Glossary Of COARSE FISHING

Here is a glossary on some of the most common coarse fishing terms

ROD LICENCE
Any angler aged 16 years or over fishing for salmon, trout, freshwater fish or eels in England (except the River Tweed) Wales or the Border Esk and its tributaries in Scotland must have an Environment Agency rod licence. You can buy your licence at Post Offices, by telephone or online and they are either a 12 month, 8 day or 1 day licence.

ROD
Rods are fitted with rings or guides through which the line passes, and float rods usually come in three sections mostly 13 ft fully assembled, ideal for casting and controlling the rig and hooked fish. On the handle an attachment retains the fishing reel – a line storage and winding device. It is important when assembling a rod that you line all the guides up so the reel line can pass freely without friction.

REEL
Most reels are open faced which means the spool of line is uncovered, the line being retained on the spool by a bail arm. The bail arm has to be opened to cast but closed to fish, and wind in. With the bail arm closed line can still be released from the spool by use of the drag or backwind system. The reel needs to be loaded with at least 100 metres of a suitable line for float fishing, I recommend 6 lb breaking strain monofilament. You must ensure that the spool is filled to within an eighth of an inch of the rim. Too little line and you will find casting difficult, too much line and it will spill off and tangle.

LINE
The line needs winding onto the reel filling the spool to about an eighth of an inch from the rim so you will need some backing line, use some wool and wind this on to the spool tightly. This isn't perfect but will suffice. Fill the spool with wool, leaving enough room for the line.
In order to minimize line twist during the loading of the line, looking down at your reel, turn the handle as if you are retrieving the line and note the direction that the bail rotates around the spool. Most fixed spool reels rotate in a clockwise direction. Now lay your spool of line on the floor and look at which way the line will come off it (clockwise or anti clockwise). If its clockwise fine if not turn the spool over.

POLE
A fishing pole is a simple yet effective method of starting out in that it involves no reel. Poles vary in size from around 3m up to a whopping great 20m. Poles are either ‘telescopic’ or in separate sections with ‘put over’ joints which are put together to extend the pole to the desired length. Most are made of carbon fibre making them lightweight and easy to handle even in blustery conditions.
The line is attached to the tip of the pole which has a length of elastic running through its top section which provides resistance to the fish when it takes the bait. 

HOOKS
These hold the bait and are used to “hook“ the fish. Modern hooks are designed to do minimum harm to fish but are very sharp, therefore care must be taken when handling them to avoid being pricked. Barbless hooks are safer and should always be used. To make them easier to use the hooks are tied to short lengths of  fine line. Be careful when unwinding the line to avoid knots.
Get a selection of hooks to cover the different techniques you are going to try. Get barbless hooks so you will be able to get the hook out with a disgorger without injuring the fish if you are late striking after a bite.

SHOT
Shotting pattern is merely the order in which you attach the weights (split shot or styls) on to your line to cock your float and help the bait fall through  the water.

There are three main types of shotting pattern – and each is designed to do a different job. 

Bulk: This is where the main bulk of split shot are grouped tightly together. Its main uses are to make a waggler float sit upright in the water, or to ‘bomb’ the bait quickly down through the water in deep swims where the target fish are close to the bottom, or where smaller ‘nuisance’ fish like fingerling bleak, roach or rudd will take a slow-sinking  bait before it gets down to larger, target fish.
Strung-Out (also known as ‘shirt button’): This pattern can be used on wagglers, stick floats or pole rigs. The shot are spaced equally apart – like the buttons on a shirt – to help sink the bait at a slower,  controlled rate.
Dropper: Droppers are smaller, lighter shot positioned at intervals below the bulk shot. They sink the hookbait slowly once the heavier bulk shot has settled. Dropper shot on stillwater waggler and pole rigs are normally legal lead size 8, 9 or 10 ‘micro’ shot.