What is Sport Fishing?

Sport fishing, or recreational fishing, is any fishing done for pleasure or competition, as opposed to fishing for profit or fishing for survival. Most recreational fishing is done with a rod, reel, line, hooks, and a large variety of baits and lures. Big-game fishing is fishing from boats, often in saltwater areas, to catch species such as tuna and marlin.

Sport fishing in general

The methods of sport fishing differ according to the type of fish sought and the area being fished in, as well as the personal preferences of the angler; the styles range from fly fishing to the more high-tech methods used to catch tuna and marlin. Sport fishing is done with rod and reel rather than nets or other methods. Freshwater sport fishers commonly catch perch, trout, bass, salmon, and catfish, while those who fish in saltwater environments can catch larger fish like tuna, shark, and mackerel.

Fishing equipment

Recreational fishing is often done with a fishing rod equipped with a line, a hook, and bait or a lure attached to the hook; the rod may also have a reel to allow the line to be brought in, though it can be brought in by hand as well, without the aid of a reel. A special form of rod fishing known as fly fishing is quite popular, and involves attaching the reel to the back end of a rod and using a whipping motion to cast the line and imitate the artificial fly. Bow fishing, using a bow or crossbow, is a less common technique, though not unheard of in some areas.

Rules and regulations of sport fishing

Like all other types of hunting, game fishing has a number of conventions, licensing restrictions, and regulations that all sport fishers follow. The International Game Fish Association oversees a set of voluntary guidelines, including the prohibition of nets as well as fish being caught with hooks not in the mouth. Some governments put regulations in place that help ensure sustainable practices among anglers; Ireland, for example, oversees all angling regulations, including controls on lures, baits, the number of hooks allowed, and other conservation-based restrictions.

Fish logs and fish tagging

Some recreational fishers keep a log of fish caught, submitting trophy-sized fish to various independent record-keeping organizations. Some countries verify and publicize trophy fish caught by recreational rod anglers. Fishers may also participate in a program where they will tag any caught fish and release them back into the wild, submitting a record of the tag to the appropriate scientific agency for later study.