The Everything Fishing Book: Grab Your Tackle Box and Get Hooked on America's Favorite Outdoor Sport

287 Pages·2003·2.58 MB·English

by  Ronnie Garrison

THE
EVERYTHING
®
FISHING
BOOK
Grab your tackle box and get hooked
on America’s favorite outdoor sport
Ronnie Garrison
Copyright ©2003, F+W Media, Inc.
All rights reserved. This book, or parts thereof, may not be reproduced
in any form without permission from the publisher; exceptions
are made for brief excerpts used in published reviews.
An Everything® Series Book.
Everything® and everything.com® are registered trademarks of F+W Media, Inc.
Published by Adams Media, a division of F+W Media, Inc.
57 Littlefield Street, Avon, MA 02322 U.S.A.
www.adamsmedia.com
ISBN 10: 1-58062-865-6
ISBN 13: 978-1-58062-865-5
eISBN 13: 978-1-44052-249-9
Printed in the United States of America.
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Garrison, Ronnie.
The everything fishing book / Ronnie Garrison.
p. cm. — (An Everything series book)
ISBN 1-58062-865-6
1. Fishing. I. Title. II. Series: Everything series.
SH441 .G37 2003
799.1 — dc21
2002153886
This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information with regard to the subject
matter covered. It is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal,
accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services
of a competent professional person should be sought.
— From a Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a
Committee of Publishers and Associations
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their products are claimed as
trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book and Adams Media was aware of a trademark
claim, the designations have been printed with initial capital letters.
This book is available at quantity discounts for bulk purchases.
For information, call 1-800-289-0963.
The
EVERYTHING®
Fishing Book
Dear Reader:
Some of my earliest memories are following my mother and grandmother to
ponds to fish with cane poles for anything that would bite. We would use worms
we dug or mealworms we raised. I’ve spent untold happy hours since then
fishing and it’s an extremely important part of my life.
One day fishing in the tailwaters of a pond I caught a bass on my cane pole. I’ll
never forget the excitement as that ten-inch bass jumped. I was hooked better
than the fish. In 1974 I joined a bass club and four years later joined a second
one, and still fish club tournaments every month with them.
My fishing travels have included catching cutthroat trout in Yellowstone Park,
flounder in Maryland, grouper off the coast of Florida, croaker in the
Chesapeake Bay, pollock and rainbow trout in Maine and every kind of fish that
swims in fresh water in my home state of Georgia. Every fish I have ever caught
was a thrill, and I expect all future fish to be the same.
I hope sharing in this book some of the things I’ve learned over the years will
help you enjoy fishing as much as I do.
Welcome to the EVERYTHING® Series!
These handy, accessible books give you all you need to tackle a difficult project,
gain a new hobby, comprehend a fascinating topic, prepare for an exam, or even
brush up on something you learned back in school but have since forgotten.
You can choose to read an Everything® book from cover to cover or just pick
out the information you want from our four useful boxes: e-questions, e-facts, e-
alerts, and essentials.
We give you everything you need to know on the subject, but throw in a lot of
fun stuff along the way, too.
We now have more than 400 Everything® books in print, spanning such wide-
ranging categories as weddings, pregnancy, cooking, music instruction, foreign
language, crafts, pets, New Age, and so much more. When you’re done reading
them all, you can finally say you know Everything®!
Answer to
common questions
Important snippets
of information
Urgent
warning
Quick
handy tips
PUBLISHER Karen Cooper
DIRECTOR OF ACQUISITIONS AND INNOVATION Paula
Munier
MANAGING EDITOR, EVERYTHING SERIES Lisa Laing
COPY CHIEF Casey Ebert
ACQUISITIONS EDITOR Lisa Laing
DEVELOPMENT EDITOR Elizabeth Kassab
EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Hillary Thompson
Visit the entire Everything® series at www.everything.com
To the memory of my mother, Vera Dunaway Garrison, and her brothers Mayhu,
Adron, J. D., and Roger who all inspired my love of fishing
Contents
Acknowledgments
Top Ten Reasons Why You’d Rather Be Fishing
Introduction
1 The World of Fishing
The History of Fishing
Why Fish
The Rewards of Fishing Fishing
Has Negatives, Too
Realistic Costs of Fishing
Bonding with Other Fishermen
2 Choosing a Fish
Where Do You Live?
Fishing for Fun
Fishing for Food
Game Fish
Trash Fish
Freshwater Fish
Saltwater Fish
3 Ways to Fish
Pole and Line
Casting
Fly-Fishing
Trolling
Drift-Fishing
Still-Fishing
Wading
4 Choosing a Rod
Fiberglass or Graphite?
A Simple Pole
Spin-Casting Rods
Spinning Rods
Bait-Casting Rods
Fly Rods
What Rods Cost
5 Choosing a Reel
Spin-Casting Reels
Spinning Reels
Bait-Casting Reels
Combos
Fly-Fishing Reels
Costs of Reels
6 Make the Connection
What to Look for in Any Line
Monofilament Lines
Braided Lines
Fused Lines
Fluorocarbon Lines
Copolymer Lines
Fly-Fishing Lines
Lines Come in All Colors
7 Where to Buy Fishing Equipment
Mom-and-Pop Stores
Discount Stores
Mail-Order Catalogs
Internet Stores
Internet Auctions
8 Tying One On
Improved Clinch Knot
Palomar Knot
Uni Knot
Rapala Knot