Found mostly in the Pacific, lagoons are shallow, protected areas usually ringed by coral reef.

The second, or "worm" phase of an insect's life cycle.

a shoreline tree that has fallen into the water; also known as a "blowdown"

The primary fly tied on the end of a fly line.

In conventional fishing, the very terminal end of your line, where the fish does business. It can be wire where needed for toothy critters, or a mere gossamer thread when fooling wary trout.

Slang term for a lead head jig.

(pronounced "leeding") The act of keeping the rod tip and strike indicator downstream of the drifting nymph.

an edge of a flat or gently sloping bottom that is cut by any channel or other feature so as to create a sharp dropoff

A bloodsucking worm that trout love to eat.

feature on a baitcast reel that lays the line evenly across the spool as line is being retrieved

A mechanism that actuates drag adjustment through a lever on top of the reel, rather than by a rotating a drag star on the handle main shaft (star drag). Lever drags were first introduced on big game reels and have recently been added to lighter application reels.

Legal limit of bass, or other fish. Tournament normally use five-bass limits per angler.

The characteristic of fishing line to have coils in it when it comes off the reel, due to being coiled up while on the spool of the reel. Braided lines have less memory than extruded lines like monofilament.

the portion of a lure where the line is tied onto it

Fly lines are assigned a "weight" number according to how much the front thirty feet of line weighs in grains. Between certain bracketed grain weights, numbers are assigned. If your rod says "6 weight" or "#6" you will need a 6 weight line, or your outfit will not cast properly. This weight assignment does not refer to pound test.

Shad-shaped crankbait that has no visible diving lip. The line attaches to the top of the lure. Example; Rat-L-Trap.

landing a bass by grasping its lower lip between the thumb and fingers and pulling it from the water

Pelagic fish such as the marlins, sailfish and wahoo have a tendency to "light up" with neon, powder blue colors when excited or hooked.

Rocky bottom, sometimes very flat, where sponges and corals can find something solid to grow on. This attracts various bottom fish, such as grouper.

container used to maintain bass or other baitfish or game fish alive, usually by use of an aeration system

Soft plastic lures similar to a salamder. Used for Carolina Rigs, and fishing shallow water in the spring.

Common nickname for depthfinders since they will often display images of fish as they pass over them.

the process of passing through navigation locks and dams on a body of water

Big Barracuda.

Albacore.

As seen in the movie, The Perfect Storm, longliners are commercial fishing boats with a huge spool of heavy monofilament line on their back deck, up to 40 miles long. Used mostly for targeting tuna and swordfish.

Reference to the "U shape" in a fly line as it unrolls at the end of the cast. A narrow "U shape" is referred to as a "tight loop, while a fat "U shape" is referred to as an open loop.

any of several different knots tied with a fixed loop; these knots are often used in lieu of split rings or snaps to give lures more freedom of movement

Big or large-size bass. Also known as Hawg or monster.

Original designer of the buzzbait. Many anglers still refer to all buzzbaits as "Lunker Lures."

Heavy devices designed to knock loose or retrieve snagged fishing lures.