Fishing – A Beginners Glossary Part 1

The basic concept of fishing is fairly basic and self explanatory. Fishing is the act of catching fish. Or my particular favourite dictionary definition for fishing is, "the diversion of catching fish!" I am not sure whether they mean a diversion for the angler from their regular day to day life or the act of diverting the fish onto the hook or into a net!

As with any transaction there are usually two parties involved. In this case we have the fisherman or fisherwoman as the "fish-er" and the fish, would logically, to me at least, be the "fish-ee".

What about some of the terms we hear regarding fishing though? To the uninitiated it can sound like a load of old trout!

Ok here is a really easy one to kick off with:

1. Fish type/species followed by the word "fishing"- For example, carp, bass or trout and the word fishing, e.g. carp fishing. This really is as simple as it sounds. Fishing for a particular species of fish which in this case is carp.

2. Fishing Tackle – This is not some illegal challenge in football or soccer but in fact the equipment that is used for fishing. There is a large variety of fishing tackle available and much of it can be specialised, e.g. carp fishing tackle. Yes you guessed it, the fishing tackle used to try and catch carp.

3. Coarse Fishing – This is not fishing on a golf course (notice the subtle spelling difference) or any kind of course for that matter. It is in fact the name given to fishing (usually in the United Kingdom) for freshwater fish that are not considered game fish which are trout, salmon and char. Once again, carp is a common target for coarse fishers.

4. Fly Fishing – Fishing whilst flying would be really difficult and probably very dangerous, so that's not what this is. Fly fishing is actually fishing with a very special kind of bait, an artificial fly. Yes a fake fly! The fishers use all kinds of fake fly, different sizes, different colours and the aim is to lure the fish with this unique bait.

5. Fishing Bait - Theoretically you could fish without much of the modern fishing tackle as I am sure they did in ages past, with just a sharp spear and an even sharper aim! However, whoever first came up with the idea of luring the fish with some kind of bait was clearly a genius. Fishing is now much easier than it ever was, with all kinds of bait available for all kinds of different fish and different fishing conditions.

This concludes part one of our "Beginners Fishing Glossary". Tune in soon for part 2, when we will have a look at Sea Fishing, Bass Fishing and perhaps even the legend that is J R Hartley.

If this has whetted your appetite for fishing then please feel free to visit the North West Angling Centre, a massive fishing superstore at www.nwac.co.uk stocking huge amounts of fishing tackle including carp fishing tackle.