND To lift any fly line between the rod tip and the fly off the water after the cast and place it upstream so that the fly always precedes the line during a drift. Mending allows a wet fly or nymph to sink deeper, and when you're dry fly fishing, mending helps attain a drag-free drift.
MONOFILAMENT Fishing line made from a single fiber of polymers that have been melted and extruded through holes of varying sizes that determine the line’s thickness and breaking strength.
NOODLING The act of using your hands and feet as catfish bait by sticking them in underwater holes and rock- piles, wiggling them, allowing the catfish to clamp down, and wrestling it out of the hole.
NYMPH Any fly designed to fish below the surface that mimics an aquatic insect in the post-larval, but pre-adult, stage of its life cycle. In biology, nymph is also the general term for aquatic insects in their pre-adult life cycle stage.
PARTY BOAT Fishing vessels open to the public that can accommodate a large group of anglers. Most of the time, no prior reservations are needed, as anglers can simply walk onto the boat and pay the fare onboard. Mainly found near oceans and on big lakes.
PLANER BOARD Used for trolling, planer boards are made from plastic or wood and have a beveled edge. Some planer boards are pulled with special rods separate from the rod pulling your bait or lure or on thin ropes, and your fishing line attaches to the board via a tension release clip. Some lighter planer boards are attached directly to the main line and do not snap free after a strike. Both styles pull the line off to one side of the boat when deployed, widening your trolling spread and allowing you to fish more lines by keeping them separated.
PLUG Any long hardbait with a diving lip that mimics large baifish species, such as herring, suckers, or menhaden. Technically, there is no difference between a plug and a large, long crankbait, but the term is commonly used in saltwater fishing and by pike and muskie anglers.
POPPER Any topwater lure with a cupped mouth designed to chug and spit, and spray water as it’s moved across the surface.
QUICK-STRIKE RIG A live-bait rig used in muskie fishing. It features two treble hooks connected with wire leader, one of which is placed in a baitfish’s head and the other in the tail so that a hook ends up in a muskie’s mouth no matter which end of the bait it decides to attack. Usually only one point of each treble hook is placed in the bait so upon the hookset, the hooks pull free of the bait quickly and stick in the muskie’s hard mouth.
RATTLEBAIT A term used to refer to a lipless crankbait with internal rattles.
REEL RATIO A fraction that defines how many inches or feet of line are wound onto a reel spool with each revolution of the handle.
RIFFLE A choppy section of a river or stream caused by the water moving over a shallow rock-strewn area, sandbar, or gravel bar.
RIPRAP A term that refers to man-made underwater structure, such as old building foundations, old docks, or piles of concrete blocks.
SABIKI RIG A rig used for catching baitfish species such as herring that features 6 to 10 tiny feathered hooks on one leader with a weight on the bottom. Sabiki rigs mimic an entire school of very tiny baitfish or shrimp and are usually jigged straight up and down below the boat.
SAN JUAN WORM A simple fly pattern that mimics a mealworm or garden worm. They are available in a wide variety of colors; brown, pink, and red are top producers.
SEAM Any area in moving water where currents flowing at two different speeds meet as they run parallel to each other, forming a visible border.
SEINE A long net with fine mesh stretched between two stakes that’s used to collect baitfish in streams and small ponds.
SHANK The section of a hook between the bend and eye.
SHINER Though there are some species of small fish that are scientifically referred to as shiners, such as the golden shiner, this term has come to refer to any species of small, shiny-scaled baitfish sold in a bait shop.
SINK TIP A length of heavy sinking line either added temporarily to the end of a fly line when casting streamers or nymphs to achieve more depth in certain situations, or permanently fused onto the end of a floating fly line for full-time use in deeper water.
SLAB A slang term for a large crappie.
SLINKY WEIGHT A weight cut from a coil of soft lead to form a long, cylindrical sinker. Also called a pencil weight. Cutting the lead from the coil allows the angler to determine exactly how much weight they want to use based on water depth and current speed. Most often used in moving water, slinky weights also hang up less frequently on rocky bottoms during the drift.
SLIP BOBBER/SLIP-FLOAT A float that slides freely on the main line or leader, and is stopped by a bobber stop. Slip bobbers slide down to the bottom of your line, making it easy to cast. Once they hit the water, the bait or jig sinks and the slip bobber will slide up to the stop, the placement of which determines how deep the jig or bait can sink.
SNAP Terminal tackle that's tied to the end of a line or leader that acts as a clasp, allowing you to quickly change lures or weights without having to cut and retie the line.
SNAP-WEIGHT A weight used in trolling that clips onto your line via a release clip. Snap weights aid in getting lures or bait rigs to the proper trolling depth, and are most commonly used in walleye fishing.
SOFT BAIT Any lure made from soft-plastic material.
SONAR An electronic system that uses transmitted and reflected underwater sound waves to detect and locate submerged objects or to measure the distance to the floor of a body of water. Depthfinders and fishfinders all use sonar.
SPEY CAST A style of flycasting that is used to cast a fly long distances when there is not enough backcast room behind the angler to execute a traditional overhand cast. Most popular on large rivers where one needs to cover a wide swath of water in one drift. Special rods are made just for this casting style.
SPIDER RIGGING A method of slow-trolling for crappies where 6 to 10 poles that can measure up to 16 feet in length are arranged in an arc around the front of the boat to present a lot of baits or small jigs at different depths simultaneously.
SPINNERBAIT Most often refers to a lure with a weighted head, a rubber skirt, and an L- or V-shaped arm extending over the back that holds the spinner blade. Popular because they can be run through thick cover without collecting weeds.
SPLIT RING A formed wire fastener shaped like a circle. Split rings are small versions of the rings commonly used on key chains. Split rings are used to attach hooks to eyelets on lures or as a line-tie on a lure.
SPLIT SHOT A small, round weight that is crimped directly onto a line or leader. Split shots are available in many sizes, and most are easily opened and closed with your fingers or pliers to allow weight to be added or removed quickly.
SPOOKY Referring to a fish or group of fish that is wary or easily startled by sounds, shadows, or movements.
SPOON A wobbling lure usually made from a single piece of curved metal.
STAGING Refers to the movements of a fish or to a larger group of fish prior to a change of location based on the season or spawning time. As an example, crappies stage along deep slopes for a few weeks until the water temperature is right for them to move to the shallows in order to spawn.
STAR-DRAG KNOB The star-shaped knob on a conventional reel used to tighten or loosen the drag.
STICKBAIT See jerkbait.
STINKBAIT A bait made by grinding natural or synthetic materials into a thick paste, or molding the ground paste into nuggets or chunks. Used in catfishing, stinkbaits are made with foul- or strong-smelling materials, such as garlic, animal blood, or rotten fish. They are supposed to attract catfish by slowly melting underwater and creating a scent trail the fish can follow to the bait.
STONEFLY A classification of water-borne insects that consists of over 3,500 species. Stoneflies are found in rivers, streams, ponds, and lakes throughout the U.S. and they are common trout and bass forage. Many fly variations are tied to mimic stoneflies, and, unlike caddis or mayflies, some stoneflies grow quite large.
STREAMER Any fly stripped below the surface to mimic forage that swims, such as baitfish, leeches, or crayfish.
STRIKE INDICATOR See indicator.
STRINGER A string or metal chain used to secure fish that will be kept for the table. The stringer can be left in the water while fishing to keep the fish cool and wet. When the trip is over, the stringer allows the angler to drag or carry out the day’s catch.
STRIPPING BASKET A shallow rectangular container, similar in shape to a dish-washing tub, worn on a belt at the waist or stomach to hold loose fly line during the cast or retrieve to keep it from getting tangled on the ground or around your feet when wading in still waters.
STRIPPING GUIDE The first and widest guide on a fly rod, designed to allow easier intake of the fly line when stripping a streamer fly or fighting a fish by hand instead of using the reel.
SUCKER A common baitfish species found throughout the U.S. with an underslung mouth that feeds off the bottom using suction. Suckers are most often used live or dead for pike and muskies.
SUSPENDING LURE Any lure designed to maintain its position at a certain depth in the water column without sinking any deeper or rising to the surface.
SWIMBAIT A loose classification of hard and soft lures that usually mimic baitfish, but differ from standard crankbaits and jerkbaits. Many have a hard plastic head with a diving lip, but a soft-plastic paddle-shaped tail that kicks and vibrates during the retrieve. Many anglers use the term to describe a wide variety of soft-plastic shad imitations with molded, internal weights and kicking tails.
SWIVEL A piece of terminal tackle that features two eyelets on posts connected at a central barrel-shaped or cylindrical hub that allows the eyelets to rotate 360 degrees independently of each other. Swivels are most often used to connect the main line to a length of leader that will hold the hook or lure. They reduce line twist by allowing the lure or bait to spin without twisting the main line or leader.
TAILING LOOP When the leader and front section of fly line crashes into rear section of working fly line during a cast, causing knots and tangles and stopping your cast from fully unrolling. Tailing loops occur most often when making casts longer than 50 feet.
TAILWATER A river whose primary source is water released from the bottom of a reservoir. Tailwater rivers start at the base of dams, and since true tailwaters are formed by water released from the bottom of a reservoir instead of the top, they often maintain a consistent temperature year-round.
TANDEM RIG Any rig in fly or conventional fishing that allows the angler to present two baits, lures, or flies at the same time.
TEXAS RIG A method of rigging soft-plastic lures, where a sliding bullet weight is pegged at the node of the soft-plastic, typically rigged weedless style on a wide-gap hook.
THERMOCLINE A abrupt gradient in a large body of still water where layers of water of different temperatures stack on top of one another without mixing. As warmer water is less dense than cold water, the position of the thermocline can change throughout the season, but it will appear on a well-tuned fishfinder or depthfinder as a distinct band in the water column.
TIPPET A length of monofilament or fluorocarbon added to the end of a tapered fly leader to prolong its life by taking away the need to cut down the main leader every time a new fly is tied on. In most cases, the tippet material is the same diameter as the end of the main leader.
TIP-UP A wooden or plastic X-frame with a central post that features a line spool on the bottom of the post, and spring-activated flag on the top of the post. Used in ice fishing, the baited line is lowered into the hole to the desired depth, and then the tip-up is positioned over the hole with the spool end of the post in the water. The line is then connected to the spring-activated flag, which remains bent over until a fish strikes, causing the flag to pop up and alerting the angler to the bite.
TROLLING The act of imparting action to baits or lures by pulling them through the water behind a boat moving under engine or paddle power.
TROLLING MOTOR A small electric motor usually mounted to the bow of the boat that allows an angler to maneuver around fishing spots or into tight areas quietly and efficiently. Many have a foot pedal to allow the angler to keep casting while the boat is moving.
TROTLINE A long fishing line with many shorter lines spaced at uniform intervals attached along its length. Each short line has a hook tied to the end that’s baited, and the ends of a trotline are usually held in place by two stakes stuck in bottom of a lake or river.
TUBE A style of soft-plastic lure with a hollow, bullet-shaped body that is shredded into thin strips at the rear to create a tail skirt.
TWITCHBAIT See jerkbait
WACKY RIG A style of rigging soft-plastic worms where the hook is passed perpendicularly through the center of the bait’s body. This allows the worm to fall horizontally, and sharp twitches of the rod tip produce a fluttering action in which the body quickly flexes into a U shape and straightens again as the lure free falls.
WATER COLUMN Referring to the entire vertical plain of water from the bottom to the surface. If a fish is holding in the middle of the water column, it means it’s hovering at a depth roughly half way between the surface and bottom.
WET FLY Any fly that mimics aquatic insects in their larval or emerger stages that is designed to fish below the surface. True wet flies are unweighted, though many flycasters rope nymphs into the wet fly category. Likewise, flies that imitate salmon eggs or worms could also be considered wet flies.