Fishing in West Virginia

While it’s true, fishing in West Virginia is better than any other place on earth, the words we use to describe the sport are pretty much the same everywhere. For a better understanding of the sport, become familiar with these terms:

BAIT – This is the trick that lures the fish to your hook. Bait attracts fish by looking or behaving like the things a fish likes to eat, such as flies and other flying insects, worms, larvae, nymphs, crayfish, and other small fish. When loading a hook with things that occur in nature, these things are called bait. When loading a hook with man-made things that mimic what occurs in nature, those artificial things are called lures.

BUZZ BAIT – These lures consist of a propeller-type blade on a wire attached to a fly with a weighted body, skirt, and hook. They are designed to skim, or buzz,across the water’s surface.

CASTING SPOON – This lure contains a hard plastic or metal spoon-shaped lure designed to attract fish by wobbling through the water. Casting spoons can be fixed or swinging and each one has between one and three points.

CHUM – Ground-up natural bait that is released into the water to attract fish by the aroma emitted by the chum once in the water.

CRANK BAIT – These hard lures, made of wood, plastic, or a combination of the two, resemble fish and are designed to swim just under the surface of the water.

HOOK – This J-shaped metal tool is what snags the fish when it bites into your lure or bait. The hook has an eyelet at one end that’s used to tie it to the line.Most hooks consist of just one point but others have two or three.

JIG – Lures with weighted bodies and a skirt or tail made from plastic or hair; also known as bucktails.

LURE – Any man-made bait (see BAIT above).

SINKER – A small weight attached to the lure or bait so it will sink below the water’s surface.

SNAP – An attachment to the line that allows for quick release of lures and bait.Similar to the snap on a dog leash.

SPINNER – A lure with three hooks on a weighted body created so it rotates as it moves through the water.

STRIKE – This is what it’s all about! A strike occurs when a fish hits the cast bait or lure.

SWIVEL – This small metal device contains two or more eyes and a swiveling center connection. Once attached between the lure and the line, the swivel spins the lure as the cast is thrown so the fly line won’t get tangled during the cast.

TERMINAL TACKLE – The catch-all term refers to all the devices, hooks, lures,etc., that are used at the tip, or terminal end, of the fly rod.