Pinned Glossary?

[pvelyk]

Do you guys think there would be any merit to us creating a pinned Glossary of terms to cut down on what some people see as repeated beginner questions that frustrate a lot of people seeing asked.  I started a list and think it could be similar to this and we all could add to it.  I am sure a lot of people would get a lot out of it.  Especially when they see the terms used in reports.

 

AutoPilot

Device that allows the boat to be driven on set course without human interaction.  Combined with GPS this device can be used to multiple way points.

 

Backer

Fishing line spooled on a reel before the main line.  This line is used to make sure the reel is fully filled with line.  Reason for using backer is main line being used is cost prohibitive or diameter of main line would not allow enough line on the reel to fight a big fish before being spooled.  You see this most often used often with leadcore and copper setups but can be used in many other situation.

 

Blue zone

Location on the water "way out there."  Generally 400+ FOW.

 

Bottom Bouncing

Running your downrigger balls close to the lake floor and occasionally allowing them to very briefly touch bottom.  This actions cause a bottom disturbance that often entices lake trout into a bite.

 

Braid

Fishing line made up braided man made fabrics that produce a strong line that has a smaller diameter of similar strength mono.  Braid line has low stretch and high abrasion risitance.

 

Cheater or Slider

Is a setup that is clipped to the main fishing line attached to a downrigger allowing a second lure to be run off one fishing pole.  The setup consists of a leader where at one end where a snap swivel connects to a spoon and a snap swivel at the other end connects to the main fishing line of the pole on the downrigger.   These can be fixed to a set location using various means or free sliding where theoretically the slid to the outer bow of the fishing line.

 

Chinook Diver

See Divers

 

Chute

The water directly behind the back of the boat, specifically the area behind the motor.

 

Colors

Unit of measure used in Leadcore line.  Each color of nylon sheathing on Leadcore is 10 yards.

 

Copper

Fishing Line made of copper and used instead of wire, mono, braid or leadcore.  Copper is most often used alone as a delivery method and is run flatlined or off of planer boards

 

Cowbells

A device used on a fishing rod or downrigger used to attract fish to a lure or bait pulled behind it.  This device is usually a leader that has several inline spinner types of attractors.  Often used in conjunction with peanuts or spin-n-glos.  Most often used for Lake trout fishing.

 

Dipsy Diver

See Divers

 

Divers – AKA Dipsy Divers, Deeper Divers, Chinook Divers, ect

A device usually in the shape of a round disk that has a small weight attached to about a ¼ of the circumference of the disk.  These devices attach to a rod and attain depth by water pressure forcing it down.  They also can usually be made to move away from the boat to one side or the other by moving the attached weight to a new position on the device. These devices have a release mechanism in them that when a fish bite it allows the pressure of the water to be removed causing the fish to be the only source of drag during the fight.  These are mostly run on wire rods now, but can be run using mono and braid.

 

Dodger

An oval piece of metal or plastic used on a fishing line used to attract a fish to the bait run behind it.  Often this is a fly or squire bait.

 

Down Speed

Speed gathered from a probe connected to a downrigger usually just above the cannonball.  This gives the speed at the depth the bait is being fished.  This is often different than surface speed due to currents.

 

Down Temp

Water temperature from a probe connected to a downrigger usually just above the cannonball. 

 

Downrigger

A downrigger is a device used while fishing using the trolling method, which places a lure at the desired depth. A downrigger consists of a three to six-foot horizontal pole which supports a cannonball (large weight) by a steel cable (generally stainless steel). A clip, also known as a "release" attaches a fishing line to the cannonball weight. The bait or lure is attached to the release.

 

Fence line

The border between the US and Canada

 

Flasher

An oval piece of metal or plastic used on a fishing line used to attract a fish to the bait run behind it. It is meant to spin, opossed to a doger that rocks back and forth.

 

Fleas (Spinney Flea or Water Flea)

Another Invasive creature that has spread out in the Great Lakes and Finger Lakes.  Spiny waterfleas are zooplankton (microscopic animals).  Spiny waterfleas eat small animals (zooplankton), including Daphnia, which are an important food for native fishes. In some lakes, they caused the decline or elimination of some species of native zooplankton. They can clog eyelets of fishing rods and prevent fish from being landed.  Blooms often occur during the summer are a major reason why small pound test and braid line is not used on rods during these blooms as they will collect on any vertical smaller diameter  line and clog eyelets.  

 

Fluorocarbon

Fishing line that is made of polyvinylidene difluoride and looks somewhat similar to Mono.  Its advantages are very low visibility, high abrasion resistance and low stretch.  It’s disadvantages is it is much stiffer than monofilament, lower knot strength, especially if correct knots and techniques are not used. 

 

Fly (Trolling)

Is a lure made of stranded tinsel and threaded with a leader material with hooks attached and has the leader that connected ups to some type of attractor such as a dodger, flasher or spindoctor.

 

FOW

Feet of Water.  Refers to depth of water.

 

GPS /Chart

A device that tells of the boats location based on the use of satellites in space.  This information is often present in the context of a map.  GPS’s often allow the user to mark a location within 4.5 meters so that you can go back to that location.  GPS also give speed of the boat.

 

Inside

Location on the water shallower than most boats are fishing.  Moves with the season.  If most guys are in 150 FOW and you're in 50 FOW then you're fishing the inside water.

 

Junk Lines

A Term used to define the running of copper and/or Lead color lines.

 

Kicker

A small outboard motor attached to the boat that is only used during trolling. 

 

Lamprey

Another invasive species.  This is a eel that attaches to a fish and with its round mouth bores a hole into the host fish and drains it of its bodily fluid often killing the host.  

 

Land speed

The speed of the boat measure against movement of the shore.  This can be different than down speed or surface due to currents or wind.

 

Leadcore

Fishing line made of a strand of copper sheathed in a nylon braid.  It is mostly run as its own delivery device and is flat lined or run of planer board.  It can be run of riggers.

 

Mature

Salmon in 3 or 4 yr class ready to spawn this year. Generally 20+ Lbs

 

Meat Rigs or Bait rig

A trolling lure that is setup to accept either whole or partial bait such as alewife, herring, smelt, ect as part of the lure.

 

Monofilament (Mono)

Monofilament is a single strand line made of a mixture of plastics.  It has high stretch and comes in several shades and colors.

 

Mupped

Mupped is when you take a regular and a mag spoon (usually in the same color pattern) and cheat the mag spoon above the regular.

 

Outrigger

Poles that extend from the side of the boat.  These poles are used to put fishing lines away from the boat similarly to a planer board.

 

Paddles

Attractor device used to bring fish close to the bait trailed behind it via a leader.  Spin Doctor is an example.

 

Peanuts

Slang term used to describe a lure called Wobble Trolls by Yakima Bait company or knock offs of these lures.  They are often run behind cowbells.

 

Planer Board

A flat board used or small boat like device used in trolling that either attaches to your fishing line and carries the bait out to the side and away from the boat. The board releases when a fish hits so you fight the fish, not the board.

 

Program

Trolling plan including lure selection, speed, lake location and depth, bait depth and bait delivery methods such riggers, copper, ect .

 

Release

A device that holds fishing line to a downrigger, planner board, outrigger until tripped which allows it to separate and be free of that device.

 

Rocket Launcher

A device installed on boats used to store multiple fishing rods over the cabin of the boats.  These are often a metal arch that goes from one side of the boat to the other with multiple rod holders.

 

Shaker

See Skipper

 

Skipper

A small fish.  It gets its name from being too small to trip release but causes the road to skip or bounce when they are attached.

 

Spin N Glo

Lure that is made by Yakima Bait Company amongst other similarly named that are round cork style devices with small wings on them.  They vary in size and colors and are often used behind cowbells or as a drift bobber.

 

Spoon

is an oblong, usually concave lure, usually made of metal or a shell, shaped like the bowl of a spoon. The spoon lure is mainly used to attract fish by reflecting light and moving randomly.

 

Spread

The makeup of fishing lines, lures run and method of deployment of those lines you have setup to fish with.

 

Stacking

Running more than one fishing pole off a downrigger.

 

Stick Bait

A long slender bait usually made of plastic of floating wood that emulates a baitfish.  Most stick baits have a bill that allows them to dive when trolled or reeled in and will float at rest.  Examples of this are Rapala, Bomber and Bay Rats.

 

Surface speed

Speed of the boat or lure as measure on the surface of the water by a mechanical device.  This is not land speed as measured by GPS.

 

Speed over Ground

Speed of boat measured by GPS and is the speed of the boat based on ground speed as opposed to speed of boat going over the water which can be different because of waves and currents amongst other things.

 

Surface Temperature

Temperature measured  at the surface of the water.

 

Teenager

Salmon 13-19 Lbs but not sexually mature.  Generally 2 yr old.

 

Thermocline

Is a thin but distinct layer in the lake water  in which temperature changes more rapidly with depth than it does in the layers above or below.

 

Twilly Tip

Replacement for the first rod tip on a rod using steel wire.  The Twilly tip looks like a spring and protects the wire and rod from damage caused by using wire line.

 

VHF

Radio using Very High Frequency waves.  The most common non cellular radio based communications device on The Great lakes.

 

War Trolling

Trolling in area with a high concentration of other boats usually in shallow water.  This often is the case in front of tributaries when the Salmon stage for spawning.

 

Wire

Stainless Steel wire used for trolling diving planer type devices such as Deeper Divers and Dipseys.  Stiffer Rods are used and are often the tips are replaced with Twilly Tips.

Edited July 21, 2015 by pvelyk

[geezer]

great idea.

[KilliansRed]

Looks very helpful, great idea!

Sent from my LGLS740 using Lake Ontario United mobile app

[GeckoGuy]

Can I suggest something?  Bottom bouncing could also refer to a drift/slow troll weight used to walleye fish, so that could cause some confusion.  Also Flashers and flies should be added.

[UNREEL]

Good idea and you got a great start. On first read thru my only suggestion is surface speed could be described also as SOG that GPS's call it.

[pvelyk]

This is just and idea at this point and by no means do I believe at this point it to be a definitive glossary.  I am hoping others will like this idea and it could get pinned here or in in the reports forums as this is where most people see the terms and wonder what they mean.  I also hope this would be a community effort and that by putting a definitions up once we stop the need for it to have to be asked and answered every few months.   Not that walleye discussion here is not valid but I was leaning towards the lake side of salmon and trout fishing side for definitions  Bottom bouncing also has it's own definition for stream fishing and I am not sure if species or location specific terms may best be put into the forum that is the best fit for them. Again I am open to others input to make this useful and better for all who are on the site and leave it up to all to decide what they are willing and want to add, correct or want removed for this list..  I added the flasher and fly definitions.

Edited July 19, 2015 by pvelyk

[pvelyk]

Good idea and you got a great start. On first read thru my only suggestion is surface speed could be described also as SOG that GPS's call it.

Corrected.

[Big Dave]

SOG and Surface speed are not the same.  Surface currents will add or subtract from the  "speed over ground"  

[pvelyk]

If someone gives me a good definition for the two speeds that we all agree on the wording I am happy to change. Again I would love for this to be a community driven glossary that we do once and is easily located for anyone looking for a definition.

Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

[LongLine]

For speed over ground just drop the word "surface" that starts the sentence and start the sentence with "speed."

 

Teenager - Salmon 13-19 Lbs but not sexually mature.  Generally 2 yr old.

 

Mature - Salmon in 3 or 4 yr class ready to spawn this year. Generally 20+ Lbs

 

Inside - Location on the water shallower than most boats are fishing.  Moves with the season.  If most guys are in 150 FOW and you're in 50 FOW then you're fishing the inside water.

 

Blue zone - Location on the water "way out there."  Generally 400+ FOW.

 

FOW - Feet of Water.  Refers to depth of water.

 

Tom B.

(LongLine)

[pvelyk]

For speed over ground just drop the word "surface" that starts the sentence and start the sentence with "speed."

 

Teenager - Salmon 13-19 Lbs but not sexually mature.  Generally 2 yr old.

 

Mature - Salmon in 3 or 4 yr class ready to spawn this year. Generally 20+ Lbs

 

Inside - Location on the water shallower than most boats are fishing.  Moves with the season.  If most guys are in 150 FOW and you're in 50 FOW then you're fishing the inside water.

 

Blue zone - Location on the water "way out there."  Generally 400+ FOW.

 

FOW - Feet of Water.  Refers to depth of water.

 

Tom B.

(LongLine)

Thanks Tom, Edits made and new additions added.