Angler terminology has been geared for tournament-level anglers with years of experience and often, that will leave some anglers confused about the wording used to describe fishing terms. Breaking this code is easy and knowing a few key words will help anglers read and learn from semi-advanced articles written for the advanced angler. Here's a breakdown of some fishing terminology used in articles about angling today. Many of these terms didn't even exist a few years ago.
Contour Means Slope of the Lake Underwater
The contour of a lake is basically how the lake is designed. Many lakes have lake maps printed for use by anglers and these maps have lines drawn on the map that represent depth changes. On most quality maps, each line represents a drop-off of five feet. The first breakline from the shoreline will be at five feet, the next ten and so on until the maximum depth of the lake is drawn out. The closer the lines are to each other the steeper the drop-off.
Lines close together show the lake has deep water close to shore, lines that are farther apart indicate a shallow shoreline. Contour lines can be important when fish move in to spawn. The fish usually use a deep water access to shallower water and will follow the contour lines to the bank.
Thermocline, Warm and Cold Water Mixing
Thermoclines are most important in the summer months. Basically a thermocline is where the upper layer of warm water mixes with the deeper colder water to create an ideal temperature for the fish. Depth finders or temperature gauges are needed to find the thermocline. With temperature gauges, check the surface temperature and the bottom temperature and find the average temperature between the two readings and that's where most of the fish will be. On depth finders, the thermocline will show up on the graph as a hazy line somewhere between the surface and the bottom, usually there will be an abundance of bait fish right in the thermocline.
Breakline is Where Bass Feed
The breakline is the first drop-off that occurs from the shoreline outward. These areas are important because that is where a majority of feeding happens, especially for bass and panfish. Fish move from deep water until they reach the breakline and then move horizontally along the shoreline seeking food and cover to hide in. Deeper breaklines may be used by the fish during hot weather or when there is a lot of boat traffic. Again, the first breakline will usually be about five feet deep, while the secondary breakline will be ten feet deep.
Cold Fronts Bring Bright Sunny Days
Just hearing the words "cold front" can really discourage anglers. Anglers with any experience at all recognize cold fronts as tough fishing situations. The term actually is a little misleading since many times the air temperature won't change much during a cold front. Cold fronts generally follow a storm or rainy day. The following day will have bright sunlight, little or no cloud cover and a rising barometer. All of these weather factors adversely affect fish.
The bright unfiltered sunshine is the main culprit of a cold front. Although many fish can easily see in bright sunshine and are not blinded by the sun as some may suggest, the fish simply cannot find good places to hide and feed. The fish themselves are just too easy for bait fish to see and avoid, so usually the predator fish move into deeper water or very heavy cover where they can more effectively ambush their prey. The rising barometer affects fish as well. The added pressure on the water surface pushes down on the fish's swim bladder making it difficult for the fish to remain in shallow water. Fish tend to feed only in spurts and then retreat to the deep water sanctuary to rest.
Understanding these fishing terms will help readers get the most out of articles about how, where and when to fish.
Johnnie Crain - Having grown up in the Ozark Mountains of Missouri, Johnnie Crain, has had great opportunities to fish massive lakes including, Bull ...
Join the Conversation