Outline of fishing

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to fishing:

Fishing – activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping.

Essence of fishing

* Fishing – trying to catch fish.
* Fishing industry – any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products.
* Fishing techniques – methods for catching fish, or methods for catching other aquatic animals such as molluscs (shellfish, squid, octopus) and edible marine invertebrates.
* Fishing tackle – the equipment used by fishermen when fishing.
* Fishing vessel – a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river.
* Fisherman or fisher – someone (male or female) who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish, including recreational fishermen. Fishing has existed as a means of obtaining food since the Mesolithic period. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishermen and fish farmers.
* Recreational fishing or sport fishing – fishing for pleasure or competition.
* Environmental impact of fishing –

Fishing tackle

Fish hooks

* Fish hook – a device for catching fish either by impaling them in the mouth or, more rarely, by snagging the body of the fish.
* Circle hook – a type of fish hook which is sharply curved back in a circular shape.
* Hookset – a motion made with a fishing rod in order to "set" a fish hook into the mouth of a fish once it has bitten a fishing lure or bait.
* Fishing gaff – a pole with a sharp hook on the end that is used to stab a large fish and then lift the fish into the boat or onto shore.
* Sniggle – a type of fish hook used for catching eels, using the method of sniggling.

Fishing line

* Fishing line – a cord used or made for angling.
* Monofilament – fishing line made from a single fiber of plastic.
* Multifilament or ''The Super Lines'' – a type of fishing line.
* Braided – one of the earliest types of fishing line and, in its modern incarnations, is still very popular in some situations because of its high knot strength, lack of stretch, and great overall power in relation to its diameter.
* Power pro – a type of fishing line made out of a material called Spectra fibers.
* Swivel – a small device consisting of two rings connected to a pivoting joint.

Fishing sinker

* Fishing sinker or knoch – a weight used in conjunction with a fishing lure or hook to increase its rate of sink, anchoring ability, and/or casting distance.
* Sandsinker – lead-free fishing sinkers made of fabric and filled with sand.
* Downrigger – Aa device used while fishing using the trolling method, which places a lure at the desired depth.
* Bombarda – a type of weighted float used in rod and reel fishing.
* Arlesey Bomb – an angling weight developed by Richard Walker at the lake in Arlesey.

Fishing rod

* Fishing rod or fishing pole – a tool used to catch fish, usually in conjunction with the pastime of angling, and can also be used in competition casting.
* Fishing reel – a device attached to a fishing rode used to wind the line up.
* Bamboo fly rod, split cane rod, or cane – a fly fishing rod that is made from bamboo.
* Fly rod building – constructing a fly fishing rod to match the performance desires of the individual angler.
* Fishing rod tapers – how much a fishing rod bends or flexes under pressure.

Fishing bait

* Fishing bait – any substance used to attract and catch fish.
* Bait fish – fish caught for use as bait to attract large predatory fish, particularly game fish.
* Groundbait – used in coarse fishing in order to attract fish to the fishing area.
* Chum – luring animals, usually fish or sharks, by throwing "chum" into the water.
* Clonk – a fishing tool used for catfish fishing, mainly in Europe.
* Worm compost – the product or process of composting utilizing various species of worms, usually red wigglers, white worms, and earthworms to create a heterogeneous mixture of decomposing vegetable or food waste, bedding materials, and vermicast.
* Worm charming, worm grunting, or worm fiddling – attracting earthworms from the ground.
* Boilies

Soft plastic bait

* Plastic bait – Soft plastic bait, commonly known as just plastic bait, is any of a range of plastic-based fishing baits, termed so because of their soft, flexible rubber texture.
* Soft plastic bait – Soft plastic bait, commonly known as just plastic bait, is any of a range of plastic-based fishing baits, termed so because of their soft, flexible rubber texture.
* Plastic worm – A plastic worm is a plastic fishing lure, generally made to simulate an earthworm.
* Deadsticking – While fishing, generally for black bass, deadsticking is the act of presenting a soft plastic lure either by casting or a vertical drop and allowing the bait to remain motionless for an extended period time before retrieval.
* Texas rig – The Texas rig is a technique used for fishing with soft plastic lures.
* Carolina rig – The Carolina rig is a plastic bait rig similar to the Texas rig, but with the weight fixed above the hook, instead of sliding down to it.

Fishing lures

Fishing lure – type of artificial fishing bait which is designed to attract a fish's attention. The lure uses movement, vibration, flash and color to bait fish.
* Artificial fly – An artificial fly or fly lure is a type of fishing lure, usually used in the sport of fly fishing.
* Fishing plug – Plugs are a popular type of hard-bodied fishing lure.
* Swimbait – Swimbaits are a loosely defined class of fishing lures that imitate fish and tend to be distinct in design from a typical crankbait.
* Hair rig – The hair rig is piece of fishing tackle which allows a bait to be presented without sitting directly on the hook.
* Little Cleo – The Little Cleo is a small spoon lure made by the Acme Tackle Company which comes in nine sizes from ¹⁄₁₆ oz to 1 ¹⁄₄ oz, and in many different color combinations.
* Mormyshka – Mormyshka is a sort of fishing lure or a jig.
* Original floater – The Original Floater is a wobbler type of fishing lure, manufactured by Rapala.
* Spinnerbait – A Spinnerbait refers to any one of a family of fishing lures that get their name from one or more metal blades shaped so as to spin like a propeller when the lure is in motion, creating varying degrees of flash and vibration that mimics small fish or other prey.
* Spin fishing – Spin fishing is an angling technique where a spinning lure is used to entice the fish to bite.
* Sabiki – A sabiki rig, sometimes called a piscatore rig, is a set of small lures typically used to catch fish that eat small prey.
* Jig fishing – Jigging is the practice of fishing with a jig, a type of fishing lure.
* Spoon lure – A spoon lure, in sport fishing, is an oblong, concave lure, usually of metal or shell, shaped like the bowl of a spoon.
* Spoonplug – A spoonplug is a form of fishing lure.
* Surface lure – A surface lure is a fishing lure designed to waddle, pop, lock, drop, pulse, twitch or fizz across the surface of the water as it is retrieved, and in doing so imitate surface prey for fish such as mice, lizards, frogs, cicadas, moths and small injured fish.
* Topwater lure – A Topwater fishing lure is a type of fishing lure, usually floating, that may be moved about the surface of water in order to attract and cause fish to attempt to strike the lure.
* Heddon – Heddon is a brand of artificial fishing lures created by James Heddon, who is credited with the invention of the first artificial fishing lures made of wood in the late 1890s.
* Zara Spook – Zara Spook 9260 is a topwater type fishing lure.

Bite indicators

Bite indicators –
* Fishing float – A float, also called a bobber, is a device used in angling that serves two main purposes: it can suspend the bait at a predetermined depth, and it can serve as a bite indicator.
* Shortfloating – Shortfloating is an angling method developed to increase the chances of catching a willing fish while decreasing the loss of terminal gear.
* Pellet waggler – A pellet waggler is a small, dumpy, float used for fishing.
* Quiver tip – A quiver tip is the top section, or tip, of the fishing rod which is designed to move, or quiver, when a fish bites.

Apparel etc.

* Hip boot – Hip boots, or waders as they are colloquially called, are a type of boot initially designed to be worn by river fishermen.
* Waders – Waders refers to a waterproof boot extending from the foot to the chest, traditionally made from vulcanised rubber, but available in more modern PVC, neoprene and Gore-Tex variants.
* Diving mask – A diving mask is an item of diving equipment that allows scuba divers, free-divers, and snorkelers to see clearly underwater.
* Creel – Creel is a type of small wicker basket mainly used by anglers to hold fish or other prey.
* Personal flotation device – A personal flotation device is a device designed to assist a wearer, either conscious or unconscious, to keep afloat.
* Wetsuit – A wetsuit is a garment, usually made of foamed neoprene, which is worn by surfers, divers, windsurfers, canoeists, and others engaged in water sports, providing thermal insulation, abrasion resistance and buoyancy.

Fishing techniques

* Gathering seafood by hand – Gathering seafood by hand can be as easy as picking shellfish or kelp up off the beach, or doing some digging for clams or crabs, or perhaps diving under the water for abalone or lobsters.
* Angling – Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle".
* Handline fishing
* Fishing net – A fishing net or fishnet is a net used for fishing.
* Fish trap – A fish trap is a trap used for fishing.
* spears – Spearfishing is an ancient method of fishing that has been used throughout the world for millennia.
* Trawling – Trawling is a method of fishing that involves pulling a fishing net through the water behind one or more boats.
* Other – A fishfinder is an instrument used to locate fish underwater by detecting reflected pulses of sound energy, as in SONAR.

Gathering

* Gathering seafood by hand – Gathering seafood by hand can be as easy as picking shellfish or kelp up off the beach, or doing some digging for clams or crabs, or perhaps diving under the water for abalone or lobsters.
* Clam digging – Clam digging is a common means of harvesting clams from below the surface of the tidal mud flats where they live.
* Pearl diving – Pearl hunting or pearl diving refers to an obsolete method of retrieving pearls from pearl oysters, freshwater pearl mussels and, on rare occasions, other nacre-producing molluscs, such as abalone.
* Ama divers – Japanese divers, famous for collecting pearls.
* Scallops – Scallop aquaculture is the commercial activity of cultivating scallops until they reach a marketable size and can be sold as a consumer product.
* Noodling – Noodling is fishing for catfish using only bare hands, practiced primarily in the southern United States.
* Trout tickling – Trout tickling is the art of rubbing the underbelly of a trout using fingers. If done properly, the trout will go into a trance-like state after a minute or so, and can then easily be thrown onto the nearest bit of dry land.
* Trout binning – Trout binning is a method of fishing, possibly fictional, described in the English periodical "The Mirror of Literature, Amusement, and Instruction".
* Flounder tramping – Flounder tramping is a traditional method of catching flounder or other flat fish by wading in shallow water and standing on them.

Spears

* Spearfishing – Spearfishing is an ancient method of fishing that has been used throughout the world for millennia.
* Speargun – A speargun is an underwater fishing implement designed to fire a spear at fish.
* Polespear – A polespear is an underwater tool used in spearfishing, consisting of a pole, a spear tip, and a rubber loop.
* Bowfishing – Bowfishing is a method of fishing that uses specialized archery equipment to shoot and retrieve fish.
* Harpoon – A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument used in fishing to catch fish or large marine mammals such as whales.
* Gigging – Gigging is the practice of hunting fish or small game with a gig or similar multi-pronged spear.
* Trident – A trident, also called a trishula or leister or gig, is a three-pronged spear.
* Hawaiian sling – The Hawaiian sling is a device used in spearfishing.

Lines

* Handline fishing – Handline fishing, or handlining, is fishing with a single fishing line which is held in the hands.
* Longline fishing – Longline fishing is a commercial fishing technique.European Union
Identifying Maltese fishing grounds
/ref>
* Trolling – method of fishing where one or more fishing lines, baited with lures or bait fish, are drawn through the water.
* Dropline – A dropline is a commercial fishing device, consisting of a long fishing line set vertically down into the water, with a series of fishing hooks attached to snoods.
* Trotline – A trotline is a heavy fishing line with baited hooks attached at intervals by means of branch lines called snoods.
* Jigging – Jigging is the practice of fishing with a jig, a type of fishing lure.
* Jiggerpole – A jiggerpole is a very long fishing pole that is used with a very short and very heavy line, usually a foot or less of 50 lbf test or heavier.

Nets

* Fishing net – A fishing net or fishnet is a net used for fishing.
* Cast net – A cast net, also called a throw net, is a net used for fishing.
* Chinese fishing net – The Chinese fishing nets are fishing nets that are fixed land installations for an unusual form of fishing — shore operated lift nets.
* Drift net – Drift netting is a fishing technique where nets, called drift nets, are allowed to float freely at the surface of a sea or lake.
* Ghost nets –
* Gill net – Gillnetting is a common fishing method used by commercial and artisanal fishermen of all the oceans and in some freshwater and estuary areas.
* Glass floats
* Hand net – A hand net, also called a scoop net, is a net or mesh basket held open by a hoop.
* Lampara net