9781422273166

The Basic Skills for Every Kind of Fishing

Deep Sea Fishing Fishing Careers Fly Fishing Kayak Fishing Preparing and Enjoying the Fish You Catch

Robert Rister

MASON CREST PH I L ADELPH I A | MI AMI

Mason Crest PO Box 221876, Hollywood, FL 33022 (866) MCP-BOOK (toll-free) • www.masoncrest.com

Copyright © 2022 by Mason Crest, an imprint of National Highlights, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping, or any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. Printed in the United States of America First printing 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Series ISBN: 978-1-4222-4492-0 Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4222-4494-4 ebook ISBN: 978-1-4222-7316-6 Cataloging-in-Publication Data on file with the Library of Congress Developed and Produced by National Highlights, Inc. Editor: Jacqueline Havelka - Inform Scientific Cover and Interior Design: Torque Advertising + Design Layout: Priceless Digital Media Publisher’s Note: Websites listed in this book were active at the time of publication. The publisher is not responsible for websites that have changed their address or discontinued operation since the date of publication. The publisher reviews and updates the websites each time the book is reprinted.

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CONTENTS Chapter 1: Get to Know Your Fish. .............................. 7 Chapter 2: Choosing the Right Gear.......................... 21 Chapter 3: How to Catch Your First Fish. ................... 35 Chapter 4: Important Rules for Safe Fishing.............. 49 Chapter 5: Maximizing Your Enjoyment. ................... 59 Series Glossary of Key Terms. .................................. 74 Further Reading & Internet Resources . .................... 76 Index..................................................................... 77 Author’s Biography & Credits................................... 80

K E Y I C O N S T O L O O K F O R : Words to Understand: These words with their easy-to-understand definitions will increase the reader’s understanding of the text while building vocabulary skills. Sidebars: This boxed material within the main text allows readers to build knowledge, gain insights, explore possibilities, and broaden their perspectives by weaving together additional information to provide realistic and holistic perspectives. Educational Videos: Readers can view videos by scanning our QR codes, providing them with additional educational content to supplement the text. Examples include news coverage, moments in history, speeches, iconic sports moments, and much more! Text-Dependent Questions: These questions send the reader back to the text for more careful attention to the evidence presented there. Research Projects: Readers are pointed toward areas of further inquiry connected to each chapter. Suggestions are provided for projects that encourage deeper research and analysis. Series Glossary of Key Terms: This back-of-the-book glossary contains terminology used throughout this series. Words found here increase the reader’s ability to read and comprehend higher-level books and articles in this field.

WORDS TO UNDERSTAND

circadian rhythm: the “body clock”; a 24-hour rhythm that tells organisms when to eat and when to sleep estuaries: parts of a river where the current meets the sea high tide: when water levels are highest; larger fish are able to move into shallower pools low tide: water levels are lowest; smaller fish are more abundant in shallow pools neap tide: a tide in which there is the least difference between high and low tides, occurring during the first and third quarters of the moon phases of the moon: an optical illusion that makes it look like the shape of the moon changes due to fluctuations in the sun’s illumination of the moon’s surface slack tide: a two- to three-hour period after each high and low tide when the ocean and the fish are less active

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Get to Know Your Fish

In many ways, fish are not especially intelligent, but there is one way in which these animals are brilliant: as the ocean’s food detectives. Every species of fish has unique feeding habits that it pursues in favorite habitats at different times of year. Knowing how fish find their food helps you to know where to fish at the right time. Some fish are only found in “big,” open water, while others feed in bays and estuaries . Some fish have to be pursued in a boat, but some can be caught with a hook on a line dropped off the end of a pier. There are fish that approach a baited line from the side, so they can eat it without being hooked. You have to know how to place the bait on the hook so a fish can’t take it without getting caught. Then there are those fish that have a large mouth and can’t be caught with a small hook, and those that have a small

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mouth and will steal the bait off a large hook. Different kinds of fish prefer different kinds of food in different places in the water at different tide levels. To be consistently successful catching fish, you will need to fish for different species at different times of year. To do that, you need to know these five things: • The species of fish you want to catch. • The triggers for that species’ feeding behaviors. • The kinds of live bait or artificial lures that species finds attractive. • How to bait your hook so fish of the desired species will want to bite. • The outside influences that will change the species’ feeding behavior, such as season, time of day, length of day and night, weather conditions, water conditions, and phases of the moon. You can get information frommany sources. Almanacs provide information about tides and phases of the moon. Other anglers can tell you where fish were biting. Fishing clubs, fishing tournaments, public cookouts on the beach, and tackle shops are all good places to learn the knowledge you need to get started. But to use that information, you must know a little more about fish. Understanding Fish Have you ever thought about where fish go when they want to take a nap? It isn’t like they can find a bed, shut their eyes, and pull up the covers. And there are good reasons for that! One important fact keeping fish awake is that other fish on

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CIRCADIAN RHYTHMS IN FISH

Most fish are more active during the day than at night, but there are some species that are nocturnal. Even when fish sleep, they stay alert to potential predators. Fish do not follow a circadian rhythm as strictly as humans do, and are more influenced by food availability, water currents, migration patterns, and whether they are new to their location. the seabed will eat them! Also, it’s a physical impossibility: fish don’t have eyelids. And any cover they find is likely to be tight and scratchy to keep their predators away. But fish do have times they are more active (and you are more likely to catch them) and times they are not (and you won’t catch them). For all but the deepest-feeding deep sea fish, these times can be identified by the tides and phases of the moon. Tides are the up-and-down motions of ocean water caused by the gravitational pulls of the sun and the moon. As tides rise and fall, water flows in and out of estuaries, harbors, and bays, and along the shore. Different locations in inland waters at the same longitude have slightly different high tides and low tides because of the time it takes water to travel through near-shore barriers. The tides change four times a day. There are two high tides, when water levels are highest, and two low tides, when water levels are lowest. High tide occurs approximately six

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hours after low tide. At the end of each high and low tide, there is a period of two to three hours known as “slack tide,” when there is little water movement. Most predator saltwater fish rest during slack tide and do not take bait. However, as we’ll cover later, it is possible to make predator fish interested in bait during slack tide by providing them with an appetizer

During the full moon, higher tides bring bigger fish into shallow waters.

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for their next meal. Chumming and chunking will make them more likely to take your bait. Tides also change throughout the month. The fluctuations in the appearance of the moon that we call “phases” were once used to keep track of the passing days, months, and years. Early calendars were based on the moon. Now the phases of the moon also tell us what to expect from fishing. Moon Phases New moon: When the earth, sun, and moon are almost in a straight line. With the moon between the earth and the sun, we can only see the dark side of the moon. The tides are lower, and many flat fish stay in deeper water. First quarter: About a week after the new moon, we begin to see the waxing crescent moon. The right side of the moon is illuminated and the left side of the moon is dark. A neap tide comes with very little water movement and less feeding activity by fish. A neap tide occurs when the difference between high and low tide is the least, and they happen twice a month when the sun and moon are at right angles to the earth. Full moon : In the middle of the lunar month, we see the full moon. The full moon brings the biggest tides. The largest fish can then swim close to the shore, and the bright sunlight reflected off the moon may increase feeding activity. This is a controversial topic for fishermen; they are split 50/50 on whether a full moon influences fish to feed more. Second quarter: A week after the full moon, we once again see the moon from its side. But now the left side of the moon

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is illuminated and the right side of the moon is dark, which brings another neap tide. A week after the second quarter there is another new moon, starting the cycle all over again. Close to shore, smaller fish are forced into shallow water when tides go out, making it easier for predator fish to find them and making it easier for you to find predator fish. When tides come in, feeding activity is stimulated in the smaller fish. That would be the time for you to fish for those species. Far out on the ocean, both high and low tides reduce pressure on nutrient-rich waters below, causing them to well up to the surface. The slack tide allows nutrients to sink, so

DO TIDES MAKE A DIFFERENCE FOR DEEP SEA FISHING?

Tides do make a difference even when you are fishing far offshore. If your deep sea location has relatively weak ocean currents, tides will be a major factor in how much fish bite, even at a depth of 1,000 feet (300 meters). It’s also important to remember that not all offshore locations are equally deep. Waters off the Gulf and Atlantic coasts of the United States are often relatively shallow.

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Watch the crew from Dude Perfect wrangle in different kinds of fish to score points in a deep sea fishing competition.

you will need to look for fish at deeper levels when the ocean is between tides and still. Fish Sense Tides and phases of the moon tell us when and where fish find their food, but it also helps to know how fish find their food. That requires an understanding of the fish’s senses. Fish can hear through internal “ears.” Their fluid-filled canals lined with sensory hairs are similar to human ear canals, and their lateral line is also sensitive to low-frequency sound. (Lateral lines are a form of eyes, ears, and touch interpretation combined into one organ.) They can hear other fish swimming. Predator fish can hear the distress of smaller catchable fish. As you will learn in the next chapter, noise-

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Breaching Great White Shark. Shark attacks the bait. Scientific name: Carcharodon carcharias. South Africa.

making artificial lures allow you to make noise in the water to get the attention of the larger predator fish. Fish have a keen sense of smell. Fishermen often release food particles called “chum” near their boats to encourage fish to strike. Natural bait attracts fish with its aroma, but any artificial scent transferred from your hands to the bait will alert the fish to your presence. Cologne, perfume, and aftershave need to be avoided before you go out on the boat. Fish are extremely nearsighted. They can only see clearly about 2 1/2 feet (60 cm) ahead. However, they can detect movement, and the motion of your bait or lure will get their attention. Fish usually can’t see color, but they can distinguish between darker and lighter shades of gray.

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