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Auger -- Tool especially made to drill holes in the ice for ice fishing. There are two blades for cutting the ice and spiral plates that move the ice up and out of the hole. There are motorized and hand-powered types.

Bait -- Something you put on your hook to catch fish. This can be live or artificially made of synthetic materials and has a hook or multiple hooks built into it. Click on any image to see full size                Displaying 1 thru 2 of 2 Found.  

Earthworm

Minnow

Bamboo pole -- Rod pole made of a bamboo stick. Most are around 12'-14' long but can be up to 20+ feet long.

Bobber -- a floating device of many sizes and shapes that is attached to the line to hold your bait at a set level in the water. Click on any image to see full size                Displaying 1 thru 1 of 1 Found.  

Bobbers

Bobber fishing -- A type of fishing where you simply drop the line straight down into the water or cast the line and let it sit where it lands until a fish pulls the bobber down. Use a bamboo pole, fiberglass extend-o-pole, or regular pole.

Bottom fishing -- Laying a bait or sinker, with multiple hooks tied above it, right on the bottom floor of the body of water.

Casting -- A motion in which a fishing line is tossed out into the water. This motion starts pointing backward, and with a flip of the arm, tosses the line forward.

Cast fishing -- A type of fishing where the rod has a reel attached. The bait is tossed out on the water, by way of the line attached to the reel, so that you get the bait into the area of water where you want to fish. This also provides a way to mechanically reel line in.

Chugging line -- Used to bounce along the bottom of the river for catching walleye.

Creel -- A basket, generally made of wicker-type material, that is attached to a shoulder strap for carrying, used to put trout in.

Downrigger -- A long arm with a pulley with a large spool for cable line. A lead ball is hung on it to hold the line down at the depth where you are going to fish. There is a depth counter on the setup. The fishing line attaches to a release latch down by the lead ball so that when a fish is caught, the line can be released from the ball so it can be reeled in. Click on any image to see full size                Displaying 1 thru 2 of 2 Found.  

Downriggers

Downrigger

Extend-O-Pole -- Telescoping fiberglass pole that comes in sections so that it can be shortened for storage and extended for use. Click on any image to see full size                Displaying 1 thru 1 of 1 Found.  

Extend-O-Pole

Eyes -- Circles attached to the pole, which lead the line from the reel to the end of the pole. Click on any image to see full size                Displaying 1 thru 2 of 2 Found.  

Eye On End Of Pole

Eye

Fillet -- To cut away the bones from the meat on the sides of a fish.

Fish Fillet -- The meat of the fish after the bones have been cut away.

Fishing -- The act of attempting to catch a fish.

Hook -- A piece of long and skinny curved metal with a sharp burr-pointed tip and a loop on top to attach the fishing line to, used to catch fish. Hooks come in various sizes from very tiny to very large, depending on the type of fish being fished for. Click on any image to see full size                Displaying 1 thru 1 of 1 Found.  

Flat and Treble Hook

Flat hook -- single curved hook.

Treble hook -- three curved hooks attached to one loop.

Treble Hook

Treble Hook

Hybrid fish -- A fish that is a cross between two different fish species that grows fast, but does not reproduce.

Ice fishing -- Fishing when the water is frozen over to a thickness safe enough to walk on. A hole is cut through the ice with an auger and a line is let down through the hole. Sometimes shanties (a hollow room structure with walls and a roof but no floor) are pulled out onto the ice over the hole and used as shelter while fishing.

Ice scoop -- Plastic or metal scoop with holes to keep the ice out of the hole once it is open for ice fishing.

Jig -- A curved or straight hook with a lead ball just below the eye of the hook with a rubber tail attached to it. Many sizes and shapes are available. Click on any image to see full size                Displaying 1 thru 5 of 5 Found.  

Jig Without Tail Attached

Twister Tail to Use with Jig

Jig and Tail

Feather Jigs

Feather Jig Tails

Jigging -- Fishing with a jig set-up. See "How To" section and searching on "jigging" for instructions.

Jug line -- Plastic jug with the lid on and a line tied through the handle. Drop the line with a hook and bait of choice into the water then come back in the morning to see if anything was caught.

Land a fish -- To bring a fish onto the shore, dock, or boat.

Landing net -- A pole with a net on the end of it that is used to land the fish while it is still in the water after it has been hooked on the line. Click on any image to see full size                Displaying 1 thru 1 of 1 Found.  

Old Landing Net

Leader -- Metal wire line with a snap on one end and a swivel on the other. Used for catching fish that have sharp teeth that can cut regular line, such as pike.

Line -- The string-like material wrapped on the reel that holds the bait. Monofilament, braided, lead-core, and steel are some types of line. The type used is dependant on the type of fish you are going after and the equipment being used.

Live bait -- Living bait that has to be placed onto a hook. For example, crickets, minnows and worms are live bait. Click on any image to see full size                Displaying 1 thru 2 of 2 Found.  

Earthworm

Minnow

Lure -- An artificial bait. There are different types of lures for different types of fish. These can be made of many different types of materials. Please see the Lure Museum at this site.

Perch rig -- A setup with a sinker on the end and two snell hooks, one about a foot above the sinker and the other so that the hook hangs just above the knot of the lower snell hook. Click on any image to see full size                Displaying 1 thru 2 of 2 Found.  

Perch Rig

Perch Rig

Pole -- Also known as a rod and has the line attached. Click on any image to see full size                Displaying 1 thru 1 of 1 Found.  

Pole

Reel -- A mechanism attached to a fishing pole, which holds the fishing line. Line is reeled in (pulled in) or cast out (thrown out) from this mechanism. There are different sizes and types of reels. Casting reel -- The open faced spool lies sideways and contains a level wind that goes back and forth across the spool to evenly let out the line. Click on any image to see full size                Displaying 1 thru 1 of 1 Found.  

Casting Reel

Closed Face Reel

Open Faced Reel

Riverbed -- The bottom of the river.

Scaler -- Tool used to remove the scales of certain types of fish when leaving the skin on for cooking.

Set the hook -- To jerk the line for the purpose of securing the hook in a fish's mouth to reel it in without the fishing escaping.

Sinker -- lead weight that takes the line down into the water. Clicking on a picture will give you more details about that type of sinker.

Click on any image to see full size                Displaying 1 thru 6 of 6 Found.  

Split Shot Sinker	Pyramid Sinkers	Bell Sinkers
Barrel Sinkers	Lead Chain Sinker	Bullet Sinkers

Banana sinker -- flattened, banana shaped sinker with a loop on one end which holds the line down in the water. Pencil sinker -- sinker that is shaped like a pencil, with a loop on the end of it. Can be found in several sizes and weights.

Snap -- See Swivel Snap.

Snell hook -- A hook that comes with a looped line already attached so that it is ready to attach to a swivel snap on the end of the line on the reel and pole. This makes changing hooks simple. Click on any image to see full size                Displaying 1 thru 1 of 1 Found.  

Snell Hook

Spud -- Iron rod with a flat chunk of metal welded to the end with a sharpened tip used in ice fishing to break through the ice.

Suspend -- When a lure is made to sink only to a certain depth rather than the bottom. Also when fishing for some types of fish who tend to stay at some level in the water rather than at the bottom.

Swivel -- A metal object made with two round loops and a hollow ball in the middle. The objective is for the mechanism inside the swivel to turn and allow the fish line to keep from twisting.

Swivel snap -- A snap is attached to the swivel that attaches to a sinker, hook, or artificial bait. Click on any image to see full size                Displaying 1 thru 1 of 1 Found.  

Swivel Snap

Trolling -- Letting your line out behind the boat and allowing the movement of the boat to pull the lure along.

Trophy -- Any fish (the size is not important). Whether a fish is a trophy or not is in the mind and heart of the person who catches the fish. Click on any image to see full size                Displaying 1 thru 2 of 2 Found.  

Bekah and bass4

Trophy

Trot line -- Line run across a river, tied to the bank on both sides. Several lines are tied to it and dropped down into the water with bait. Mainly used down south for catfish. Illegal in some states, including Michigan.

Tube jig -- Straight rubber tail with a fringed bottom (looks like a squid) attached to a jig hook.

Twister tail -- Curved rubber tail attached to a jig hook. Pictured above with jigs.

Waders -- Rubber boots that are worn over the clothes for the purpose of standing in the water to fish.

Hip boots -- Come up to the thigh and strap to the belt of regular pants.

Suspender waders -- Come up to the waist with suspenders over the shoulders.

Worms -- There are many different types of worms that can be used for live bait. These include wax worms, spikes, meal worms, red worms, night crawlers and earth worms. Click on any image to see full size                Displaying 1 thru 1 of 1 Found.  

Earthworm