Big-Game Fishing Glossary

Bait ball: A tight, swirling school of small fish pushed together by predators from below. Diving birds often mark one from a distance.
In the game: Dark patches on the water that flash silver when you troll close. Billfish shadows hunt around them.
Big-game fishing: Offshore fishing for the largest, strongest sport fish — marlin, swordfish, giant tuna and sharks — usually by trolling from a sport-fishing boat and fighting the fish from a chair.
Bill: The long, spear-like upper jaw of a marlin, sailfish or swordfish, used to slash through bait.
Billfish: The family of fish with a bill: blue, black, striped and white marlin, sailfish, spearfish and swordfish.
In the game: Most tournaments are won with billfish; only they count at the scale.
Birds: Seabirds diving and wheeling over the water — the oldest fish-finder there is. They mark bait being driven to the surface by bigger fish.
In the game: Working birds are the clearest sign of action on the water.
Bluewater: Deep, clear offshore water past the edge of the continental shelf, where pelagic fish roam.
Box: The fish box on the boat where kept fish go.
In the game: Your box holds up to 11 fish a day; when it’s full you swap the lightest out or let the new one go.
Charge: When a hooked fish turns and swims toward the boat, throwing slack into the line.
In the game: Reel fast when he charges, or the slack lets him shake the hook.
Continental shelf: The shallow seabed fringing the land. At its edge the bottom drops away into deep water — prime billfish territory.
In the game: Spots like the Gulf Edge and the North Drop sit on the shelf’s edge.
Drag: The adjustable brake inside the reel that lets line slip out under pressure instead of breaking.
In the game: Set it low to let a fresh fish run, high to stop him — too high and the line snaps.
Drop the rod tip: Lowering the rod when a fish jumps, so its thrashing head doesn’t meet a tight line and tear the hook free. Also called “bowing” to the fish.
In the game: When he’s airborne, drop the rod.
Fighting chair: The heavy, swivelling chair in the cockpit with a gimbal for the rod butt, used to fight big fish with the legs and back.
In the game: Turn the chair to face the fish to fight him efficiently.
Gaff: A strong pole with a sharp steel hook on the end, used to bring a big fish aboard once it’s alongside the boat.
In the game: The gaff cutscene plays when you land a fish.
Gimbal: The swivelling cup the rod butt sits in, on the fighting chair or a harness.
Glare: Sunlight reflecting off the water toward a fish. Lures are harder for fish to see when trolled straight into the sun.
In the game: Keep the sun at your shoulder, not your nose.
Gulf Stream: The warm, fast ocean current that flows from the Gulf up the U.S. East Coast past the Bahamas and North Carolina. Its edge, where it meets cooler water, is famous billfish ground.
In the game: Spots on the Gulf Stream show its deep indigo water.
Hook set: The quick, firm pull that drives the hook home after a fish strikes.
In the game: You get one short window after a strike to set the hook.
Leader: A heavier section of line between the main line and the lure, to stand up to bills, teeth and rough skin.
Line test: The rated breaking strength of fishing line in pounds — 50 lb test breaks at about 50 lb of pull. Heavier line lands bigger fish; lighter line gets more bites.
In the game: Choose 30, 50, 80 or 130 lb test before you head out.
Live bait: Real baitfish rigged on the hook and trolled slowly. Billfish find it hard to refuse, but it has to stay fresh.
In the game: Live bait goes stale as the day wears on.
Lure: An artificial bait. For billfish, usually a skirted trolling lure: a hard head with a plastic or feather skirt that swims and smokes bubbles behind the boat.
In the game: Eight lures, each with fish that love it and fish that ignore it.
Outriggers: Long poles angled out from the sides of a sport-fishing boat that spread the trolling lines wide, so more lures can be pulled without tangling.
Pelagic: Living in the open ocean, away from the bottom and the coast. Marlin, tuna, dorado and sharks are pelagic fish.
Pump and reel: The way to gain line on a big fish: lift the rod to pull him closer, then reel quickly as you lower it again.
In the game: Hold Pump to lift, reel on the way down.
Release: Letting a caught fish go. Many big-game anglers release billfish today to protect the stock.
In the game: After every catch you choose: keep it for the scale or release it.
Rip: A strip of rough, churning water where currents meet or tide rushes over a bank. Bait gathers there, and predators follow.
In the game: Race Point Rip off Cape Cod is one.
Run: A hooked fish swimming hard away from the boat, taking line off the reel.
In the game: Let a fresh fish run on a light drag.
Seamount: An underwater mountain rising from the deep sea floor. Currents push bait up its slopes, drawing big fish.
Shadow: A dark shape under the surface — often a billfish hunting.
In the game: Billfish shadows around the bait are your target.
Slack: Loose line with no tension on it. A little is fine; too much for too long and the hook falls out.
Sonar: A fish-finder that uses sound to show fish and bait below the boat.
In the game: The sonar in the corner shows what’s around you.
Sounding: A hooked fish diving straight down toward the deep.
In the game: When he sounds, lean back and pump steadily.
Spool: The part of the reel that holds the line. A fish that takes it all has “spooled” you.
In the game: Your reel holds 512 ft of line in all.
Strike: A fish hitting the lure.
Tail-walking: A marlin skittering across the surface on its tail, shaking its head — the most spectacular jump in fishing.
Thumbing the spool: Pressing a thumb on the spinning spool to add pressure beyond the drag.
In the game: Hold Thumb to add pressure.
Trolling: Pulling lures or bait behind a moving boat. The standard way to fish for billfish and tuna.
In the game: Troll past the action at under a quarter throttle so you don’t scatter the bait.
Tuna tower: The tall frame above a sport-fisher’s bridge where the crew spots fish from high up.
Weigh-in: The end-of-day gathering at the dock where tournament fish are weighed and the leader is crowned.
In the game: At four o’clock your heaviest counting fish goes on the scale.
Whitecaps: Breaking crests on the waves, a sign of wind. More whitecaps, rougher sea.
In the game: Windy forecasts bring whitecaps, swell and a rolling boat.