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Braid
A thin, very strong fishing line with almost no stretch — it casts far and lets you feel the lightest bite.
Monofilament (mono)
Cheap, slightly stretchy nylon line. Forgiving and a good choice while you're learning.
Fluorocarbon (fluoro)
A nearly-invisible, abrasion-resistant line, usually used as a leader near the hook.
Leader
A length of stronger or less-visible line tied between your main line and the hook or lure.
Wire trace
A short steel leader so toothy fish (mackerel, wahoo, barracuda) can't bite through your line.
Drag
The reel's adjustable brake — it lets a big fish pull line so it doesn't snap.
Assist hook
A short hook tied to the top of a jig with cord; the standard hook setup for jigging.
Single hook
One-point hook — holds better and is kinder for releasing fish than a treble.
Spinning
Casting a lure out and reeling it back with a spinning reel — the most common all-round method.
Jigging
Dropping a metal 'jig' down deep and working it up and down to imitate a dying baitfish.
Slow-pitch jigging
A finesse style of jigging with a fluttering jig — deadly for reef fish like grouper and dentex.
Popping
Casting a floating 'popper' and ripping it so it splashes on the surface to trigger savage strikes.
Trolling
Towing lures or baits behind a slowly moving boat to cover water and find fish.
Bottom fishing
Fishing a bait on or near the seabed, usually held down with a weight.
Float fishing
Suspending a bait under a float (bobber) so you can see the bite and control the depth.
Surfcasting
Casting from the beach far out into the surf with a long rod.
Fly fishing
Casting an almost weightless 'fly' using a special heavy line — great on the flats.
Egi
A shrimp-shaped jig used to catch squid and cuttlefish.
Sabiki
A string of tiny feathered hooks for quickly catching small baitfish.
Live bait
A live small fish or shrimp on the hook — hard to beat for predators.
Cut bait
Chunks or strips of dead fish used as bait.
Berley (groundbait)
Bits of bait scattered in the water to draw fish to you and get them feeding.
Running ledger / paternoster
Bottom rigs: a running ledger lets line slide through the weight so the fish feels no resistance; a paternoster holds hooks off the bottom.
Stickbait
A surface lure you work side-to-side ('walking the dog') to draw fish up.
Soft plastic
A soft rubber lure, usually rigged on a weighted jig head.
Spoon
A curved metal lure that wobbles and flashes like a fleeing baitfish.
Tide
The daily rise and fall of the sea. Fish usually feed best while the tide is moving.
Spring tide
The biggest tides, around the new and full moon — strong currents and lots of water movement.
Neap tide
The smallest tides, around the half moon — gentler currents.
Slack water
The short still period at the turn of the tide when the water barely moves.
Solunar
A score for how active fish should be, based on the timing of the sun and moon.
Knot (kn)
A unit of wind or boat speed. 1 knot ≈ 1.85 km/h.
Swell / wave height
How big the waves are. Smaller is safer and usually fishes better.
Barotrauma
Pressure damage to a deep fish brought up too fast (bulging eyes/stomach). It may need to be sent back down with a descending device.
Catch and release
Carefully returning a fish alive to the water — wet hands, support it, minimise air time.
Bag / size limit
The legal rules on how many fish, or what size, you're allowed to keep.
Ciguatera
A toxin found in some large reef fish that cooking can't remove — know which species to avoid eating.