A-F G-R S-Z
S
Sabiki rig - A string of five or six tiny flies with golden hooks. Attach a small lead weight at the bottom, and the flies can be dangled (with a
spinning rod) under a dock or buoy where baitfish school.
Salmonid - Fish of the family Salmonidae, that includs salmon and steelhead.
Salt marsh - Often made up of spartina grass, a salt marsh is just that, filled with crabs, shrimp and juvenile saltwater fish. These are fish
factories, certainly worth protecting.
Sand - Small substrate particles, generally referring to particles less than 2 mm in diameter. Sand is larger than silt and smaller than cobble
or rubble.
Sargassum weed - A species of offshore seaweed, yellow in color, with tiny float bladders. This stuff provides the only cover offshore for
small fish, who seek its shelter from bigger predators.
Scent - Liquid attractant added to lures to increase strikes or to allow the fish to smell a natural odor thus hold onto the lure longer.
Scud - A fly fisher's term for a freshwater shrimp, usually found in spring creeks and clean ponds and rivers, sizes 8-18, green, gray, black
and sometimes orange in color.
Sculpin - An ugly little fish found in trout streams that trout love to eat.
Scute - An extendal bony plate, usually keeled.
Seam - A calm spot caused by an obstruction in a river such as a rock or log.
Sedge - Another name for caddis flies.
Sediment - The organic material that is transported and deposited by wind and water.
Semelparous - Species that reproduce only once during their lifetime.
Shad - Natural baitfish prey of bass. Common throughout the U.S.
Shock leader - A short but heavy piece of monofilament, attached to the hook, designed to take the shock of a hard strike. And the resulting
abrasion from sharp teeth or bottom scraping.
Short strike - The end result when a fish misses the hook, but damages the hind end of the baitfish.
Sight fishing - Method of angling, where fishermen can actually see the fish they are attempting to catch. Requires clear water.
Silt - Substrate particles smaller than sand and larger than clay.
Silver eels - Slang for ribbonfish, which are not really eels.
Single haul - The technique of pumping the fly line on the forward segment of a false cast. It is easier than double hauling, which requires
more coordination and technique.
Sinking tips - Fly lines that are weighted in the tips to sink the fly in deep water.
Skirt - Silicone, rubber, or plastic material fashioned around a spinnerbait or similar lure to create the body.
Skunked - To catch zero fish or keepers. A bad day on the water.
Slack tide - No tidal movement, usually that period between incoming and outgoing tides.
Slick - Caused by digested fish products or fish oil. Caused by gamefish regurgitating or cutting up baitfish below the surface.
Smoker - A fast strike from a bigger fish, that "smokes" the reel while pulling out a large quantity of line.
Smolt - Refers to the salmonid or trout developmental life stage between parr and adult, when the juvenile is at least one year old and has
adapted to the marine environment.
Smoltification - Refers to the physiological changes anadromous salmonids and trout undergo in freshwater while migrating toward saltwater
that allow them to live in the ocean.
Snapper weight - Your standard lead weight of 16 ounces, used for many years on the Gulf Coast, especially on partyboats, for offshore
bottom fishing.
Snelled flies - Old-fashioned flies that came attached with a short, thick leader with a loop knot.
Sound - A large protected bay, usually on the Atlantic coast.
Spank equals Spook - Disturbing the water with an overly aggressive cast will spook the fish you hope to catch.
Spawn - The act of reproduction of fishes. The mixing of the sperm of a male fish and the eggs of a female fish.
Spawning stock biomass (SSB) - The total weight of all sexually mature fish in the population. This quantity depends on year class
abundance, the exploitation pattern, the rate of growth, fishing and natural mortality rates, the onset of sexual maturity and environmental
conditions.
Specks - Slang for saltwater seatrout and freshwater crappie.
Speed trolling - Trolling plastic billfish baits up to 20 miles an hour.
Spider jig - Soft-plastic grub with tentacles or skirt at forward end.
Spider weight - Lead weight used by surf fishermen to anchor their baits in a strong current. This weight has copper wire legs on it, that dig
into the sand.
Spike-it - Liquid lure dye available in several colors. Simply dip plastic lure into jar, remove, and lure now has chartreuse or other color tail.
Spincast reel - Reel featuring push button spool release. Example; Zebco 33.
Spine - A single, median supporting element of a fin, usually stiff. Distinguished from a ray in that it is single, median, never branched or
jointed.
Spinner - The last phase of a mayfly's life, the spinner dances above the water until it mates and the female lays eggs, whereupon the
spinners die.
Spinner fall - When mayfly spinners, after having successfully mated and laid their eggs, die en masse.
Spinnerbait - Lure that consists of a wire attached to a lead head type body. This lure normally has a rubber skirt, and one or more type of
metal blades on the non-hook arm. These resemble baitfish when retrieved.
Spinning reel - Style of reel that allows easy casting of small lures. Best described as the type of reel that mounts under the rod for best
balance.
Split cane rod - An old-fashioned bamboo fly rod made by gluing together long strips of cane in hexagonal fashion. The cross-section of a
split cane rod would look like a pie cut into six slices, though the periphery is six-sided or eight-sided.
Split-shotting - Another method of finesse fishing. This technique involves pinching a small lead split shot sinker a foot or more above a
small worm, then slowly dragging this on the bottom.
Spook - Topwater lure formally known as a Zara Spook. Resembles a cigar.
Spoon - A metal lure resembling a kitchen utensil. Used for catching fish out of deep water.
Spring creek - A creek whose flow comes from underground springs. Spring creeks are typically small, clear, and challenging to fish.
Spring runoff - The time of year when the snow melts and runs into the rivers, swelling the trout streams with a great volume of water.
Spring tide - High tides caused by seasonal lunar influence.
Square bill - Style of crankbait known for their small square diving bills. Excellent lures to retrieve through trees, stumps, rocks. Example;
Bagley B-III or Luhr-Jensen Speed Trap.
Standard length - The straight distance between the tip of the snout and the base of the caudal fin rays.
Standardization - The procedure of maintaining methods and equipment as constant as possible.
Standing waves - Waves that hardly move, racing against an oncoming current. For instance, waves from offshore that encounter a strong,
outgoing tide at the jetties, with their speeds matched.
Standup tackle - Short rod and stout reel, hooked up to a harness that the angler wears. The harness offers good back support and helps
support the heavy tackle.
Star drag - First used in the late 1950s, this was a major improvement in fighting fish. Still in use today. The star-shaped device, behind the
reel's handle, is tightened by advancing it clockwise. When not in use, the drag should be loosened, as it tends to flatten the plastic washers
inside.
Status of exploitation - An appraisal of exploitation is given for each stock discussed in the Species Synopsis section using the terms
unknown, protected, not exploited, underexploited, moderately exploited, fully exploited, and over-exploited. These terms describe the effect
of current fishing effort on each stock, and is based on current data and the knowledge of the stocks over time.
Stick bait - Hard-plastic lure that imitates an injured minnow. Lures may float or suspend depending on construction. Example; Rapala Husky
Jerk.
Stinger hook - A trailing hook designed to catch short-striking fish. For instance, a slow-trolled live bait would have a stinger hook back near
its tail. The nose hook tows the bait, while the stinger hook guards against short-strikes.
Stingray leggings - Kevlar cloth wrapped around the lower legs, for wade fishermen who venture into water infested with stingrays.
Stock - A part of a fish population usually with a particular migration pattern, specific spawning grounds, and subject to a distinct fishery. A
fish stock may be treated as a total or a spawning stock Total stock refers to both juveniles and adults, either in numbers or by weight, while
spawning stock refers to the numbers or weight of individuals which are old enough to reproduce.
Stone - Rock fragments larger than 25.4 cm (10 inches) but less than 60.4 cm (24 inches).
Stonefly - One of the major species of aquatic insects found in a trout stream. Stoneflies have three phases of development, from egg to
nymph to adult, and may live underwater as long as four years before hatching to an adult winged insect. Stonefly nymphs often crawl out of
the river to hatch out of their nymphal shucks on rocks.
Straying - A natural phenomena of adult spawners not returning to their natal stream, but entering and spawning in some other stream.
Streamer - A fly tied to resemble a leech, minnow or sculpin.
Strike indicators - Little "bobbers" made of foam, cork or yarn that indicate when a fish has eaten the fly tied on the line below it by a change
in movement and the drift.
Stringer - A thick cord on which to keep your fish.
Stripping - The act of retrieving slack very quickly, often with a motion designed to give action to a streamer or other fly.
Structure - Commonly referred nickname for the contours of a lake. Humps are structure.
Subabdominal pelvic fin - Said of pelvic fins when placed forward on abdomen but not attached internally to pectoral girdle.
Subadult - A developmental life stage when fish exhibit most but not all traits of an adult fish.
Subpopulation - A well-defined set of interacting individuals that compose a proportion of a larger, interbreeding population.
Subspecies - A population of a species occupying a particular geographic area, or less commonly, a distinct habitat, capable of
interbreeding with other populations of the same species.
Subyearling - A developmental life stage of fish that are less than one year old.
Success (of fishing) - Catch per unit of effort.
Superlines - Strong braided-type lines made from modern materials. Example; Berkley Fireline.
Surf rod - The longest of rods, sometimes 12 feet long, designed to lob a good sized bait and lead weight several hundred feet off the
beach. A huge spinning reel is usually attached.
Surgeon's knot - A knot used to tie two pieces of tippet together.
Supramaxilla - A small bone attached to the posterior end of the maxilla, dorsally.
Surplus Production - Production of new weight by a fishable stock, plus recruits added to it, less what is removed by natural mortality. This is
usually estimated as the catch in a given year plus the increase in stock size (or less the decrease). Also called; natural increase,
sustainable yield, equilibrium catch .
Survival Rate - Number of fish alive after a specified time interval, divided by the initial number. Usually on a yearly basis.
Suspend - When bass are neither relating to the bottom of the lake, nor actively feeding near the surface. The fish are staging in the middle
zone of water. This happens frequently in summer, when fish get inactive. Also describes lures that are made to stay in or at a certain depth
when the retrieve is stopped.
Sustainable yield - The number or weight of fish in a stock that can be taken by fishing without reducing the stock biomass from year to
year, assuming that environmental conditions remain the same.
Swells - Offshore waves that may be generated thousands of miles away. Usually easier to navigate than wave chop, which is steeper and
much more frequent. Swells generally become a problem when they near land, as their height increases.
Swim bait - Soft plastic lure that resembles a baitfish. Normally a life-size copy of a bluegill, shad, or trout. Example; Castaic lure.
Swim-up fry - A salmonid fry that is swimming in the water column in search for food.
Swivel - Barrel swivels are are used to attached two lines together and to prevent the line from abnormal twist.
T
Tac - Total allowable catch is the total regulated catch from a stock in a given time period, usually a year.
Tailing fish - Fish feeding on the shallow flats often betray themselves by tailing, poking their tails from the water.
Tailing loop - A casting problem characterized by the end of the fly line falling toward the belly of a cast.
Tailwater - A section of river that's immediately below a dam.
Take - When a fish eats a fly.
Taper - The varying diameter of a fly line over its length.
Ten to Two - The casting motion whereby the position of the rod tip is compared to the hands of a clock.
Terminal mouth - Said of the location of the mouth when it opens at the end of the head, as in trout.
Terrestrials - Insect species whose life cycle occurs on land, such as beetles and grasshoppers.
Territory - The area that an animal defends, usually during breeding season, against intruders of its own species.
Thermocline - Depth of lake where the lowest level of useable oxygen and cooler water temperatures meet. Bass will rarely be found below
this level.
Thirty second rule - After 30 seconds out of the water, trout have little chance of surviving if released.
Thoracic pelvics - Said of the pelvic fins when attached immediately below the pectorals and connected internally with the pectoral girdle.
Thorax - The part of an artificial fly or real insect that relates to the "shoulders and chest" of a fly.
Three-way swivel - Three rings on this swivel, usually of a brass color. The hook line is perhaps 2 feet long, attached to one of the three
rings. That keeps it away from the main line and weight. If a current is running and the bait is spinning, the ring turns and the line won't kink
up.
Tide rip - Two currents (and often, water colors) running past each other. Baitfish collect here, and floating debris, and often, gamefish.
Tippet - Monofilament leader material that is the same diameter throughout. Tippet is measured from the very fine (7x) to the very heavy
(0x).
Titanium - A high-tech metal currently being used to make superior spinnerbaits that return to their original shape when flexed.
Tourist trout - Saltwater hardhead catfish.
Trailer - Soft plastic creations that are added to enhance a lure's appearance. Also, trailer hooks are added to lures to catch short striking
fish.
Transom - The thick fiberglass wall of a boat on which the outboard motor is bolted.
Trolling motor - Electric motor used to silently move the boat as anglers fish.
Trolling plug - Trolling plugs have stout hooks and a big lip for deep diving.
Truncate caudal - Said of the margin of the caudal fin when it is squared off as in some catfish.
Trunk myomeres of lampreys - The number of body segments between the last gill opening and the cloacal slit.
Tube lures - Soft plastic lures that are hollow inside the body. The end of the lure is like a soft skirt with tentacles. Used on light lead head
jigs and with a slip sinker.
Turnover - A term to describe a fly line's transition from a loop to full extension as it is cast.
Twist-on - A brand of lead weight that comes in strips like a matchbook.
U
Undulating - To move in waves. Referring to the movement of a female fish's tail in a waving motion used to move gravel for the construction
of a redd.
Upriver Bright stock (URB) - A stock of fall chinook destined for the Columbia River and several tributaries upstream from The Dalles Dam.
These fish enter the Columbia from early August with the peak of the run at Bonneville Dam in early September.
Upwelling - The movement of nutrient rich waters from the bottom of the ocean to the surface.
Usable Stock - The number or weight of all fish in a stock that lie within the range of sizes customarily considered usable (or designated so
by law). Also called; *standing crop.
Utility boxes - The clear plastic tackle boxes that have become popular recently. Example; Plano Stowaways.
Utilized Stock, Utilized Population - The part, by number, of the fish alive at a given time, which will be caught in future.
V
Vegetation - Fishermen refer to any underwater plant as vegetation or "grass."
Ventral fins - See pelvic fins.
Vermiculations - Irregular lines or impressions like worm tracks.
Vest - A fishing vest with extra pockets for all the gear that a fly fisherman needs.
Virtual Population - Utilized stock.
Virtual population analysis (or cohort analysis) - An analysis of the catches from a given year class over its life in the fishery. If 10 fish from
the 1968 year class were caught each year for 10 successive years from 1970 to 1979 (age 2 to age 11), then 100 fish would have been
caught from the 1968 year class during its life in the fishery. Since 10 fish were caught during 1979, then 10 fish must have been alive at
the beginning of that year. At the beginning of 1978, there must have been at least 20 fish alive because 10 were caught in 1978 and 10
more were caught in 1979. By working backward year by year, one can be virtually certain that at least 100 fish were alive at the beginning
of 1970. A virtual population analysis goes a step further and calculates the number of fish that must have been alive if some fish also died
from causes other than fishing.
Vise - A devise used to clamp down a hook while tying a fly to it.
Vomer - The most anterior bone of the roof of the mouth; may bear teeth.
W
Wacky worm - Rigging method for straight body worm, where the hook goes through the middle of the worm and is left exposed. Looks
stupid but works well on spawning fish.
Wade belt - A wide plastic belt with various items attached, like a PVC rod holder, needlenose pliers in sheath, and a stringer attachment.
Wade fish - To wade through the water after fish.
Walk the dog - Retrieve method used for fishing topwater lures. Accomplished by twitching the rod tip downward several times. Used mostly
with spook lures.
Warmwater fish - A broad classification on non-salmonid fish that generally have at least one spiny ray, have pelvic and pectoral fins located
behind the gills, and are usually suited for water that consistently exceeds 70 degrees F.
Watermelon - Refers to a hook with a large opening or gap between the shank and point. This enables the angler to hook a bigger
percentage of fish.
Weak stock - "Listed in the Integrated System Plan's list of stocks of high or highest concern; listed in the American Fisheries Society report
as at high or moderate risk of extinction; or stocks the National Marine Fisheries Service has listed. ""Weak stock"" is an evolving concept;
the Council does not purport to establish a fixed definition. Nor does the Council imply that any particular change in management is required
because of this definition."
Weedguard - A stiff plastic or metal wire that protects the jig or lure from becoming snagged.
Weedline - In salt water, normally made up of floating yellow sargassum weed, created when two offshore currents flow together. A solid
weedline is a unique environment, inhabited with all sorts of small of juvenile fish and the predators that feed on them.
Weight forward fly line - A fly line with the thickest diameter in the first 20 or 30 feet of the line to give it weight for casting.
Weir (fish trap) - Usually a barrier constructed to catch upstream migrating adult fish.
Wide-gap hook - Refers to a hook with a large opening or gap between the shank and point.
Wild populations - Fish that have maintained successful natural reproduction with little or no supplementation from hatcheries.
Wild stock - A stock that is sustained by natural spawning and rearing in the natural habitat, regardless of parentage (includes native).
Willowleaf - A blade design used on spinnerbaits that resembles a half moon.
Wing case - The structure on an aquatic insect or artificial nymph that holds the undeveloped wings on the back of the immature insect.
Wire leader - Any of several kinds of leader with steel content.
Wreck fishing - Fishing over sunken shipwrecks, usually for bottomfish but not always. Coastal pelagic fish often school above the wrecks at
mid-depth or even at the surface.
X
Y
Year class (or cohort) - Fish in a stock born in the same year. For example, the 1987 year class of cod includes all cod born in 1987, which
would be age 1 in 1988. Occasionally, a stock produces a very small or very large year class which can be pivotal in determining stock
abundance in later years.
Yearling - A one year old fish.
Yield-per-recruit -- The expected lifetime yield-per-fish of a specific age (e.g., per age 2 individual). For a given exploitation pattern, rate of
growth, and natural mortality, an expected equilibrium value of Y/R can be calculated for each level of F.
Yolk - The food part of an egg.
Z
Zebra mussel - An exotic mussel that has infested U.S. water and threatens our fisheries. Looks like zebra stripe little clams, and they attach
to boats, trailers, docks, etc. Use care when boating in areas with this creature. Inspect your boat and trailer prior to launching in another
body of water.
Zipper worm - New style of plastic worm that features a flat body with ridges that look similar to a zipper on clothing. Very popular on the west
coast.
Zooplankton - Small aquatic animals that are suspended or swimming in water.
Glossary of Fishing Terms 3
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