A

• Acidity - The degree of sourness of a usually water soluble substance. Acidity is measured in pH, with 7 being neutral and 2 being a strong acid.
• Action - Measure of rod performance that describes the elapse time between flexion and return to straight configuration, ranges from slow to fast, with slow being the most amount of flexion. Also refers to the strength of the rod (light, meduim and heavy) with light being a limber rod and a heavy stout rod. The movement of a lure due to its built-in properties.
• Active Fish - Fish that are feeding heavily and striking aggressively.
• Adipose Fin - On some species the fatty fin located between the dorsal and tail fin.
• Air Bladder - A tough walled gas filled sac in the upper part of the body cavity of many bony fishes just beneath the vertebral column; its principal function is to offset the weight of heavier tissue such as bone. In some fishes used for sound production or respiration.
• Alewife - A food fish belonging to the herring family.
• Algae - Simple plant organisms.
• Alkalinity - Measure of the amount of acid neutralizing bases.
• Alley - An opening between patches of emergent weeds; also the parallel space separating emergent weeds and the shoreline.
• Ambloplites rupestris - Latin name for Rock Bass
• Amp - Amperes - Measure of electrical current.
• Amp Hour - Storage capacity measurement of a deep-cycle batter obtained by multiplying the current flow in amps by the hours that it's produced.
• Anadromous - Fish that ascend rivers to spawn
• Anal Fin - The median, unpaired, ventrally located fin that lies behind the anus, usually on the posterior half of the fish.
• Angler - Person using pole or rod and reel to catch fish.
• Angling - Usually refers to the recreational catching of fish by means of hook and line; sport fishing; game fishing.
• Annelids - Members of the phylum Annelida, a group of worm-like invertebrates whose bodies consist of a series of rings or segments (e.g., earthworms, leeches).
• Anti-reverse - System that prevents reels from spinning in reverse.
• Artificial Baits - Lures or flies made of wood, plastic, metal, feathers, or similar inert material.

B

• Backlash - A tangle of line caused by spool overrun on a baitcasting reel. Also referred to as Professional Overrun or Spaghette.
• Backwater - Shallow area off a river.
• Bag Limit - Restriction in the number of fish that an angler may retain, generally on a per trip or daily basis.
• Bail - Metal, semi-circular arm on an open-face spinning reel that engages the line after a cast.
• Baitcasting - Fishing with a revolving-spool reel and baitcasting rod; reel mounted on topside of rod.
• Baitfish - Small fish often eaten by predators.
• Bar - Long ridge in a body of water.
• Basic Needs - Refers to the three survival requirements of fish: reproduction, security, and food.
• Bay - Major indentation in the shoreline of a lake or reservoir.
• Benthic - Occurring at or near the bottom of a body of water.
• Biology - The study of living things.
• Biomass - The aggregate amount of living matter or a specific species within a specific habitat. The total number of a specific species in a specific habitat.
• Black Bass - Term used to describe several types of bass; the most common being smallmouth, largemouth, and spotted bass.
• Blank - The main component of a finished fishing rod, minus the guides and handle.
• Blue Bird Skies - A term used to describe bright, sunny, blue sky conditions that often makes fishing tougher.
• Brackish - Water of intermediate salinity between seawater and freshwater.
• Break - Distinct variation in otherwise constant stretches of cover, structure, or bottom type.
• Breakline - A line of abrupt change in depth, bottom type, or water clarity in the feature of otherwise uniform structure.
• Brushline - The inside or the outside edge of a stretch of brush.
• Bucketmouth - Largemouth Bass - A black bass, body green-shaded with a broad, continuous dark stripe along each side, belly white to yellowish, dorsal fin almost completely separated between spiny and soft portion and lower jaw extends past the gold-colored eye. Also called bigmouth bass, green trout, green bass.
• Bullet Sinker - A cone shaped piece of lead, zinc or steel of varying weights that slides up and down the line.
• Buzzbait - An artificial lure with propeller-style blades that stirs up the water surface upon retrieve; a type of topwater lure.
• Buzzing - Retrieving spinnerbaits or buzzbaits along the surface so they splash water.

C

• C&R - Catch and Release.
• CPR - Catch, Photograph, Release.
• Cabbage - Any of several species of weeds, located above the surface or underwater.
• Caddis - An insect of the order Trichoptera, characterized by swept-back wings; also, an insect that goes through a complete metamophisis much like a butterfly.
• Canal - A man made waterway used for navigation.
• Canoe - A light, long, narrow boat with sharp ends and curved sides propelled by hand-driven paddles.
• Carolina Rig - A deep-water assembly comprised of a heavy slip sinker, plastic bead, barrel swivel, 16-to 18-inch leader, hook, and soft-plastic bait such as a worm, lizard, or crawfish. Rigged weedless with the hook buried in the body of the bait, this combination is excellent for fishing ledges, points, sandbars, and humps.
• Channel - The bed of a stream or river.
• Chugger - Topwater plug with a dished-out (concave or "cupped") head designed to make a splash when pulled sharply.
• Cisco - Any of several whitefishes found primarily in the Great Lakes region.
• Clevis - The swivel device to which a spinner blade is attached and which allows the blade to rotate.
• Cold Front - A weather condition accompanied by high, clear skies, and a sudden drop in temperature.
• Contact Point - The deepest position on structure where a bass angler can first effectively present his lure to bass as they migrate from deep water.
• Coontail - Submerged aquatic plant of the hornwort family typically found in hard water; charactreized by stiff, forked leaves.
• Cosmic Clock - The sun's seasonal effect on water and weather conditions relating to barometric pressure, wind, and cloud cover.
• Cove - An indentation along a shoreline.
• Cover - Natural or manmade objects on the bottom of lakes, rivers, or impoundments, especially those that influence fish behavior. Examples include stick-ups, tree lines, stumps, rocks, logs, pilings, docks, and weed patches.
• Crankbait - A plug with a lip that causes it to dive. The bigger the lip, the deeper it dives.
• Creek - A natural stream of water usually small in size and often a tributary of a river.
• Creel limit - The number of fish an angler can keep as set by local or state regulations.

D

• DEC - Department of Enviromental Conservation.
• DNR - Department of Natural Resources.
• Depthfinder - A sonar device, either a flasher unit or LCR recorder, used to read the bottom structure, determine depth, and in some cases actually spot the fish; also called a fishfinder.
• Dink - Bass not long enough to meet state fisheries regulations or tournament standards. Typically less than 14 inches.
• Disgorger - Device for removing hooks deeply embedded in the throat of fish.
• Dorsal Fin - A median fin along the back which is supported by rays. There may be two or more dorsal fins, in which case the most anterior one is designated the first.
• Drag - The device on reels that puts pressure on the line as it plays out and prevents the line from breaking.
• Drop-Off - A sudden increase in depth, associated with a flat, point, gulley washes, small creek channels, land points, and the general lay of the land.

E

• EPA - Environmental Protection Agency.
• Ecology - The branch of biology dealing with the relationship between organisms and their environment.
• Emerger - An aquatic insect in the process of rising to the surface to become a flying adult.
• Esox lucius - Latin name for Northern Pike
• Esox masquinongy - Latin name for Muskellunge
• Eutrophic - A classification of geologically "old" bodies of water with weed-choked, oxygen-poor water which can only support fish such as bullheads and carp.
• Eyelets - The eyelets, line guides or rings on a rod through which fishing line is passed.