Hawaii Fishing Dictionary

Anchor:
This real heavy thing that keeps your boat from floating away. Be sure to tie the rope to your boat before you throw it in the water.

Bait:
A bait is anything you use to catch fish. It can be a lure or a live minnow or a squirmy wormy, even a piece of ham will work.

Bay:
The calm part of the ocean. Where you catch trout, redfish, flounder and hardheads.

Big Red:
A Big Red is a huge fish that we catch in the ocean and in our secret lake. They are kinda red and gold colored with a black spot on their tail. Those reds are some fighting dudes.

Birdnest:
When you cast with a Baitcaster reel and you don't put your thumb on the line before the lure hits the water, all your line will get tangled and make a huge mess that looks just like a bird's nest. Getting a birdnest is just part of fishing with a Baitcaster, everybody gets them. If your dad gets upset with you for getting a birdnest just aske him if he ever got one...or a thousand. I'll bet his face turns red. My dad's does!

Casting:
To throw your lure or bait out using your rod and reel. Look out behind you - know where your hook is at all times to prevent painful accidents.

Catch and release:
This means when you catch a fish you release it and let it go so other Fisherkids can have fun catching them. Only keep what you're going to eat.

Cork or Bobber:
A cork is this thing that shoots out of the wine bottle before they spray it everywhere when Jeff or Dale or Mark or Terry or Bobby or one of those Nascar drivers wins the championship. A cork is also a thing that you put on your line that floats. Some corks are round, some are long and skinny, some are big and some are real little, some are red, some are yellow and some are even orange and green. When a fish is playing with your bait the cork will just bob up and down. Now, when a fish eats your bait, the cork will go all the way under water and that's when you need to set the hook with a Power Team Pull.

Crankbait:
A crankbait is a lure that catches fish while you are reeling (cranking) it in. Sometimes you crank them slow and sometimes you crank them fast and sometimes you do the stop and go. Try everything to see what the fish like today.

Dip Net:
This is a big net with a long handle. After you hook a fish and you reel him in, you use the net to catch the fish so you dont have to grab them with your hands. Watch out cause some fish have big teeth and bite and some have real sharp fins and all the fish are really slimy.

Down rigger:
A downrigger is this thing that looks like a big fishing reel and it makes your lure or bait go really deep in the water.

Early Bite / Late Bite:
If the fish are hungry early in the morning then it is an early bite and if the fish are more hungry later then it is called a late bite.

Flats:
The shallow part of the bay. Where Dad's boat always gets stuck and he has to get out of the boat into the water and pull us to deeper water. Sometimes, he has to flag down a passing boat to pull us out. Kinda like getting a car stuck in the mud. Flats are not all bad, some great fishing in the flats, just don't get stuck!

Getting Spooled:
When you hook a fish and they don't like it, they get really mad and take all your line and never look back, that's "getting spooled."

Got one, Yeah, baby! Bam! There's one! Here we go! Fish On!:
Things you say when you hook a fish.

Honey Hole:
A secret place where you can go and catch fish all the time.

In the Zone:
Being in the zone is when you're in the right spot and you catch a lot of fish. I mean like on every cast.

Glossary

Jerk bait:
A jerk bait is a lure that floats and when you jerk it, it goes underwater. When you stop jerking it floats back to the top. This drives the fish crazy.

Jerk Their Lips Off:
What you do when you set the hook.

Jig and Pig:
A jig and pig is a weird bug-looking lure that is fished around trees. Its called a jig cause you jig it up and down. The pig is the tail. It doesnt look like a pig, it's called a pig cause it comes from some part of the pig they call pork.

Leader:
A leader is a wire or real strong fishing line that goes on the end of your line. You tie one end to your fishing line and the other end to your lure. This makes sure that fish with sharp teeth or fins won't cut your line.

Live bait:
Live bait is bait that is alive when you put it on your hook, Duh! A bigger fish will then come and eat the bait and then they will get hooked on your line. Live bait is like minnows and perch and croakers and shrimp and grasshoppers and even worms.

Lure:
A lure is a fake baby fish or bug that is not real, it just looks real. Most of them are made out of plastic and wood and they have real sharp hooks. When fish get hungry they like to eat the lures. They think they are real food. They eat them, then they get hooked and you reel them in. Then you eat them! The fish, not the lures!

Making a Run:
This is when you hook a fish and since they don't like it, they will swim away like a wild bull three or four times. Then they will get tired and you reel them in. If it's a big fish, sometimes it's a contest to see who gets tired first. The last one to give up wins...just like in real life.

Pier or Dock:
A place to fish from. A pier is a wood thing like a bridge that goes from the land out across the water and stops before it connects to land on the other end. You can fish from the pier and you can fish under the pier because that is where a lot of fish live. Docks are like piers except you can tie your boat to while you are loading and getting ready to go fishing. Sometimes piers and docks are the same thing. Confused? Don't be. You can call them whichever name you like and nobody will mind. At the lake they have little piers and docks and at the ocean they have huge ones.

Plastic Worm:
A plastic worm is a fake worm that feels more like rubber than plastic. You fish these real slow, pulling your pole up and down waiting for a fish to go tap, tap. Worms come in all kinds of shapes and like in a zillion colors.

Practice plug:
A practice plug is like a lure without hooks. You tie it on your line and it lets you practice casting in your back yard or at the park so when you do go fishing you won't catch a bunch of trees, or your dad or other stuff that is not very good.

School of Fish:
A school of fish is a bunch of fish playing together, kind of like all the kids in your class playing on the playground. But unlike the kids in your playground, all the fish in a school are going the same directions and when one turns, they all follow-like instantly! I don't know how they know whose turn it is to change direction, but they seem to know.

Set the Hook:
When you feel a fish biting your lure you need to jerk your pole real hard, that is what setting the hook is. This hooks the fish real good so he won't come off. My hook set is called The Power Team Pull.

Shake and Bake:
When you hook a big fish and you almost have them in the boat and they make one last jump and shake their head and throw the lure out of their mouth and swim away like a rocket. Well, that's the shake and bake and it will make you feel really sick. The Shake and Bake is almost always the beginning of one of those "the one that got away" stories!

Shoot! Darn! Oh, well! What's Up! Dadgum! Oh, Maaaan! I cant believe it, he's gone!:
Things you say when you lose a fish. Like after a shake and bake.

Smell the Roses:
When a fish comes up and eats your topwater lure, he is smelling the roses. That means that lures must smell like roses and I guess fish must like to eat roses. They probably think the hooks are like the thorns. Jay always says 'Foster throw your lure over there and see if those big boys will come up and smell the roses.' And they usually do.

Stringer:
A piece of little rope that you put your fish on after you catch them so that you can take them home to eat.

The Greatest Fisherman:
The best fisherman there ever was and ever will be is Jesus. I mean he went where they were catching no fish and showed them how to catch so many fish that they couldn't carry them all. He just showed those fisherman that all they needed to have was a little faith.

Tighten the Drag:
When you tighten the drag on your reel it makes the line harder for the fish to pull out and makes them get tired faster. But you have to be careful not to make it too tight or the fish can pull so hard your line breaks.

Topwater Lure:
A topwater lure floats on top of the water. You can pop em, jerk em, buzz em and even swim em. Topwaters are awesome.

Trailer Hook:
When you are fishing with a spinnerbait or a buzzbait and you keep missing the fish, you need to put on a trailer hook. A trailer hook is a hook that you put on the hook that is on your lure and now you have two hooks to catch the fish instead of one. Sometimes, you can catch two fish at a time instead of only one.

Trolling:
Trolling is what you do when you have a bunch of kids in the boat who want to fish. You put your lures in the water and then the boat goes real slow and you just hold onto your rod until a fish eats your lure, then you reel em in. Trolling is great cause what kids really like is catching fish, casting and reeling, that's a lot of work. This way you just hold your pole and when you have a fish you bring it in, piece of cake!