sport fishing
Sport fishing is a term (often used interchangeably with game fishing) that describes recreational fishing where the primary reward is the challenge of finding and catching the fish rather than the culinary or financial value of the fish's flesh. The distinction is not completely rigid - in many cases, sport fishers will also eat their catch. The philosophies and tactics used for sport fishing, however, are usually sufficiently different from "food fishing" to make the distinction clear enough.
Sport fishing methods vary according to the area being fished, the species being targeted, the personal strategies of the angler, and the resources available, ranging from fly fishing, ostensibly invented in Great Britain, to the high-tech methods used to chase Marlin and tuna or the bottom bouncing methods that where perfected on the Fraser river of British Columbia, Canada for chinook and sockeye. In virtually every case, however, the fishing is done with hook, line, rod and reel rather than with nets or other aids.
In the past, sport fishers, even if they did not eat their catch, almost always killed them to bring them to shore to be weighed or for preservation as trophies. Fishers' desire to avoid criticism from animal welfare groups and to conserve the fishery have resulted in many sport fishers releasing their catch alive, sometimes after fitting them with identifying tags and recording their details so as to aid fisheries research (known as tag and release).
Sport fishing competitions give competitors (individuals if the fishing occurs from land, usually teams where conducted from boats) a specified time and area from which they are to catch fish. Scores are awarded for each fish caught, the points depending on the fish's weight and species, and then, sometimes, divided by the strength of the fishing line used (so catching fish on thinner, weaker line scores additional points). In tag and release competitions, a flat score per fish, divided by the line strength, is awarded for each species caught.
See also
- Angling
ANSA - Bass fishing
- Big-game fishing
- Coarse fishing
- Fishing lures
- Fly fishing
- Ice fishing
- IGFA
- Rock fishing
- Troll (angling)
External links
Sport fishing at the Open Directory Project
- University of Washington Libraries Digital Collections Freshwater and Marine Image Bank--Sport Fishing, an ongoing digital collection of images related to sport fishing.
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