Land-based game fishing is a form of big-gamesport fishing in which anglers attempt to catch oceanic game fish from shore rather than from ocean-going boats. The locations for such activities are generally rock platforms, though wharfs, jetties and beaches are also common. Some species such as sharks can be targeted in shallow littoral water, however most other species prefer deeper pelagic water, and this limits the areas where these types can be fished from the shore. Tackle used is usually comparable to that used on boats, but some differences are necessary, such as changes in rod length. Different tackle is used according to location and species targeted.
Land–based shark fishing, or LBSF, has had some popularity worldwide since the early 1900s. Sizeable numbers of participants exist in Australia, South Africa and the Gulf and East Coast states of the United States, especially popular in Texas, Florida and North Carolina. Commonly caught species include bull, lemon, nurse, blacktip, spinner, tiger, hammerhead, sand tiger and mako sharks with occasional catches of large specimens exceeding 13ft (4.0m) and 1,000lb (450kg). As of 2017 multiple great white sharks have also been caught and tagged and historically the great white was a fairly common catch for land based anglers in South Africa. Many land–based shark fishermen use catch and release techniques and participate in tagging programs to advance limited scientific knowledge of migrations and growth rates among other data.[citation needed]
Since the early 2000s land-based shark fishing has also courted and attracted controversy, especially among coastal townships in the southern U.S.[citation needed] This is chiefly due to the mistaken belief that anglers attract sharks closer to shore or use chum to catch sharks. This belief is inaccurate though as the mechanics of wave and water currents do not lend themselves to effective use of chumming and baits used are not significantly larger or different from what is already present in the water naturally. Effective chumming involves spreading a long trail of significant amounts of fish blood and oils through a current to create a scent line. These trails often need to be miles long to become effective as they still require a shark to initially swim through the chum on its normal travel. This technique loses effectiveness around beach areas as wave action causes currents to travel back onto a small area of the beach, washing up the scent rather than creating a trail that can be followed.[citation needed]
Along the east coast of Australia, land-based game fishing can be divided into two fairly distinct geographic regions. On the north coast of New South Wales, from approximately Sydney northwards, light tackle is generally used, with smaller target species such as longtail tuna, Spanish mackerel and cobia. Particularly noted are the rock platforms of Jervis Bay, where black marlin of up to 91kg (200lb) have been caught using bait floated out on balloons.[citation needed] South of Sydney, heavier tackle is used as the target species are generally much larger (due to Bergmann's rule), with the main targets being black marlin, yellowfin tuna, yellowtail kingfish and sharks.[citation needed]
Angling is a method of fishing by means of a fish hook or "angle". The hook is attached to a fishing line, which is usually manipulated via a fishing rod, although rodless techniques such as handlining also exist. Modern fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a cranking device for storing, retrieving and releasing out the line, although Tenkara fishing and cane pole fishing are two rod-angling methods that do not use a reel. The hook itself can be additionally weighted with a tackle called a sinker, and is typically dressed with an appetizing bait to attract the fish, but sometimes a inedible fake bait known as a lure with multiple attached hooks is used in place of a single hook with bait. A bite indicator, such as a float or a quiver tip, is often used to relay underwater status of the hook to the surface.
Spearfishing is a method of fishing that involves impaling the fish with a straight pointed object such as a spear, gig or harpoon. It has been deployed in artisanal fishing throughout the world for millennia. Early civilisations were familiar with the custom of spearing fish from rivers and streams using sharpened sticks.
Big-game fishing, also known as offshore sportfishing, offshore gamefishing or blue-water fishing, is a form of recreational fishing targeting large game fish, usually done on a large body of water such as the ocean.
Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing, is fishing for pleasure or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is professional fishing for profit; or subsistence fishing, which is fishing for survival.
The yellowfin tuna is a species of tuna found in pelagic waters of tropical and subtropical oceans worldwide.
Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish pursued by recreational anglers, and can be freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, or released after capture. Some game fish are also targeted commercially, particularly salmon and tuna.
The Atlantic blue marlin is a species of marlin endemic to the Atlantic Ocean. It is closely related to, and usually considered conspecific with, the Indo-Pacific blue marlin, then simply called blue marlin. Some authorities still consider both species distinct.
The term billfish refers to a group of saltwater predatory fish characterised by prominent pointed bills (rostra), and by their large size; some are longer than 4 m (13 ft). Extant billfish include sailfish and marlin, which make up the family Istiophoridae; and swordfish, sole member of the family Xiphiidae. They are apex predators which feed on a wide variety of smaller fish, crustaceans and cephalopods. These two families are sometimes classified as belonging to the order Istiophoriformes, a group which originated around 71 million years ago in the Late Cretaceous, with the two families diverging around 15 million years ago in the Late Miocene. However, they are also classified as being closely related to the mackerels and tuna within the suborder Scombroidei of the order Perciformes. However, the 5th edition of the Fishes of the World does recognise the Istiophoriformes as a valid order, albeit including the Sphyraenidae, the barracudas.
The dogtooth tunaGymnosarda unicolor, also known as white tuna, is a species of pelagic marine fish which belongs to the family Scombridae.
A fish aggregatingdevice (FAD) is a man-made object used to attract ocean-going pelagic fish such as marlin, tuna and mahi-mahi. They usually consist of buoys or floats tethered to the ocean floor with concrete blocks. FADs attract fish for numerous reasons that vary by species.
Chumming is the blue water fishing practice of throwing groundbait called "chum" into the water in order to lure various marine animals to a designated fishing ground, so the target animals are more easily caught by hooking or spearing. Chums typically consist of fresh chunks of fish meat with bone and blood, the scent of which attracts predatory fish, particularly sharks, billfishes, tunas and groupers. In the past, the chum contents have also been made from "offal", the otherwise rejected or unwanted parts of slaughtered animals such as internal organs.
Marlin fishing is considered by some game fishermen to be a pinnacle of offshore game fishing, due to the size and power of the four marlin species and their relative rareness. Fishing for marlin captured the imagination of some sport fishermen in the 1930s, when well-known angler/authors Zane Grey, who fished for black, striped, and blue marlin in the Pacific, and Ernest Hemingway, who fished the Florida Keys, Bahamas and Cuba for Atlantic blue marlin and white marlin, wrote extensively about their pursuit and enthused about the sporting qualities of their quarry.
Surf fishing is the sport of catching fish standing on the shoreline or wading into the surf. A general term, surf fishing may or may not include casting a lure or bait, and refers to all types of shore fishing – from sandy and rocky beaches, rock jetties, or even fishing piers. The terms surfcasting or beachcasting refer more specifically to surf fishing from the beach by casting into the surf at or near the shoreline. With few exceptions, surf fishing is done in saltwater. The most common misconception about surf fishing is the idea that one must cast as far out as possible in order to reach the fish. At beaches on the west coast of the United States, and in fact, at most beaches around the world, you only really need to get your bait into knee-deep water. This is referred to as surf fishing the "skinny".
The little tunny is the most common tuna in the Atlantic Ocean. It is found in warm temperate and tropical waters of the Atlantic and the Mediterranean; in the western Atlantic, it ranges from Brazil to the New England states. It is found regularly in offshore and inshore waters, and is classified as a highly migratory species by UNCLOS. Occurring in large schools and weighing up to 36 lb, it is one of the smaller members of the tuna family (Scombridae).
Recreational fishermen usually fish either from a boat or from a shoreline or river bank. When fishing from a boat, or fishing vessel, most fishing techniques can be used, from nets to fish traps, but some form of angling is by far the most common. Compared to fishing from the land, fishing from a boat allows more access to different fishing grounds and different species of fish.
This page is a list of fishing topics.
Mahi-mahi are swift and acrobatic game fish with striking colours. These colours darken when the fish dies The current IGFA all tackle record is 39.91 kilograms (88lb), caught in 1998 in Exuma, Bahamas by Graham Vaughan of Lake Mary, Florida. Catches average 7 to 13 kilograms, and any mahi-mahi over 18 kilograms (40 lb) is exceptional. Males are often larger than females.
Smelt-whiting is the common name for various species of the family Sillaginidae. The Sillaginidae are distributed throughout the Indo-Pacific region, ranging from the west coast of Africa to Japan and Taiwan in the east, as well occupying as a number of small islands including New Caledonia in the Pacific Ocean. Well known members of this family include King George whiting, Japanese whiting, northern whiting, sand whiting and school whiting.
Fishing is important to the national economy of Vanuatu. It is the main source of income for many in the islands and Vanuatu's biggest export. According to 2009 figures, approximately 77% of households in Vanuatu are involved in fishing activity. According to 2005 figures, Vanuatu caught 151,080 fish in that year, with frozen fish accounted for half of Vanuatu's commodity exports.
US FWS Charles H. Gilbert was an American fisheries science research vessel in commission from 1952 to 1970 in the fleet of the United States Department of the Interior's Fish and Wildlife Service and from 1970 to 1973 in the fleet of the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration as NOAAS Charles H. Gilbert. She was among the first U.S. fisheries science vessels to explore the central Pacific Ocean in search of commercially valuable populations of fish.
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