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Salmonid
Fish of the family Salmonidae, that includs salmon and steelhead.

Sample A
proportion or a segment of a fish stock which is removed for study, and is assumed to be representative of the whole. The greater the effort, in terms of both numbers and magnitude of the samples, the greater the confidence that the information obtained is a true reflection of the status of a stock (level of abundance in terms of numbers or weight, age composition, etc.)

Sand
Small substrate particles, generally referring to particles less than 2 mm in diameter. Sand is larger than silt and smaller than cobble or rubble.

Sausage meat
Flavoured or unflavoured sausage meat can be an effective bait for carp, barbel, chub and tench.

Scalded maggots
Maggots that have been killed by immersing them in boiling water, so that they cannot crawl away into the bottom silt when fed into a swim.

Scientific method
In contrast to fishing by "luck," fishing based on the observation of the environment

Screw-bomb
An Arlesey bomb with a screw-in swivel attachment to allow you to change the size of the bomb without breaking down your whole rig.

Scute
An extendal bony plate, usually keeled.

Sea fish
Various sea fish, including sprats, sardines, herrings, smelts and mackerel, make excellent deadbaits for pike.

Seat box
A tackle box with a carrying strap, cushioned seat, drawers and adjustable legs.

Sediment
The organic material that is transported and deposited by wind and water.

Self-cocking float
A float with all its shotting loaded into the base, to present a slow-sinking bait with no shot on the line

Self-hooking rig
See 'Bolt rig'.

Semelparous
Species that reproduce only once during their lifetime.

Setting the hook
Using the rod to drive the hook through the mouth of the fish

Shallow-water zone
The area of a lake from shore to the first major drop-off

Shank
Section of hook between the eye and the point

Shallow-diving plug
A plug with a sharply angled vane, so that it fishes just below the surface when retrieved.

Shelf-life boilies
Commercially produced boilies containing food preservatives, shelf-life boilies are banned on some waters.

Shirt-button shotting
A waggler or stick float rig, with small shot spaced at regular intervals between the float and the hook, for fishing on the drop.

Shock beads
A rubber bead that is used as buffer above knots to absorb the shock of long-distance casts when legering or swimfeeder-fishing.

Shock leader
A length of strong line, usually about 6-10m (20-33ft) long, connecting the reel line to the rig, to absorb the shock of long-distance casts when legering or swimfeeder-fishing.

Short-lining
Fishing a long pole with a rig that is shorter than the length of pole being used.

Shot bite
A false bite that occurs when a fish, usually a roach, mistakes a small shot on the line for a grain of hemp.

Shrink tube
This is rig tubing which shrinks permanently when boiling water is poured over it. It is useful in some anti-tangle rigs when shrunk over links and other items which are prone to tangling.

Side-hooking
Mounting a bait such as a boilie on the shank of a hook on the opposite side to the point.

Silicone tubing
Silicone rubber tubing of different colours and diameters has a variety of uses - you can cut float rubbers from lengths of it, use it to attach a Betalite to a float and use it in many specialist rigs, such as semi-fixed leger rigs.

Silkweed
Soft, green, fine-stranded weed found growing on rocks and weir sills in running water, silkweed can be used on the hook to catch roach and dace.

Silver bream
A deep-bodied, silvery shoal fish that is often mistaken for small, skimmer bronze bream. Silver bream are mainly found in eastern England, and grow to about 1.4kg (3lb).

Sink and draw
A method of fishing a deadbait or lure by pausing occasionally on the retrieve, which allows the bait to sink and gives it an enticing erratic motion through the water.

Sinking line
Brands of line designed to sink are useful for legering and waggler fishing as they sink below surface drift.

Sinkers
Lead weights of various designs and sizes used to sink baits and lures

Silt
Substrate particles smaller than sand and larger than clay.

Skimmer
Small bronze bream up to about 0.9kg (2lb) are called skimmers. They have silvery rather than bronze flanks.

Skirt
Usually a rubber or vinyl addition to a lure that gives it action and texture

Slider fishing
A method of fishing deep water with a float sliding freely on the line. A stop knot tied of a short length of different line and a bead above the float cock it at the required depth.

Slim-bodied pole float
Pole floats with slim balsa bodies are designed for fishing shallow still waters, or deeper still waters on the drop.

Slip-sinker
A sinker threaded on the line which slides, preventing the fish from feeling resistance

Slipping clutch
See 'Drag'.

Slugs
Large black slugs are a good bait for chub, especially when freelined.

Smolt
Refers to the salmonid or trout developmental life stage between parr and adult, when the juvenile is at least one year old and has adapted to the marine environment.

Smoltification
Refers to the physiological changes anadromous salmonids and trout undergo in freshwater while migrating toward saltwater that allow them to live in the ocean.

Snake trolling
A system of boat control in which a lure or bait is trolled in a weaving manner in order to impart erratic action to a lure or to avoid spooking shallow fish; sometimes called zigzagging

Snap-link swivels
A swivel that allows rig components to be clipped on and off the line without breaking down the whole rig.

Snap tackle
A wire trace with one or more sets of treble hooks attached, used mainly in pike fishing.

Snelled hook
A hook with leader material attached

Sour-bran specials
Not commercially available, sour-bran specials are small, soft maggots bred by leaving out a shallow tray containing a mixture of vegetable water, bran and sour milk.

Spade-end hook
A hook with a small spade rather than an eye at the top of the shank. Spade-end hooks are mainly used in the smaller sizes (16 and below).

Spawn
The act of reproduction of fishes. The mixing of the sperm of a male fish and the eggs of a female fish.

Spawning stock biomass (SSB)
The total weight of all sexually mature fish in the population. This quantity depends on year class abundance, the exploitation pattern, the rate of growth, fishing and natural mortality rates, the onset of sexual maturity and environmental conditions.

Spawning stock biomass-per-recruit (SSB/R)
The expected lifetime contribution to the spawning stock biomass for a recruit of a specific age (e.g., per age 2 individual). For a given exploitation pattern, rate of growth, and natural mortality, an expected equilibrium value of SSB/R can be calculated for each level of F. A useful reference point is the level of SSB/R that would be realized if there were no fishing. This is a maximum value for SSB/R, and can be compared to levels of SSB/R generated under different rates of fishing. For example, the maximum SSB/R for Georges Bank haddock is approximately 9 kg for a recruit at age 1.

Speed trolling
A system of boat control in which a lure is trolled behind a boat moving at fast speed

Spigot
The joint in a rod where one section fits neatly into the other.

Spincasting reel
A closed-faced, push button-operated reel which sits on top of a casting rod; ideally suited for beginners

Spine
A single, median supporting element of a fin, usually stiff. Distinguished from a ray in that it is single, median, never branched or jointed.

Spinner
A lure that consists of one or more blades attached to a central wire shaft with a clevis; the blades spin.

Spinner bait
Differs from an ordinary spinner in that the blade is attached to one end of the bent safety pin wire and the other end of the wire is moulded into the head of a Jig

Spinning
This method uses a reel with a fixed spool hung below a rod fitted with oversized guides; when the angler turns the handle of the reel, a metal bail engages the line and deposits it on the spool

Splitshot
A type of weight used for light tackle angling that is pinched directly onto the line

Split shot
Small, round, slotted weights that pinch on to the line and are used when float fishing. Various sizes are available, from number 13 (the smallest) to SSG, or swan shot (the largest).

Spooking
Frightening a fish spool the section of a reel that holds the coiled fishing line

Spool knot
A knot for tying line to the spool of a reel.

Spoons
Lures that are stamped from flat metal, varying in size, weight, and thickness.

Spread bulk
A string of closely spaced small split shot used on the line in float rigs in place of larger bulk shot.

Springtip
A legering bite indicator that screws into the tip ring of a rod, a springtip comprises a length of plastic or cane on a short spring.

Squatts
Tiny white maggots that are the larvae of houseflies, squatts are mainly used in groundbait for bream, but can also be loosefed and used on the hook with light tackle on slow and still waters for small fish. Squatts dyed red and bronze are commonly available.

Stacking lures
Placing more than one lure at different depth intervals, using one rod, usually with the aid of a downrigger

Stalking
Stealthily fishing for individual fish spotted at close range in clear water.

Stalking rod
A short, usually 2.4m (8ft), through-action rod designed for catching large fish at close quarters in often tight, overgrown swims.

Standard length
The straight distance between the tip of the snout and the base of the caudal fin rays.

Standardization
The procedure of maintaining methods and equipment as constant as possible.

Starlight
A small plastic tube, containing a chemical that emits light for several hours, which can be attached to a float or other bite indicator for fishing at night.

Status of exploitation
An appraisal of exploitation is given for each stock discussed in the Species Synopsis section using the terms unknown, protected, not exploited, underexploited, moderately exploited, fully exploited, and over-exploited. These terms describe the effect of current fishing effort on each stock, and is based on current data and the knowledge of the stocks over time.

Steak
Fishing with small slivers of raw steak on the hook and feeding minced beef can be an effective method for chub.

Stick baits
Cigar-shaped plugs with no built-in action, baits with added scents

Stick float
A slim trotting float that is fished top and bottom, a stick float comprises a buoyant balsa top and a heavier cane, plastic, lignum or wire stem. Stick floats are mainly used with light tackle and small baits such as maggots.

Stick float rod
A tip-action float rod with a solid spliced tip for a quick pick-up of the line on the strike when stick float fishing.

Strike Zone
The term strike zone is the area of water that the fish is in and is willing to travel and chase after any available bait/lure that passes through that area. This is usually a relatively small area as far as depth is concerned. If a bass is in 8 feet of water its strike zone would be considered from about 4 to 8 feet. Depending on the water clarity it could go all the way to the surface. To keep your lure in the strike zone you have to remember that to get your lure to that depth you have to cast past where you want your lure to go, consider the distance that the lure has to travel as it's diving to get to that depth and then as it nears your rod it starts to travel back out of the strike zone. It sounds likes it's pretty complicated to do this but it really isn't and only takes about a fraction of a second to think about it.

Stickleback
A small, hardy fish which is common throughout much of Britain.

Stock
A specific population of fish spawning in a particular stream during a particular season.

Stock A
part of a fish population usually with a particular migration pattern, specific spawning grounds, and subject to a distinct fishery. A fish stock may be treated as a total or a spawning stock Total stock refers to both juveniles and adults, either in numbers or by weight, while spawning stock refers to the numbers or weight of individuals which are old enough to reproduce.

Stone
Rock fragments larger than 25.4 cm (10 inches) but less than 60.4 cm (24 inches).

Stonfo
A small, sleeved plastic device for connecting the float rig to the elastic when fishing the pole.

Straight waggler
A waggler with no body or insert, mainly used for fishing at full depth in running water.

Straying
A natural phenomena of adult spawners not returning to their natal stream, but entering and spawning in some other stream.

Streamers
Wet flies made of feathers usually imitating baitfish

Strike
The instant a fish contacts a bait

Stringer
A number of boilies attached to the hook with soluble PVA string to act as free offerings close to your hookbait in the water.

Stringer needle
A small, hand-held tool like a long, thin crochet hook, for threading a string of boilies on to a PVA stringer.

Stripping
Line pulling line off the reel by hand

Structure
Any natural or man-made physical feature in a body of water; e.g., boulders, docks, weeds

Stunted fish
Fish whose growth is severely hampered by environmental factors such as overpopulation

Styl pincers
A tool for pinching Styls on to the line with even pressure.

Styls
Small, elongated split shot preferred to ordinary small shot by some anglers for delicate pole rigs.

Subabdominal pelvic fin
Said of pelvic fins when placed forward on abdomen but not attached internally to pectoral girdle.

Subadult
A developmental life stage when fish exhibit most but not all traits of an adult fish.

Submandibular pores
Pores found in some species that are located on the underside of the lower jaw

Subsurface lures
Lures designed to run at shallow depths

Sunken float paternoster
A float rig for pike fishing where the bait is on a separate link, making it a paternoster. The float's only purpose is to hold the rig off the bottom and has no bite detection function, so it sits below the surface.

Subpopulation
A well-defined set of interacting individuals that compose a proportion of a larger, interbreeding population.

Subspecies
A population of a species occupying a particular geographic area, or less commonly, a distinct habitat, capable of interbreeding with other populations of the same species.

Subyearling
A developmental life stage of fish that are less than one year old.

Success (of fishing)
Catch per unit of effort.

Supramaxilla
A small bone attached to the posterior end of the maxilla, dorsally.

Surface plug
A plug that floats and splashes across the surface on the retrieve. They are mostly used to catch summer pike.

Surplus Production
Production of new weight by a fishable stock, plus recruits added to it, less what is removed by natural mortality. This is usually estimated as the catch in a given year plus the increase in stock size (or less the decrease). Also called; natural increase, sustainable yield, equilibrium catch .

Survival Rate
Number of fish alive after a specified time interval, divided by the initial number. Usually on a yearly basis.

Suspended fish
Fish holding in an area anywhere off bottom to the surface

Sustainable yield
The number or weight of fish in a stock that can be taken by fishing without reducing the stock biomass from year to year, assuming that environmental conditions remain the same.

Sweetcorn
Frozen or tinned sweetcorn is an effective bait for many fish, and can readily be dyed and flavoured.

Swim
The area of water within casting range of your fishing position, and in which you are fishing.

Swimfeeder
A weighted, plastic device used in place of a leger weight and filled with groundbait or particle baits such as maggots, to attract fish into the vicinity of your hookbait.

Swimfeeder rod
An 3.4-4m (11-13ft) rod, usually incorporating one or more interchangeable push-in quivertips, but with a stiffer middle section than an ordinary quivertip rod, for casting swimfeeders. Light, medium and heavy models are available.

Swim-up fry
A salmonid fry that is swimming in the water column in search for food.

Swinger
A bite indicator used in legering that comprises a swinging arm that you attach to your line between the reel and the butt ring. As a fish takes, it pulls the swinger up giving a visible indication of the bite.

Swingtip
A sensitive, screw-in rod-top bite indicator for stillwater legering that comprises a 30cm (12in) or so length of cane or plastic hanging from a rubber hinge. kinking.