Complaint Review: Vivint - Calgary Alberta

I am attempting to comment about Vivint's rebuttal. I'm not sure if I am doing it right.

Just a thought here; If you had a better command of written English, you might not appear to be a slack jawed 'goober' and your rebuttal would be perceived, by others, as comming from an inteligent person. Otherwise????  

SO a Guess: Turk is employed to bury complaints against Vivint / APX allarms.

What does it cost Mr Vivint?

Guidelines to life:

1) Don't sign without reading EVERYTHING especially numbers (39 and 36 aren't the same number)
2) Get to know your neighbors. People always say of we watch out for each other but you don't even know everyone's name around you?!
3) The Fob should work from a 100ft but honestly why would you set it that far away. Set in your drive way like normal people.
4) Since when is having a tech show up a min later a bad thing?
5) $750 to get out early!? It sounds like a contract or something.
6) We got your email for reason to notify you of changes, updates and etc. Like a NAME change.

i work for vivint and what you just said is complety not true iv installed over 500 systems and have not had a problem like you just said so either the guy that was installing your system didint know wat he was doing or your just lieingthe key fobs do work if you hold the button down until th red light flashes and its preaty hard to judge a hundred feet and just to arm your garage you go to bypasssencers and bypass the the rest of your house and arm the garage

a fine to the police department because of this crappy alarm companies ineptness??? IN ADDITION to BEING STUCK WITH this CRAPPY COMPANY for the foreseeable future?!

Now that's a RIPOFF!

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At first my friend had the new vivint automation system put into his home. He told me about it taking out his phone and the. Showing me how he could arm and disarm his alarm; turn up and down his heating and cooling; dim and turn on/off lights; lock his doors; and even see through cameras put into his home. I was really impressed. I asked him how much something so high-tech cost him. This was the part I couldn't believe, he said it was all free! He just had to keep it monitored! Which was a monthly charge lower than my cell phone bill!! He also said that he had to pay a one time activation fee of 198.00. I saw his agreement and read over it, turns out that they are 42 months long. So 3 1/2 years.

I then inquired about getting one of my own and have done so! I love it! In two occasions it's helped me. I now know if my kids are sneaking out; and the other time when my house started on fire and the fire department was informed.

All I know is that I can do everything this gentleman says he couldn't. Then again I know to read over a contract before I sign it haha.

The goldfish (Carassius auratus auratus) is a freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae of order Cypriniformes. It was one of the earliest fish to be domesticated, and is one of the most commonly kept aquarium fish. A relatively small member of the carp family (which also includes the koi carp and the crucian carp), the goldfish is a domesticated version of a less-colorful carp (Carassius auratus) native to east Asia. It was first domesticated in China more than a thousand years ago, and several distinct breeds have since been developed. Goldfish breeds vary greatly in size, body shape, fin configuration and coloration (various combinations of white, yellow, orange, red, brown, and black are known).

Contents
[hide]
1 History2 Related species3 Varieties of domesticated goldfish
3.1 Chinese goldfish classification
4 Size5 In ponds6 In aquaria7 Feeding8 Behavior9 Intelligence10 Reproduction11 Mosquito control12 Controversy over proper treatment13 See also14 Notes and references15 External links

History
In ancient China, various species of carp (collectively known as Asian carps) were domesticated and have been reared as food fish for thousands of years. Some of these normally gray or silver species have a tendency to produce red, orange or yellow color mutations; this was first recorded in the Jin Dynasty (265420).[3]

A western aquarium of the 1850s of the type that contained goldfish among other coldwater species

During the Tang Dynasty (618907), it was popular to raise carp in ornamental ponds and watergardens.A natural genetic mutation produced gold (actually yellowish orange) rather than silver coloration. People began to breed the gold variety
instead of the silver variety, keeping them in ponds or other bodies of water. On special occasions at which guests were expected they would be moved to a much smaller container for display.[4][5]

In 1162, the Empress of the Song Dynasty ordered the construction of a pond to collect the red and gold variety. By this time, people outside the imperial family were forbidden to keep goldfish of the gold (yellow) variety, yellow being the imperial color. This is probably the reason why there are more orange goldfish than yellow goldfish, even though the latter are genetically easier to breed.[6]

The occurrence of other colors (apart from red and gold) was first recorded in 1276. The first occurrence of fancy tailed goldfish was recorded in the Ming dynasty. In 1502, goldfish were introduced to Japan, where the Ryukin and Tosakin varieties were developed. In 1611, goldfish were introduced to Portugal and from there to other parts of Europe.[4]
During the 1620s, goldfish were highly regarded in Southern Europe because of their metallic scales, and symbolized good luck and fortune.

It became tradition for married men to give their wives a goldfish on their one year anniversary, as a symbol for the prosperous years to come. This tradition quickly died, as goldfish became more available, losing their status. Goldfish were first introduced to North America around 1850 and quickly became popular in the United States.[7][8]

Related species

A wild Prussian carp (Carassius auratus gibelio)

A Crucian carp (Carassius carassius)

Goldfish were bred from Prussian carp (Carassius auratus gibelio) in China, and they remain the closest wild relative of the goldfish.[9][10] Previously, some sources claimed the Crucian carp (Carassius carassius) as the wild version of the goldfish. However, they are differentiated by several characteristics. C. auratus have a more pointed snout while the snout of a C. carassius is well rounded. C. gibelio often has a grey/greenish color, while crucian carps are always golden bronze. Juvenile crucian carp have a black spot on the base of the tail which disappears with age. In C. auratus this tail spot is never
present. C. auratus have fewer than 31 scales along the lateral line while crucian carp have 33 scales or more.

When found in nature, goldfish are olive green. Introduction of goldfish into the wild can cause problems for native species. Goldfish can hybridize with certain other species of carp. Within three breeding generations, the vast majority of the goldfish spawn revert to their natural olive color. The mutation that gave rise to the domestic goldfish is also known from other cyprinid species, such as common carp and tench. Koi may also interbreed with the goldfish to produce a sterile hybrid fish.There are many different varieties of domesticated goldfish. Fancy goldfish are unlikely to survive in the wild because of their bright fin colors; however the hardier varieties such as the Shubunkin may survive long enough to breed with wild cousins. Common and comet goldfish can survive, and even thrive, in any climate that can support a pond.
Varieties of domesticated goldfish Size As of April 2008, the largest goldfish in the world was believed by the BBC to measure 19 inches (48 cm), and be living in the Netherlands.[11] At the time, a goldfish named "Goldie", kept as a pet in a tank in Folkestone, England, was measured as 15 inches (38 cm) and over 2 pounds (0.91 kg), and named as the second largest in the world behind the Netherlands fish.[11]

The secretary of the Federation of British Aquatic Societies (FBAS) stated of Goldie's size that "I would think there are probably a few bigger goldfish that people don't think of as record holders, perhaps in ornamental lakes".[11] In July 2010 a goldfish measuring 16 inches (41 cm) and 5 pounds (2.3 kg) was caught in a pond in Poole, England, thought to have been abandoned there after outgrowing a tank.[12]

In ponds Goldfish are popular pond fish, since they are small, inexpensive, colorful, and very hardy. In an outdoor pond or water garden, they may even survive for brief periods if ice forms on the surface, as long as there is enough oxygen
remaining in the water and the pond does not freeze solid. Common goldfish, London and Bristol shubunkins, jikin, wakin, comet and some hardier fantail goldfish can be kept in a pond all year round in temperate and subtropical climates. Moor, veiltail, oranda and lionhead can be kept safely in outdoor ponds only in the summer, and in more tropical climates.
Small to large ponds are fine though the depth should be at least 80 centimeters (31.5 in) to avoid freezing. During winter, goldfish become sluggish, stop eating, and often stay on the bottom of the pond. This is completely normal; they become active again in the spring. A filter is important to clear waste and keep the pond clean. Plants are essential as they act as part of the filtration system, as well as a food source for the fish. Plants are further beneficial since they raise
oxygen levels in the water. Compatible fish include rudd, tench, orfe and koi, but the latter require specialized care. Ramshorn snails are helpful by eating any algae that grows in the pond. Without some form of animal population control, goldfish ponds can easily become overstocked. Fish such as orfe consume goldfish eggs. In aquaria


A Fantail goldfish

Like most carp, goldfish produce a large amount of waste both in their faeces and through their gills, releasing harmful chemicals into the water. Build-up of this waste to toxic levels can occur in a relatively short period of time, and can easily
cause a goldfish's death. For common and comet varieties, each goldfish should have about 20 US gallons (76 l; 17 imp gal) of water. Fancy goldfish (which are smaller) should have about 10 US gallons (38 l; 8.3 imp gal) per goldfish. The water surface area determines how much oxygen diffuses and dissolves into the water. A general rule is have 1 square foot (0.093 m2). Active aeration by way of a water pump, filter or fountain reduces the minimum surface area.
The goldfish is classified as a coldwater fish, and can live in unheated aquaria at a temperature comfortable for humans. However, rapid changes in temperature (for example in an office building in winter when the heat is turned off at night) can kill them, especially if the tank is small. Care must also be taken when adding water, as the new water may be of a
different temperature. Temperatures under about 10 C (50 F) are dangerous to fancy varieties, though commons and comets can survive slightly lower temperatures. Extremely high temperatures (over 30 C (86 F) can also harm goldfish. However, higher temperatures may help fight protozoan infestations by accelerating the parasite's life-cyclethus eliminating it more quickly. The optimum temperature for goldfish is between 20 C (68 F) and 22 C (72 F).[13]
Like all fish, goldfish do not like to be petted. In fact, touching a goldfish can endanger its health, because it can cause the protective slime coat to be damaged or removed, exposing the fishs skin to infection from bacteria or water-born parasites. However, goldfish respond to people by surfacing at feeding time, and can be trained or acclimated to taking pellets or flakes from human fingers. The reputation of goldfish dying quickly is often due to poor care.[14] The lifespan of goldfish in captivity can extend beyond 10 years.If left in the dark for a period of time, goldfish gradually change color until they are almost gray.[citation needed] Goldfish produce pigment in response to light, in a similar manner to how human skin becomes tanned in the sun. Fish have cells called chromatophores that produce pigments which reflect light, and give the fish coloration. The color of a goldfish is determined by which pigments are in the cells, how many pigment molecules there are, and whether the pigment is grouped inside the cell or is spaced throughout the cytoplasm.

Because goldfish eat live plants, their presence in a planted aquarium can be problematic. Only a few aquarium plant species for example Cryptocoryne and Anubias, can survive around goldfish, but they require special attention so that
they are not uprooted. Plastic plants are often more durable, but the branches can irritate or harm a fish that touches one.[citation needed]

Feeding

Various types of prepared fish food

See also: Fish food
In the wild, the diet of goldfish consists of crustaceans, insects, and various plant matter. Like most fish, they are
opportunistic feeders and do not stop eating on their own accord. Overfeeding can be fatal, typically by blocking the intestines.

This happens most often with selectively bred goldfish, which have a convoluted intestinal tract. When excess food is available, they produce more waste and faeces, partly due to incomplete protein digestion. Overfeeding can sometimes be diagnosed by observing faeces trailing from the fish's cloaca.Goldfish-specific food has less protein and more carbohydrate
than conventional fish food. It is sold in two consistenciesflakes that float, and pellets that sink. Enthusiasts may supplement this diet with shelled peas (with outer skins removed), blanched green leafy vegetables, and bloodworms. Young goldfish benefit from the addition of brine shrimp to their diet. As with all animals, goldfish preferences vary.

Behavior
Behavior can vary widely both because goldfish live in a variety of environments, and because their behavior can be conditioned by their owners. Goldfish have strong associative learning abilities, as well as social learning skills. In addition, their visual acuity allows them to distinguish between individual humans. Owners may notice that fish react favorably to them (swimming to the front of the glass, swimming rapidly around the tank, and going to the surface
mouthing for food) while hiding when other people approach the tank.

Over time, goldfish learn to associate their owners and other humans with food, often "begging" for food whenever their owners approach.[citation needed]

Responses from a blind goldfish proved that it recognized one particular family member and a friend by voice, or vibration of sound.[citation needed]

This behavior was remarkable because it showed that the fish recognized the vocal vibration or sound of two people specifically out of seven in the house.

Goldfish are gregarious, displaying schooling behavior, as well as displaying the same types of feeding behaviors.
Goldfish may display similar behaviors when responding to their reflections in a mirror.[citation needed]
Goldfish that have constant visual contact with humans also stop considering them to be a threat. After being kept in a tank for several weeks, sometimes months, it becomes possible to feed a goldfish by hand without it shying away.
Goldfish have learned behaviors, both as groups and as individuals, that stem from native carp behavior. They are a generalist species with varied feeding, breeding, and predator avoidance behaviors that contribute to their success. As fish they can be described as "friendly" towards each other. Very rarely does a goldfish harm another goldfish, nor do the males harm the females during breeding. The only real threat that goldfish present to each other is competing for food. Commons, comets, and other faster varieties can easily eat all the food during a feeding before fancy varieties can reach it. This can lead to stunted growth or possible starvation of fancier varieties when they are kept in a pond with their
single-tailed brethren. As a result, care should be taken to combine only breeds with similar body type and swim characteristics.

Intelligence

Goldfish have a memory-span of at least three months and can distinguish between different shapes, colors and sounds.[15][16] By using positive reinforcement, goldfish can be trained to recognize and to react to light signals of different colors[17] or to perform tricks, such as the limbo, slalom, fetch, and soccer.[18] Fish respond to certain colors most evidently in relation to feeding.[citation needed] Fish learn to anticipate feedings provided they occur at around the same time everyday.

Reproduction

Goldfish may only grow to sexual maturity with enough water and the right nutrition. Most goldfish breed in captivity, particularly in pond settings. Breeding usually happens after a significant temperature change, often in spring. Males chase females, prompting them to release their eggs by bumping and nudging them.Goldfish, like all cyprinids, are egg-layers. Their eggs are adhesive and attach to aquatic vegetation, typically dense plants such as Cabomba or Elodea or a spawning mop. The eggs hatch within 48 to 72 hours.

Within a week or so, the fry begins to assume its final shape, although a year may pass before they develop a mature goldfish color; until then they are a metallic brown like their wild ancestors. In their first weeks of life, the fry grow
quicklyan adaptation born of the high risk of getting devoured by the adult goldfish (or other fish and insects) in their environment.[citation needed]

Some highly bred goldfish can no longer breed naturally due to their altered shape. The artificial breeding method called "hand stripping"  can assist nature, but can harm the fish if not done correctly. In captivity, adults may also eat young that they encounter.

A fish is any gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate (or craniate) animal that lacks limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups. Because the term is defined negatively, and excludes the tetrapods (i.e., the amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals) which descend from within the same ancestry, it is paraphyletic. The traditional term pisces (also ichthyes) is considered a typological, but not a phylogenetic classification.

Most fish are "cold-blooded", or ectothermic, allowing their body temperatures to vary as ambient temperatures
change. Fish are abundant in most bodies of water. They can be found in nearly all aquatic environments, from high mountain streams (e.g., char and gudgeon) to the abyssal and even hadal depths of the deepest oceans (e.g., gulpers and anglerfish). At 31,900 species, fish exhibit greater species diversity than any other class of vertebrates.[1]
Fish, especially as food, are an important resource worldwide. Commercial and subsistence fishers hunt fish in wild fisheries (see fishing) or farm them in ponds or in cages in the ocean (see aquaculture). They are also caught by recreational fishers, kept as pets, raised by fishkeepers, and exhibited in public aquaria. Fish have had a role in culture through the ages, serving as deities, religious symbols, and as the subjects of art, books and movies.




Contents
[hide]
1 Diversity of fish2 Taxonomy3 Anatomy
3.1 Respiration3.2 Circulation3.3 Digestion3.4 Excretion3.5 Scales3.6 Sensory and nervous system
3.6.1 Central nervous system3.6.2 Sense organs3.6.3 Capacity for pain
3.7 Muscular system3.8 Homeothermy3.9 Reproductive system
3.9.1 Organs3.9.2 Reproductive method
3.10 Immune system
4 Diseases5 Evolution6 Importance to humans
6.1 Economic importance6.2 Recreation
7 Conservation
7.1 Overfishing7.2 Habitat destruction7.3 Exotic species7.4 Aquarium collecting
8 Culture9 Terminology
9.1 Fish or fishes?9.2 Shoal or school
10 See also11 Notes12 References13 External links



Diversity of fish




Fish come in many shapes and sizes. This is a sea dragon, a close relative of the seahorse. Their leaf-like appendages enable them to blend in with floating seaweed.


Main article: Diversity of fish
The term "fish" most precisely describes any non-tetrapod craniate (i.e. an animal with a skull and in most cases a backbone) that has gills throughout life and whose limbs, if any, are in the shape of fins.[2] Unlike groupings such as birds or mammals, fish are not a single clade but a paraphyletic collection of taxa, including hagfishes, lampreys, sharks and rays, ray-finned fish, coelacanths, and lungfish.[3][4] Indeed, lungfish and coelacanths are closer relatives of tetrapods (such as mammals, birds, amphibians, etc.) than of other fish such as ray-finned fish or sharks, so the last common ancestor of all fish is also an ancestor to tetrapods. As paraphyletic groups are no longer recognised in modern systematic biology, the use of the term "fish" as a biological group must be avoided.

Many types of aquatic animals commonly referred to as "fish" are not fish in the sense given above; examples include shellfish, cuttlefish, starfish, crayfish and jellyfish. In earlier times, even biologists did not make a distinction sixteenth century natural historians classified also seals, whales, amphibians, crocodiles, even hippopotamuses, as well as a host of aquatic invertebrates, as fish.[5] However, according the definition above, all mammals, including Cetaceans like Whales and Dolphins, are not fish. In some contexts, especially in aquaculture, the true fish are referred to as finfish (or fin fish) to distinguish them from these other animals.

A typical fish is ectothermic, has a streamlined body for rapid swimming, extracts oxygen from water using gills or uses
an accessory breathing organ to breathe atmospheric oxygen, has two sets of paired fins, usually one or two (rarely three) dorsal fins, an anal fin, and a tail fin, has jaws, has skin that is usually covered with scales, and lays eggs.

Each criterion has exceptions. Tuna, swordfish, and some species of sharks show some warm-blooded adaptationsthey can heat their bodies significantly above ambient water temperature.[3] Streamlining and swimming performance varies from fish such as tuna, salmon, and jacks that can cover 1020 body-lengths per second to species such as eels and rays that swim no more than 0.5 body-lengths per second.[3] Many groups of freshwater fish extract oxygen from the air as well as from the water using a variety of different structures. Lungfish have paired lungs similar to those of tetrapods, gouramis have a structure called the labyrinth organ that performs a similar function, while many catfish, such as Corydoras extract oxygen via the intestine or stomach.[6] Body shape and the arrangement of the fins is highly variable, covering such seemingly un-fishlike forms as seahorses, pufferfish, anglerfish, and gulpers. Similarly, the surface of the skin may be naked (as in moray eels), or covered with scales of a variety of different types usually defined as placoid (typical of sharks and rays), cosmoid (fossil lungfish and coelacanths), ganoid (various fossil fish but also living gars and bichirs), cycloid, and ctenoid (these last two are found on most bony fish).[7] There are even fish that live mostly on land. Mudskippers feed and interact with one another on mudflats and go underwater to hide in their burrows.[8] The catfish Phreatobius cisternarum lives in underground, phreatic habitats, and a relative lives in waterlogged leaf litter.[9][10]
Fish range in size from the huge 16-metre (52 ft) whale shark to the tiny 8-millimetre (0.3 in) stout infantfish.
Taxonomy
Fish are a paraphyletic group: that is, any clade containing all fish also contains the tetrapods,
which are not fish. For this reason, groups such as the "Class Pisces"
seen in older reference works are no longer used in formal
classifications.
Fish are classified into the following major groups:
Class Myxini (hagfish)Class Pteraspidomorphi (early jawless fish)Class Thelodonti Class Anaspida Class Petromyzontida or Hyperoartia
Petromyzontidae (lampreys)
Class Conodonta (conodonts) Class Cephalaspidomorphi (early jawless fish)
(unranked) Galeaspida (unranked) Pituriaspida (unranked) Osteostraci
Infraphylum Gnathostomata (jawed vertebrates)
Class Placodermi (armoured fish)Class Chondrichthyes (cartilaginous fish)Class Acanthodii (spiny sharks)Superclass Osteichthyes (bony fish)
Class Actinopterygii (ray-finned fish)
Subclass Chondrostei
Order Acipenseriformes (sturgeons and paddlefishes)Order Polypteriformes (reedfishes and bichirs).
Subclass Neopterygii
Infraclass Holostei (gars and bowfins)Infraclass Teleostei (many orders of common fish)

Class Sarcopterygii (lobe-finned fish)
Subclass Coelacanthimorpha (coelacanths)Subclass Dipnoi (lungfish)



- indicates extinct taxon

Some palaeontologists contend that because Conodonta are chordates, they are primitive fish. For a fuller treatment of this taxonomy, see the vertebrate article.

The position of hagfish in the phylum chordata is not settled. Phylogenetic research in 1998 and 1999 supported the idea that the hagfish and the lampreys form a natural group, the Cyclostomata, that is a sister group of the Gnathostomata.[11][12]

The various fish groups account for more than half of vertebrate species. There are almost 28,000 known extant species, of which almost 27,000 are bony fish, with 970 sharks, rays, and chimeras and about 108 hagfish and lampreys.[13] A third of these species fall within the nine largest families; from largest to smallest, these families are Cyprinidae, Gobiidae, Cichlidae, Characidae, Loricariidae, Balitoridae, Serranidae, Labridae, and Scorpaenidae. About 64 families are monotypic, containing only one species. The final total of extant species may grow to exceed 32,500.[14]
Anatomy
Main article: Fish anatomy

The anatomy of Lampanyctodes hectoris

(1) operculum (gill cover), (2) lateral line, (3) dorsal
fin, (4) fat fin, (5) caudal peduncle, (6) caudal fin, (7) anal
fin, (8) photophores, (9) pelvic fins (paired), (10) pectoral fins
(paired)


Respiration
Most fish exchange gases using gills on either side of the pharynx. Gills consist of threadlike structures called filaments. Each filament contains a capillary network that provides a large surface area for exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide.
Fish exchange gases by pulling oxygen-rich water through their mouths and pumping it over their gills. In some fish, capillary blood flows in the opposite direction to the water, causing counter current exchange. The gills push the oxygen-poor water out through openings in the sides of the pharynx. Some fish, like sharks and lampreys, possess multiple gill openings. However, most fish have a single gill opening on each side. This opening is hidden beneath a protective bony
cover called an operculum.

Juvenile bichirs have external gills, a very primitive feature that they share with larval amphibians. Many fish can breathe air via a variety of mechanisms. The skin of anguillid eels may absorb oxygen. The buccal cavity of the electric eel may breathe air. Catfish of the families Loricariidae, Callichthyidae, and Scoloplacidae absorb air through their digestive tracts.[15] Lungfish, with the exception of the Australian lungfish, and bichirs have paired lungs similar to those of tetrapods and must surface to gulp fresh air through the mouth and pass spent air out through the gills. Gar and bowfin have a vascularized swim bladder that functions in the same way. Loaches, trahiras, and many catfish breathe by passing air through the gut. Mudskippers breathe by absorbing oxygen across the skin (similar to frogs). A number of fish
have evolved so-called accessory breathing organs that extract oxygen from the air. Labyrinth fish (such as gouramis and bettas) have a labyrinth organ above the gills that performs this function. A few other fish have structures resembling labyrinth organs in form and function, most notably snakeheads, pikeheads, and the Clariidae catfish family.

Breathing air is primarily of use to fish that inhabit shallow, seasonally variable waters where the water's oxygen concentration may seasonally decline. Fish dependent solely on dissolved oxygen, such as perch and cichlids, quickly suffocate, while air-breathers survive for much longer, in some cases in water that is little more than wet mud. At the most extreme, some air-breathing fish are able to survive in damp burrows for weeks without water, entering a state of aestivation (summertime hibernation) until water returns.

Tuna gills inside of the head. The fish head is oriented snout-downwards, with the view looking towards the mouth.

Fish can be divided into obligate air breathers and facultative air breathers. Obligate air breathers, such as the African lungfish, must breathe air periodically or they suffocate. Facultative air breathers, such as the catfish Hypostomus plecostomus, only breathe air if they need to and will otherwise rely on their gills for oxygen. Most air breathing fish are facultative air breathers that avoid the energetic cost of rising to the surface and the fitness cost of exposure to surface predators.[15]

Circulation
Fish have a closed-loop circulatory system. The heart pumps the blood in a single loop throughout the body. In most fish, the heart consists of four parts, including two chambers and an entrance and exit.[16] The first part is the sinus venosus, a thin-walled sac that collects blood from the fish's veins before allowing it to flow to the second part, the atrium, which is a large muscular chamber. The atrium serves as a one-way antechamber, sends blood to the third part, ventricle. The ventricle is another thick-walled, muscular chamber and it pumps the blood, first to the fourth part, bulbous arteriosus, a large tube, and then out of the heart. The bulbus arteriosus connects to the aorta, through which blood flows to the gills for oxygenation.

Digestion
Jaws allow fish to eat a wide variety of food, including plants and other organisms. Fish ingest food through the mouth and break it down in the esophagus. In the stomach, food is further digested and, in many fish, processed in finger-shaped pouches called pyloric caeca, which secrete digestive enzymes and absorb nutrients. Organs such as the liver and pancreas
add enzymes and various chemicals as the food moves through the digestive tract. The intestine completes the process of digestion and nutrient absorption.

Excretion
As with many aquatic animals, most fish release their nitrogenous wastes as ammonia. Some of the wastes diffuse through the gills. Blood wastes are filtered by the kidneys. Saltwater fish tend to lose water because of osmosis. Their kidneys return water to the body. The reverse happens in freshwater fish:
they tend to gain water osmotically. Their kidneys produce dilute urine for excretion. Some fish have specially adapted kidneys that vary in function, allowing them to move from freshwater to saltwater.

Scales
Main article: Scale (zoology)#Fish scales The scales of fish originate from the mesoderm (skin); they may be similar in structure to teeth. Sensory and nervous sstem

Dorsal view of the brain of the rainbow trout

Central nervous system
Fish typically have quite small brains relative to body size compared with other vertebrates, typically one-fifteenth the brain mass of a similarly sized bird or mammal.[17] However, some fish have relatively large brains, most notably mormyrids and sharks, which have brains about as massive relative to body weight as birds and marsupials.[18]
Fish brains are divided into several regions. At the front are the olfactory lobes, a pair of structures that receive and process signals from the nostrils via the two olfactory nerves.[17]

The olfactory lobes are very large in fish that hunt primarily by smell, such as hagfish, sharks, and catfish. Behind the olfactory lobes is the two-lobed telencephalon, the structural equivalent to the cerebrum in higher vertebrates. In fish the telencephalon is concerned mostly with olfaction.[17] Together these structures form the forebrain.

Connecting the forebrain to the midbrain is the diencephalon (in the diagram, this structure is below the optic lobes and
consequently not visible). The diencephalon performs functions associated with hormones and homeostasis.[17] The pineal body lies just above the diencephalon. This structure detects light, maintains circadian rhythms, and controls color changes.[17]

The midbrain or mesencephalon contains the two optic lobes. These are very large in species that hunt by sight, such as rainbow trout and cichlids.[17]

The hindbrain or metencephalon is particularly involved in swimming and balance.[17] The cerebellum is a single-lobed structure that is typically the biggest part of the brain.[17] Hagfish and lampreys have relatively small cerebellae, while the mormyrid cerebellum is massive and apparently involved in their electrical sense.[17]

The brain stem or myelencephalon is the brain's posterior.[17] As well as controlling some muscles and body organs, in
bony fish at least, the brain stem governs respiration and osmoregulation.[17]

Sense organs
Most fish possess highly developed sense organs. Nearly all daylight fish have color vision that is at least as good as a human's. Many fish also have chemoreceptors that are responsible for extraordinary senses of taste and smell. Although they have ears, many fish may not hear very well. Most fish have sensitive receptors that form the lateral line system, which detects gentle currents and vibrations, and senses the motion of nearby fish and prey.[19] Some fish, such as catfish and sharks, have organs that detect low-level electric current.[20] Other fish, like the electric eel, can produce electric current. Fish orient themselves using landmarks and may use mental maps based on multiple landmarks or symbols. Fish behavior in mazes reveals that they possess spatial memory and visual discrimination.[21]

Capacity for pain
Further information: Pain in fish Experiments done by William Tavolga provide evidence that fish have pain and fear responses. For instance, in Tavolgas experiments, toadfish grunted when electrically shocked and over time they came to grunt at the mere sight of an electrode.[22]

In 2003, Scottish scientists at the University of Edinburgh and the Roslin Institute concluded that rainbow trout exhibit behaviors often associated with pain in other animals. Bee venom and acetic acid injected into the lips resulted in fish rocking their bodies and rubbing their lips along the sides and floors of their tanks, which the researchers concluded were attempts to relieve pain, similar to what mammals would do.[23][24][25] Neurons fired in a pattern resembling human neuronal patterns.[25]

Professor James D. Rose of the University of Wyoming claimed the study was flawed since it did not provide proof that fish
possess "conscious awareness, particularly a kind of awareness that is meaningfully like ours".[26]

Rose argues that since fish brains are so different from human brains, fish are probably not conscious in the manner humans are, so that reactions similar to human reactions to pain instead have other causes.

Rose had published a study a year earlier arguing that fish cannot feel pain because their brains lack a neocortex.[27] However, animal behaviorist Temple Grandin argues that fish could still have consciousness without a neocortex
because "different species can use different brain structures and systems to handle the same functions."[25]
Animal welfare advocates raise concerns about the possible suffering of fish caused by angling. Some countries, such as Germany have banned specific types of fishing, and the British RSPCA now formally prosecutes
individuals who are cruel to fish.[28]

Muscular system

Swim bladder of a Rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus)
Main article: Fish locomotion Most fish move by alternately contracting paired sets of muscles on either side of the backbone. These contractions form S-shaped curves that move down the body. As each curve reaches the back fin, backward force is applied to the water, and in conjunction with the fins, moves the fish forward. The fish's fins function like an airplane's flaps.

Fins also increase the tail's surface area, increasing speed. The streamlined body of the fish decreases the amount of friction from the water. Since body tissue is denser than water, fish must compensate for the difference or they will sink. Many bony fish have an internal organ called a swim bladder that adjusts their buoyancy through manipulation of gases.

Fishing techniques are methods for catching fish. The term may also be applied to methods for catching other aquatic animals such as molluscs (shellfish, squid, octopus) and edible marine invertebrates.

Fishing techniques include hand gathering, spearfishing, netting, angling and trapping. Recreational, commercial and artisanal fishers use different techniques, and also, sometimes, the same techniques. Recreational fishers fish for pleasure or sport, while commercial fishers fish for profit. Artisanal fishers use traditional, low-tech methods, for survival in third-world countries, and as a cultural heritage in other countries. Mostly, recreational fishers use angling methods and commercial fishers use netting methods.

There is an intricate link between various fishing techniques and knowledge about the fish and their behaviour including migration, foraging and habitat. The effective use of fishing techniques often depends on this additional knowledge. Which techniques are appropriate is dictated mainly by the target species and by its habitat.

Hand fishing
See also: Gathering seafood by hand

It is possible to fish and gather many sea foods with minimal equipment by using the hands. Gathering seafood by hand can be as easily as picking shellfish or kelp up off the beach, or doing some digging for clams or crabs. The earliest evidence for shellfish gathering dates back to a 300,000 year old site in France called Terra Amata. This is a hominid site as modern Homo sapiens did not appear until around 50,000 years ago.
Ama diver in Japan

    * Flounder tramping - Every August, the small Scottish village of Palnackie hosts the world flounder tramping championships where flounder are captured by stepping on them.

    * Noodling: is practiced in the United States. The noodler places his hand inside a catfish hole. If all goes as planned, the catfish swims forward and latches onto the noodler's hand, and can then be dragged out of the hole.

    * Pearl divers - traditionally harvested oysters by free-diving to depths of thirty metres. Today, free-diving recreational fishers catch lobster and abalone by hand.

    * Trout binning - is another method of taking trout. Rocks in a rocky stream are struck with a sledgehammer. The force of the blow stuns the fish.

    * Trout tickling - In the British Isles, the practice of catching trout by hand is known as trout tickling; it is an art mentioned several times in the plays of Shakespeare.

Spearfishing
Main article: Spearfishing

Spearfishing is an ancient method of fishing conducted with an ordinary spear or a specialised variant such as a harpoon, trident, arrow or eel spear. Some fishing spears use slings (or rubber loops) to propel the spear.
A Hupa man with his spear

    * Bowfishing - uses a bow and arrow to kill fish in shallow water from above.

    * Gigging - uses small trident type spears with long handles for gigging bullfrogs with a bright light at night, or for gigging suckers and other rough fish in shallow water. Gigging is popular in the American South and Midwest.

    * Hawaiian slings - have a sling separate from the spear, in the manner of an underwater bow and arrow.

    * Harpoons - Spearfishing with barbed poles was widespread in palaeolithic times. Cosquer cave in Southern France contains cave art over 16,000 years old, including drawings of seals which appear to have been harpooned.

    * Polespears - have a sling attached to the spear.

    * Modern spearguns - traditional spearfishing is restricted to shallow waters, but the development of the speargun has made the method much more efficient. With practice, divers are able to hold their breath for up to four minutes and sometimes longer. Of course, a diver with underwater breathing equipment can dive for much longer periods.

    * Tridents - are three-pronged spears. They are also called leisters or gigs. They are used for spear fishing and were formerly also a military weapon. They feature widely in early mythology and history.

Netting
Main article: Fishing net

Fishing nets are meshes usually formed by knotting a relatively thin thread. About 180 AD the Greek author Oppian wrote the Halieutica, a didactic poem about fishing. He described various means of fishing including the use of nets cast from boats, scoop nets held open by a hoop, and various traps "which work while their masters sleep".

Netting is the principal method of commercial fishing, though longlining, trolling, dredging and traps are also used.
A fisherman casting a net in Kerala, India
Oil painting of gillnetting, The salmon fisher by Eilif Peterssen.
Fishing with nets in C Mau, Vietnam.

    * Artisanal techniques

        * Chinese fishing nets - are shore operated lift nets. Huge mechanical contrivances hold out horizontal nets with diameters of twenty metres or more. The nets are dipped into the water and raised again, but otherwise cannot be moved.

        * Lampuki nets - are an example of a traditional artisanal use of nets. Since Roman times, Maltese fishers have cut the larger, lower fronds from palm trees which they then weave into large flat rafts. The rafts are pulled out to sea by a luzzu, a small traditional fishing boat. In the middle of the day, lampuki fish (the Maltese name for mahi-mahi) school underneath the rafts, seeking the shade, and are caught by the fishers using large mesh nets.

    * Cast nets - are round nets with small weights distributed around the edge. They are also called throw nets. The net is caste or thrown by hand in such a manner that it spreads out on the water and sinks. Fish are caught as the net is hauled back in. This simple device has been in use, with various modifications, for thousands of years.

    * Drift net - are nets which are not anchored. They are usually gillnets, and are commonly used in the coastal waters of many countries. Their use on the high seas is prohibited, but still occurs.

    * Ghost nets - are nets that have been lost at sea. They can be a menace to marine life for many years.

    * Gillnets - catch fish which try to pass through by snagging on the gill covers. Trapped, the fish can neither advance through the net nor retreat.

    * Hand nets - are small nets held open by a hoop. They have been used since antiquity. They are also called scoop nets, and are used for scooping up fish near the surface of the water. They may or may not have a handleif they have a long handle they are called dip nets. When used by anglers to help land fish they are called landing nets. Because hand netting is not destructive to fish, hand nets are used for tag and release, or capturing aquarium fish.

    * Seine nets - are large fishing nets that can be arranged in different ways. In purse seining fishing the net hangs vertically in the water by attaching weights along the bottom edge and floats along the top. Danish seining is a method which has some similarities with trawling. A simple and commonly used fishing technique is beach seining, where the seine net is operated from the shore.

    * Surrounding net -

    * Trawl nets - are large nets, conical in shape, designed to be towed in the sea or along the sea bottom. The trawl is pulled through the water by one or more boats, called trawlers. The activity of pulling the trawl through the water is called trawling.

Angling
Main article: Angling
"Trolling for blue fish" lithograph by Currier & Ives, 1866
Fishermen using jiggerpoles for jigging from the Queenscliff pier

Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" (hook). The hook is usually attached to a line, and is sometimes weighed down by a sinker so it sinks in the water. This is the classic "hook, line and sinker" arrangement, used in angling since prehistoric times. The hook is usually baited with lures or bait fish.

Additional arrangements include the use of a fishing rod, which can be fitted with a reel, and functions as a delivery mechanism for casting the line. Other delivery methods for projecting the line include fishing kites and cannons, kontiki rafts and remote controlled devices. Floats can can also be used to help set the line or function as bite indicators. The hook can be dressed with lures or bait. Angling is the principal method of sport fishing, but commercial fisheries also use angling methods involving multiple hooks, such as longlining or commercial trolling.
Line fishing

Line fishing is fishing with a fishing line. A fishing line is any cord made for fishing. Important parameters of a fishing line are its length, material, and weight (thicker, sturdier lines are more visible to fish). Factors that may determine what line an angler chooses for a given fishing environment include breaking strength, knot strength, UV resistance, castability, limpness, stretch, abrasion resistance, and visibility.

Modern fishing lines are usually made from artificial substances. The most common type is monofilament, made of a single strand. There are also braided fishing lines and thermally fused superlines.

    * Droplining - a dropline consists of a long fishing line set vertically down into the water, with a series of baited hooks Droplines have a weight at the bottom and a float at the top. They are not usually as long as longlines and have fewer hooks.

    * Handlining - is fishing with a single fishing line, baited with lures or bait fish, which is held in the hands. Handlining can be done from boats or from the shore. It is used mainly to catch groundfish and squid, but smaller pelagic fish can also be caught.

    * Jiggerpole -

    * Jigging -

    * Longlining - is a commercial technique that uses a long heavy fishing line with a series of hundreds or even thousands of baited hooks hanging from the main line by means of branch lines called "snoods". Longlines are usually operated from specialised boats called longliners. They use a special winch to haul in the line, and can operate in deeper waters targeting pelagic species such as swordfish, tuna, halibut and sablefish.

Slab

    * Slabbing - involves repetitively lifting and dropping a flat lure, usually made of 1 to 2.5 oz of lead painted to look like a baitfish, through a school of actively feeding fish that the angler has located on a fish finder. Used on white and striped bass in the reservoirs of the southern USA.

    * Trolling - is fishing with one or more baited lines which are drawn through the water. This may be done by pulling the line behind a slow moving boat, or by slowly winding the line in when fishing from the land. Trolling is used to catch pelagic fish such as mackerel and kingfish.

External images
    Pelagic longline
    Dropline
    Trotline for catfish

    * Trotlining - a trotline is like a dropline, except that a dropline has a series of hooks suspended vertically in the water, while a trotline has a series of hooks suspended horizontally in the water. Trotlines can be physically set in many ways, such as tying each end to something fixed, and adjusting the set of the rest of the line with weights and floats. They are used for catching crabs or fish, such as catfish, particularly across rivers.

Just received a letter from Vivint formally APX alarms, The false alarm call in my original  complaint, just read the letter, it reads:

After conducting an extensive investigation of your situation, we did not discover any improper actions on the part of the emergency dispatch professionals at Vivint which caused or contributed to the false alarm. in addition we did not detect any malfunction of your alarm equipment during this investigation. if Vivint had caused or contributed to the false alarm, Vivint would be willing to bear all or part of the burden of the fine payment. However, since the investigation did not reveal that the false alarm was caused by Vivint the responsibility for the payment of the fine belongs to you.  

They didn't inform me of the name change, and when they call saying this is so and so from Vivint and I call and think this is the wrong number who's to blame? you decide  

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping. The term fishing may be applied to catching other aquatic animals such as molluscs, cephalopods, crustaceans, and echinoderms. The term is not normally applied to catching aquatic mammals, such as whales, where the term whaling is more appropriate, or to farmed fish.

According to FAO statistics, the total number of commercial fishermen and fish farmers is estimated to be 38 million. Fisheries and aquaculture provide direct and indirect employment to over 500 million people. In 2005, the worldwide per capita consumption of fish captured from wild fisheries was 14.4 kilograms, with an additional 7.4 kilograms harvested from fish farms. In addition to providing food, modern fishing is also a recreational pastime.

Main article: History of fishing

Fishing, tacuinum sanitatis casanatensis (XIV century)

Stone Age fish hook made from bone. Fishing is an ancient practice that dates back to, at least, the beginning of the Paleolithic period about 40,000 years ago. Isotopic analysis of the skeletal remains of Tianyuan man, a 40,000 year old modern human from eastern Asia, has shown that he regularly consumed freshwater fish. Archaeology features such as shell middens, discarded fish bones and cave paintings show that sea foods were important for survival and consumed in significant quantities. During this period, most people lived a hunter-gatherer lifestyle and were, of necessity, constantly on the move. However, where there are early examples of permanent settlements (though not necessarily permanently occupied) such as those at Lepenski Vir, they are almost always associated with fishing as a major source of food.

Egyptians bringing in fish, and splitting for salting. The ancient river Nile was full of fish; fresh and dried fish were a staple food for much of the population. The Egyptians had implements and methods for fishing and these are illustrated in tomb scenes, drawings, and papyrus documents. Some representations hint at fishing being pursued as a pastime. In India, the Pandyas, a classical Dravidian Tamil kingdom, were known for the pearl fishery as early as the 1st century BC. Their seaport Tuticorin was known for deep sea pearl fishing. The paravas, a Tamil caste centred in Tuticorin, developed a rich community because of their pearl trade, navigation knowledge and fisheries. Fishing scenes are rarely represented in ancient Greek culture, a reflection of the low social status of fishing. However, Oppian of Corycus, a Greek author wrote a major treatise on sea fishing, the Halieulica or Halieutika, composed between 177 and 180. This is the earliest such work to have survived to the modern day. Pictorial evidence of Roman fishing comes from mosaics. The Greco-Roman sea god Neptune is depicted as wielding a fishing trident. The Moche people of ancient Peru depicted fisherman in their ceramics.

One of the world’s longest trading histories is the trade of dry cod from the Lofoten area of Norway to the southern parts of Europe, Italy, Spain and Portugal. The trade in cod started during the Viking period or before, has been going on for more than 1,000 years and is still important.

Techniques

Fishermen with traditional fish traps, Hà Tây, Vietnam Main article: Fishing techniques There are many fishing techniques or methods for catching fish. The term can also be applied to methods for catching other aquatic animals such as molluscs (shellfish, squid, octopus) and edible marine invertebrates.

Fishing techniques include hand gathering, spearfishing, netting, angling and trapping. Recreational, commercial and artisanal fishers use different techniques, and also, sometimes, the same techniques. Recreational fishers fish for pleasure or sport, while commercial fishers fish for profit. Artisanal fishers use traditional, low-tech methods, for survival in third-world countries, and as a cultural heritage in other countries. Mostly, recreational fishers use angling methods and commercial fishers use netting methods. There is an intricate link between various fishing techniques and knowledge about the fish and their behaviour including migration, foraging and habitat. The effective use of fishing techniques often depends on this additional knowledge.

Tackle An angler on the Kennet and Avon Canal, England, with his tackle. Main article: Fishing tackle Fishing tackle is a general term that refers to the equipment used by fishermen when fishing. Almost any equipment or gear used for fishing can be called fishing tackle. Some examples are hooks, lines, sinkers, floats, rods, reels, baits, lures, spears, nets, gaffs, traps, waders and tackle boxes. Tackle that is attached to the end of a fishing line is called terminal tackle. This includes hooks, sinkers, floats, leaders, swivels, split rings and wire, snaps, beads, spoons, blades, spinners and clevises to attach spinner blades to fishing lures. Fishing tackle can be contrasted with fishing techniques. Fishing tackle refers to the physical equipment that is used when fishing, whereas fishing techniques refers to the ways the tackle is used when fishing.

Traditional fishing Main article: Artisan fishing Traditional fishing is a term used to describe small scale commercial or subsistence fishing practices, using traditional techniques such as rod and tackle, arrows and harpoons, throw nets and drag nets, etc.

Recreational fishing Angling. Main article: Recreational fishing Recreational and sport fishing describe fishing primarily for pleasure or competition. Recreational fishing has conventions, rules, licensing restrictions and laws that limit the way in which fish may be caught; typically, these prohibit the use of nets and the catching of fish with hooks not in the mouth. The most common form of recreational fishing is done with a rod, reel, line, hooks and any one of a wide range of baits or lures such as artificial flies. The practice of catching or attempting to catch fish with a hook is generally known as angling. In angling, it is sometimes expected or required that fish be returned to the water (catch and release). Recreational or sport fishermen may log their catches or participate in fishing competitions.

Big-game fishing describes fishing from boats to catch large open-water species such as tuna, sharks and marlin. Sport fishing (sometimes game fishing) describes recreational fishing where the primary reward is the challenge of finding and catching the fish rather than the culinary or financial value of the fish's flesh. Fish sought after include marlin, tuna, tarpon, sailfish, shark and mackerel although the list is endless.

The fishing industry Modern Spanish tuna purse seiner in the Seychelles Islands Main article: Fishing industry The fishing industry includes any industry or activity concerned with taking, culturing, processing, preserving, storing, transporting, marketing or selling fish or fish products. It is defined by the FAO as including recreational, subsistence and commercial fishing, and the harvesting, processing, and marketing sectors. The commercial activity is aimed at the delivery of fish and other seafood products for human consumption or for use as raw material in other industrial processes.

There are three principal industry sectors: The commercial sector comprises enterprises and individuals associated with wild-catch or aquaculture resources and the various transformations of those resources into products for sale. It is also referred to as the "seafood industry", although non-food items such as pearls are included among its products.

The traditional sector comprises enterprises and individuals associated with fisheries resources from which aboriginal people derive products in accordance with their traditions.

The recreational sector comprises enterprises and individuals associated for the purpose of recreation, sport or sustenance with fisheries resources from which products are derived that are not for sale.

Commercial fishing Main article: Commercial fishing Commercial fishing is the capture of fish for commercial purposes. Those who practice it must often pursue fish far into the ocean under adverse conditions. Commercial fishermen harvest almost all aquatic species, from tuna, cod and salmon to shrimp, krill, lobster, clams, squid and crab, in various fisheries for these species. Commercial fishing methods have become very efficient using large nets and sea-going processing factories. Individual fishing quotas and international treaties seek to control the species and quantities caught.

A commercial fishing enterprise may vary from one man with a small boat with hand-casting nets or a few pot traps, to a huge fleet of trawlers processing tons of fish every day. Commercial fishing gear includes weights, nets (e.g. purse seine), seine nets (e.g. beach seine), trawls (e.g. bottom trawl), dredges, hooks and line (e.g. long line and handline), lift nets, gillnets, entangling nets and traps.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, total world capture fisheries production in 2000 was 86 million tons (FAO 2002). The top producing countries were, in order, the People's Republic of China (excluding Hong Kong and Taiwan), Peru, Japan, the United States, Chile, Indonesia, Russia, India, Thailand, Norway and Iceland. Those countries accounted for more than half of the world's production; China alone accounted for a third of the world's production. Of that production, over 90% was marine and less than 10% was inland.

A small number of species support the majority of the world’s fisheries. Some of these species are herring, cod, anchovy, tuna, flounder, mullet, squid, shrimp, salmon, crab, lobster, oyster and scallops. All except these last four provided a worldwide catch of well over a million tonnes in 1999, with herring and sardines together providing a catch of over 22 million metric tons in 1999. Many other species as well are fished in smaller numbers.

 

Fish farms

Main article: Fish farm

Intensive koi aquaculture facility in Israel Fish farming is the principal form of aquaculture, while other methods may fall under mariculture. It involves raising fish commercially in tanks or enclosures, usually for food. A facility that releases juvenile fish into the wild for recreational fishing or to supplement a species' natural numbers is generally referred to as a fish hatchery. Fish species raised by fish farms include Atlantic salmon, carp, tilapia, catfish, trout and others.

Increased demands on wild fisheries by commercial fishing has caused widespread overfishing. Fish farming offers an alternative solution to the increasing market demand for fish and fish protein.

Fish products

Main article: Fish products

Gyula Derkovits, still-life with fish (1928) Fish and fish products are consumed as food all over the world. With other seafoods, it provides the world's prime source of high-quality protein: 14–16 percent of the animal protein consumed worldwide. Over one billion people rely on fish as their primary source of animal protein.

Fish and other aquatic organisms are also processed into various food and non-food products, such as sharkskin leather, pigments made from the inky secretions of cuttlefish, isinglass used for the clarification of wine and beer, fish emulsion used as a fertilizer, fish glue, fish oil and fish meal. Fish are also collected live for research or the aquarium trade.

Fish marketing

Main article: Fish marketing

Fishing vessels

See also: Fishing vessels and Traditional fishing boats

Crab boat from the North Frisian Islands working in the North Sea A fishing vessel is a boat or ship used to catch fish in the sea, or on a lake or river. Many different kinds of vessels are used in commercial, artisanal and recreational fishing.

According to the FAO, there are currently (2004) four million commercial fishing vessels. About 1.3 million of these are decked vessels with enclosed areas. Nearly all of these decked vessels are mechanised, and 40,000 of them are over 100 tons. At the other extreme, two-thirds (1.8 million) of the undecked boats are traditional craft of various types, powered only by sail and oars. These boats are used by artisan fishers.

It is difficult to estimate how many recreational fishing boats there are, although the number is high. The term is fluid, since most recreational boats are also used for fishing from time to time. Unlike most commercial fishing vessels, recreational fishing boats are often not dedicated just to fishing. Just about anything that will stay afloat can be called a recreational fishing boat, so long as a fisher periodically climbs aboard with the intent to catch a fish. Fish are caught for recreational purposes from boats which range from dugout canoes, kayaks, rafts, pontoon boats and small dingies to runabouts, cabin cruisers and cruising yachts to large, hi-tech and luxurious big game rigs. Larger boats, purpose-built with recreational fishing in mind, usually have large, open cockpits at the stern, designed for convenient fishing.

Fisheries management

Fisheries scientists sorting a catch of small fish and langoustine.

Main articles: Fisheries management and Fisheries science Fisheries management draws on fisheries science in order to find ways to protect fishery resources so sustainable exploitation is possible. Modern fisheries management is often referred to as a governmental system of (hopefully appropriate) management rules based on defined objectives and a mix of management means to implement the rules, which are put in place by a system of monitoring control and surveillance.

Fisheries science is the academic discipline of managing and understanding fisheries. It is a multidisciplinary science, which draws on the disciplines of oceanography, marine biology, marine conservation, ecology, population dynamics, economics and management in an attempt to provide an integrated picture of fisheries. In some cases new disciplines have emerged, such as bioeconomics.

Sustainability

Fishing down the food web

Main article: Sustainable fishing Issues involved in the long term sustainability of fishing include overfishing, by-catch, marine pollution, environmental effects of fishing, climate change and fish farming. Conservation issues are part of marine conservation, and are addressed in fisheries science programs. There is a growing gap between how many fish are available to be caught and humanity’s desire to catch them, a problem that gets worse as the world population grows.

Similar to other environmental issues, there can be conflict between the fishermen who depend on fishing for their livelihoods and fishery scientists who realise that if future fish populations are to be sustainable then some fisheries must limit fishing or cease operations.

Cultural impact

Ona, a traditional fishing village in Norway Community impact: For communities like fishing villages, fisheries provide not only a source of food and work but also a community and cultural identity. Semantic impact: The expression "fishing expedition" describes a situation where a questioner implies he knows more than he actually does in order to trick his target into divulging more information than he wishes to reveal. Other examples of fishing terms that carry a negative connotation are: "fishing for compliments", "to be fooled hook, line and sinker" (to be fooled beyond merely "taking the bait"), and the internet scam of Phishing in which a third party will duplicate a website where the user would put sensitive information (such as bank codes).

Religious impact: Fishing has had an effect on all major religions, including Islam, Christianity, Buddhism, Jainism, Zoroastrianism, Hinduism, and the various new age religions. According to the Roman Catholic faith the first Pope was a fisherman, the Apostle Peter, and a number of the miracles reported in the Bible involve it. Additionally, the Pope's traditional vestments include a fish-shaped hat.

Fly fishing is an angling method in which an artificial 'fly' is used to catch fish. The fly is cast by using a fly rod, reel, and a plastic coated line which is heavier than regular monofilament. Casting the nearly weightless fly or 'lure' requires a special casting technique and an especially light rod. Fly fishermen use hand tied flies that resemble natural invertebrates or other food organisms, or 'lures' to provoke the fish to strike.

Fly fishing can be done in fresh or salt water. North Americans usually distinguish freshwater fishing between cold-water species (trout, salmon, steelhead) and warm-water species, notably bass. In Britain, where natural water temperatures vary less, the distinction is between game fishing for trout or salmon and coarse fishing for other species. Techniques for freshwater fly fishing also differ with habitat (lakes, small streams and big rivers.)

Main overview

Fly rod and reel with a brown trout from a chalk stream in England

In fly fishing, fish are caught by using artificial flies that are cast with a fly rod and a fly line. The fly line (today, almost always coated with plastic) is heavy enough to send the fly to the target. There is a main difference between fly fishing and spin or bait fishing. In fly fishing the weight of the line carries the hook through the air, whereas in spin and bait fishing the weight of the lure or sinker at the end of the monofilament line gives casting distance. Artificial flies are of several types; some imitating an insect (either flying or swimming), others a bait fish or crustacean, others attractors are known to attract fish although they look like nothing in nature. Flies can be made either to float or sink, and range in size from a few millimeters to 30 cm long; most are between 1 and 5 cm.

Artificial flies are made by fastening hair, fur, feathers, or other materials, both natural and synthetic, onto a hook. The first flies were tied with natural materials, but synthetic materials are now very popular and prevalent. The flies are tied in sizes, colors and patterns to match local terrestrial and aquatic insects, baitfish, or other prey attractive to the target fish species.

Fish species

Fly fishing is most renowned as a method for catching trout and salmon, but it is also used for a wide variety of species including pike, bass, panfish, grayling and carp, as well as marine species, such as redfish, snook, tarpon, bonefish and striped bass. Many fly anglers catch unintended species such as chub, bream and rudd while fishing for 'main target' species such as trout. A growing population of anglers attempt to catch as many different species as possible with the fly. With the advancement of technology and development of stronger rods and reels, larger predatory saltwater species such as wahoo, tuna, marlin and sharks have become target species on fly. Realistically any fish can be targeted and captured on fly as long as the main food source is effectively replicated by the fly itself and the gear used is suitable.

Fly angler circa 1970s

History

Frontispiece from The Art of Angling by Richard Brookes, 1790

Many credit the first recorded use of an artificial fly to the Roman Claudius Aelianus near the end of the 2nd century. He described the practice of Macedonian anglers on the Astraeus River:

    ...they have planned a snare for the fish, and get the better of them by their fisherman's craft. . . . They fasten red . . . wool round a hook, and fit on to the wool two feathers which grow under a c**k's wattles, and which in color are like wax. Their rod is six feet long, and their line is the same length. Then they throw their snare, and the fish, attracted and maddened by the color, comes straight at it, thinking from the pretty sight to gain a dainty mouthful; when, however, it opens its jaws, it is caught by the hook, and enjoys a bitter repast, a captive.

In his book Fishing from the Earliest Times, however, William Radcliff (1921) gave the credit to Martial (Marcus Valerius Martialis), born some two hundred years before Aelian, who wrote:

    ...Who has not seen the scarus rise, decoyed and killed by fraudful flies...

The last word, somewhat indistinct in the original, is either "mosco" (moss) or "musca" (fly) but catching fish with fraudulent moss seems unlikely.

Great Britain

Other than a few fragmented references little was written on fly fishing until The Treatyse on Fysshynge with an Angle was published (1496) within The Boke of St. Albans attributed to Dame Juliana Berners. The book contains, along with instructions on rod, line and hook making, dressings for different flies to use at different times of the year. The earliest English poetical treatise on Angling by John Dennys, said to have been a fishing companion of Shakespeare, was published in 1613, The Secrets of Angling, of which 6 verses were quoted in the better known book Izaak Walton's Compleat Angler (1653), of which the latter two chapters were actually written by his friend Charles Cotton, and described the fishing in the Derbyshire Wye.

British fly-fishing continued to develop in the 19th Century, with the emergence of fly fishing clubs, along with the appearance of several books on the subject of fly tying and fly fishing techniques. In southern England, dry-fly fishing acquired an elitist reputation as the only acceptable method of fishing the slower, clearer rivers of the south such as the River Test and the other chalk streams concentrated in Hampshire, Surrey, Dorset and Berkshire (see Southern England Chalk Formation for the geological specifics). The weeds found in these rivers tend to grow very close to the surface, and it was felt necessary to develop new techniques that would keep the fly and the line on the surface of the stream. These became the foundation of all later dry-fly developments. However, there was nothing to prevent the successful employment of wet flies on these chalk streams, as George Edward MacKenzie Skues proved with his nymph and wet fly techniques. To the horror of dry-fly purists, Skues later wrote two books, Minor Tactics of the Chalk Stream, and The Way of a Trout with a Fly, which greatly influenced the development of wet fly fishing. In northern England and Scotland, many anglers also favored wet-fly fishing, where the technique was more popular and widely practiced than in southern England. One of Scotland’s leading proponents of the wet fly in the early-to-mid 19th century was W.C. Stewart, who published "The Practical Angler" in 1857.

In Scandinavia and the United States, attitudes toward methods of fly fishing were not nearly as rigidly defined, and both dry- and wet-fly fishing were soon adapted to the conditions of those countries.

Japan

The traditional Japanese method of fly-fishing is known as "Tenkara" (Japanese: ????, literally: "from heaven"). The first reference to tenkara fly-fishing was in 1878 in a book called "Diary of climbing Mt. Tateyama".

Tenkara is the only fly-fishing method in Japan that is defined by using a fly and casting technique where the line is what is actually being cast. Tenkara originated in the mountains of Japan as a way for professional fishermen and inn-keepers to harvest the local fish, Ayu, trout, char for selling and providing a meal to their guests. Primarily a small-stream fishing method that was preferred for being highly efficient, where the long rod allowed the fisherman to place the fly where the fish would be.

Another style of fishing in Japan is Ayu fishing. As written by historian Andrew Herd, in the book "The Fly", "Fly fishing became popular with Japanese peasants from the twelfth century onward...fishing was promoted to a pastime worthy of Bushi (warriors), as part of an official policy to train the Bushi's mind during peacetime." This refers primarily to Ayu fishing, which commonly uses a fly as lure, uses longer rods, but there is no casting technique required, it's more similar to dapping. Ayu was practiced in the lowlands (foothills), where the Bushi resided, tenkara practiced in the mountains. Fishing flies are thought to have first originated in Japan for Ayu fishing over 430 years ago. These flies were made with needles that were bent into shape and used as fishing hooks, then dressed as a fly. The rods along with fishing flies, are considered to be a traditional local craft of the Kaga region.

In the West, fly-fishing rods were primarily made of wood, which is heavy, so having long rods to reach spots where fish may be was tricky. Anglers started devising running line systems, where they could use shorter rods and longer lines. Eventually this led to the development of reels and the widespread use of shorter rods and reels. In Japan, bamboo, a very light material, was readily available, so anglers could make very long rods without much concern for weight. Fly-fishing remained more pure, as it was in its origins, anglers in Japan could continue using the long rods and did not feel the need to invent running line systems and reels.

North America

From The Speckled Brook Trout by Louis Rhead (1902)

In the United States, fly anglers are thought to be the first anglers to have used artificial lures for bass fishing. After pressing into service the fly patterns and tackle designed for trout and salmon to catch largemouth and smallmouth bass, they began to adapt these patterns into specific bass flies. Fly anglers seeking bass developed the spinner/fly lure and bass popper fly, which are still used today.

In the late 19th century, American anglers, such as Theodore Gordon, in the Catskill Mountains of New York began using fly tackle to fish the region’s many brook trout-rich streams such as the Beaverkill and Willowemoc Creek. Many of these early American fly anglers also developed new fly patterns and wrote extensively about their sport, increasing the popularity of fly fishing in the region and in the United States as a whole. One such man was Charles F. Orvis, who through his actions helped to popularize fly fishing by designing and distributing novel reel and fly designs. His 1874 fly reel was described by reel historian Jim Brown as the "benchmark of American reel design," the first fully modern fly reel. The founding of The Orvis Company helped institutionalize fly fishing within America and supplied angling equipment and accessories to the homes of millions of Americans. His elegantly printed tackle catalogs, distributed to a small but devoted customer list in the late 1800s, are now highly collectible as early forerunners of today's enormous direct-mail outdoor products industry. The Junction Pool in Roscoe, where the Willowemoc flows into the Beaver Kill, is the center of an almost ritual pilgrimage every April 1, when the season begins. Albert Bigelow Paine, a New England author, wrote about fly fishing in The Tent Dwellers, a book about a three week trip he and a friend took to central Nova Scotia in 1908.

Participation in fly fishing peaked in the early 1920s in the eastern states of Maine and Vermont and in the Midwest in the spring creeks of Wisconsin. Along with deep sea fishing, Ernest Hemingway did much to popularize fly fishing through his works of fiction, including The Sun Also Rises. It was the development of inexpensive fiberglass rods, synthetic fly lines, and monofilament leaders, however, in the early 1950s, that revived the popularity of fly fishing, especially in the United States.

In recent years, interest in fly fishing has surged as baby boomers have discovered the sport. Movies such as Robert Redford's film A River Runs Through It, starring Craig Sheffer and Brad Pitt, cable fishing shows, and the emergence of a competitive fly casting circuit have also added to the sport's visibility.

Australia

Brown trout were first introduced to Australia by the efforts of Edward Wilson's Acclimatisation Society of Victoria with the aim to "provide for manly sport which will lead Australian youth to seek recreation on the river's bank and mountainside rather than in the Cafe and Casino." The first successful transfer of Brown Trout ova (from the Itchen and Wye) was aboard the Norfolk in 1864. Rainbow Trout were not introduced until 1894.

Gear improvements

Lines made of silk replaced those of horse hair and were heavy enough to be cast in the modern style. George Cotton and his predecessors fished their flies with long rods, and light lines allowing the wind to do most of the work of getting the fly to the fish. The introduction of new woods to the manufacture of fly rods, first greenheart and then bamboo, made it possible to cast flies into the wind on silk lines. These early fly lines proved troublesome as they had to be coated with various dressings to make them float and needed to be taken off the reel and dried every four hours or so to prevent them from becoming waterlogged.

American rod builders such as Hiram Leonard developed superior techniques for making bamboo rods: thin strips were cut from the cane, milled into shape, and then glued together to form light, strong, hexagonal rods with a solid core that were superior to anything that preceded them.

Fly reels were soon improved, as well. At first they were rather mechanically simple; more or less a storage place for the fly line and backing. In order to tire the fish, anglers simply applied hand pressure to the rim of the revolving spool, known as 'palming' the rim. (See Fishing reel). In fact, many superb modern reels still use this simple design, often with a "click-check" mechanism which makes both an audible noise and provides light spool braking to prevent overruns.

Methods

Maramec Spring fishing ls.jpg

Casting

Unlike other casting methods, fly fishing can be thought of as a method of casting line rather than lure. Non-flyfishing methods rely on a lure's weight to pull line from the reel during the forward motion of a cast. By design, a fly is too light to be cast, and thus simply follows the unfurling of a properly cast fly line, which is heavier and tapered and therefore more castable than lines used in other types of fishing.

The physics of flycasting can be described by the transfer of impulse, the product of mass and speed through the rod from base to top and from the transfer of impulse through the fly line all the way to the tip of the leader. Because both the rod and the fly line are tapered the smaller amount of mass will reach high speeds as the waves in rod and line unfurl. The waves that travel through the fly line are called loops. Determining factors in reaching the highest speeds are the basal frequency of a rod and the transfer of the speed from the tip of the rod to the fly line. At the moment the rod tip reaches its highest velocity the direction of the cast is determined.

The type of cast used when fishing varies according to the conditions. The most common cast is the forward cast, where the angler whisks the fly into the air, back over the shoulder until the line is nearly straight, then forward, using primarily the forearm. The objective of this motion is to "load" (bend) the rod tip with stored energy, then transmit that energy to the line, resulting in the fly line (and the attached fly) being cast for an appreciable distance. Casting without landing the fly on the water is known as 'false casting', and may be used to pay out line, to dry a soaked fly, or to reposition a cast. Other casts are the roll cast, the single- or double-haul, the tuck cast, and the side- or curve-cast.

Dropping the fly onto the water and its subsequent movement on or beneath the surface is one of fly fishing's most difficult aspects; the angler is attempting to cast in such a way that the line lands smoothly on the water and the fly appears as natural as possible. At a certain point, if a fish does not strike, depending upon the action of the fly in the wind or current, the angler picks up the line to make another presentation. On the other hand, if a fish strikes, the angler pulls in line while raising the rod tip. This "sets" the hook in the fish's mouth. The fish is played either by hand, where the angler continues to hold the fly line in one hand to control the tension applied to the fish, or by reeling up any slack in the line and then using the hand to act as a drag on the reel. Most modern fly reels have an adjustable, mechanical drag system to control line tension during a fish's run.

Beginners tend to point with the rod to where they want to throw, but the movement of the hand has to be a controlled speed-up and then come to an abrupt stop. The rod will then start to unfurl and the tip of the rod will reach a high speed in the required direction. The high speed of the rod tip toward the target gives the impulse to make the cast, the abrupt stop and retreat of the rod tip is essential for the formation of a loop. Experienced fishermen also improve the speed of the line leaving the rod tip by a technique called hauling, applying a quick fast pull with the hand holding the line. At the end of the cast when the line is stretched the line as a whole will still have speed and the fisherman can let some extra line through his fingers making a false throw, either forward or backward or to finish the cast and start fishing.

There are a great number of special casts meant to evade problems like trees behind the angler (roll cast), the pulling of the line on the fly by the action of the stream, or to make the fly land more softly.

Spey Casting

Spey casting is a casting technique used in fly fishing. Spey casting requires a longer, heavier two-handed fly rod, referred to as a Spey rod. Spey casting is essentially a large roll cast, developed on the Scottish River Spey where high banks do not allow space for the usual back cast.

Spey casting is used for fishing large rivers for salmon and large trout such as steelhead and sea trout. Spey technique is also used in saltwater surf casting. All of these situations require the angler to cast larger flies long distances. The two-handed Spey technique allows more powerful casts and avoids obstacles on the shore by keeping most of the line in front of the angler.

Fly fishing for trout

Fly angler on the Firehole River, USA

Fly fishing for trout is a very popular sport, which can be done using any of the various methods and any of the general types of flies. Many of the techniques and presentations of fly fishing were first developed in fishing for trout. There is a misconception that all fly fishing for trout is done on the surface of the water with "dry flies." In most places, especially heavily fished trout areas, success usually comes from fly fishing using flies that were designed to drift on the bottom of the water. A trout feeds below the water's surface nearly 90 percent of the time. Trout usually only come to the surface when there is a large bug hatch (when aquatic insects grow wings and leave the water to mate and lay eggs). There are exceptions to this rule, however, particularly during the summer months and on smaller mountain streams

Techniques

Fishing in cold water

In order to deceive wary trout, or to reach deep runs where he/she believes salmon lie, the fly angler often needs to wade to the right casting position. He/she therefore requires sure footing and insulation from cold water, both provided by hip boots or chest-high waders. The latter are of two main types, one-piece "boot foot" waders and "stocking foot" waders, which require external boots.

Formerly of latex rubber, "stocking foot" waders now are made of neoprene, usually 3 mm thick, which provide additional warmth. In the mid-20th century American anglers developed felt boot soles for a better grip in rocky rivers: but felt is now prohibited in some US states, as a vector of fish and plant diseases that damage sport fisheries. Manufacturers now offer wading boots with special rubber treads or metal studs. Breathable Gore-Tex waders provide ventilation when hiking along the water, but do not provide flotation in the event of slipping or falling into deep water. In deep water streams, an inflatable personal flotation device (PFD), or a Type III Kayak fishing vest, adds a degree of safety.

Some "catch and release" anglers flatten the barb of their hook. Such "barbless hooks" are much easier to remove from the fish (and from the angler, in the event of mishap). Many rivers with special regulations mandate that fishermen use barbless hooks in an effort to conserve a healthy fish population.

Dry fly trout fishing

Dry fly fishing is done with line and flies that float, joined by a leader, usually made of fine polyamide monofilament line. The tapered leader is 3 to 5 meters long, thus nearly invisible where the fly is knotted, and the angler can replace the last meter of nylon as required. Unlike sinking fly (nymph) fishing, the "take" on dry flies is visible, explosive and exciting. While trout typically consume about 90% of their diet from below-water sources, the 10% of surface-level consumption by trout is more than enough to keep most anglers busy. Additionally, beginning fly anglers generally prefer dry fly fishing because of the relative ease of detecting a strike and the instant gratification of seeing a trout strike their fly. Nymph fishing may be more productive, but dry fly anglers soon become addicted to the surface strike.

An Adams dry fly

Dry flies may be "attractors", such as the Royal Wulff, or "natural imitators", such as the elk hair caddis, a caddisfly imitation A beginner may wish to begin with a fly that is easy to see such as a Royal Wulff attractor or a mayfly imitation such as a Parachute Adams. The "parachute" on the Parachute Adams makes the fly land as softly as a natural on the water and has the added benefit of making the fly very visible from the surface. Being able to see the fly is especially helpful to the beginner. The fly should land softly, as if dropped onto the water, with the leader fully extended from the fly line. Due to rivers having faster and slower currents often running side by side, the fly can over take or be overtaken by the line, thus disturbing the fly's drift. Mending is a technique where by one lifts and moves the part of the line that requires re-aligning with the fly's drift, thus extending the drag free drift. The mend can be upstream or down stream depending on the currents carrying the line or fly. To be effective, any mending of the fly line should not disturb the natural drift of the fly. Learning to mend is often much easier if the angler can see the fly.

Once a fish has been caught and landed, the fly may no longer float well. A fly can sometimes be dried and made to float again by "false" casting, casting the fly back and forth in the air. In some cases, the fly can be dried with a small piece of reusable absorbent towel, an amadou patch or chamoisand after drying placed and shaken in a container full of fly "dressing"; a hydrophobic solution. A popular solution to a dry fly which refuses to float is simply to replace it with another, similar or identical fly until the original can fully dry, rotating through a set of flies.

Fly fishing on the Gardner River in Yellowstone National Park, USA

Dry fly fishing on small, clear-water streams can be especially productive if the angler stays as low to the ground and as far from the bank as possible, moving upstream with stealth. Trout tend to face upstream and most of their food is carried to them on the current. For this reason, the fish's attention is normally focused into the current; most anglers move and fish "into the current", fishing from a position downstream of the fish's suspected lie. Trout tend to strike their food at current "edges", where faster- and slower-moving waters mix. Obstructions to the stream flow, such as large rocks or nearby pools, provide a "low energy" environment where fish sit and wait for food without expending much energy. Casting upstream to the "edge" of the slower water, the angler can see the fly land and drift slowly back downstream. The challenge in stream fishing is placing the fly with deadly accuracy, within inches of a protective rock for instance, not long range casting. Done properly, the fly seems to be just floating along in the current with a "perfect drift" as if not connected to the fly line. The angler must remain vigilant for the "take" in order to be ready to raise the rod tip and set the hook.

Nymphing for trout

Trout tend mostly to feed underwater. Especially when fishing deeper waters such as rivers or lakes, putting a fly down to the trout may be more successful than fishing on the surface, especially in the absence of any surface insect activity or hatch. The nymph itself can be weighted, as is the popular bead headed hare's ear nymph or bead headed pheasant tail nymph. Alternatively, the angler can use an attractor pattern such as a Prince Nymph. Weights can be added to the leader. Probably the best weight to use is twist on lead or other metal strips because it has a much less detrimental effect on the casting ability. A sinking tip fly line can also serve to sink the fly. The most common nymphing and general overall fly fishing technique that even beginners can master is a "dead drift" or tight line fishing technique, casting directly across the river, letting the fly line drift downriver while keeping any slack out of the line. If the Nymph is drifting too fast then you should perform an upstream mend. If the nymph is drifting too slowly you should mend downstream. A beginner need simply to point the rod at the fly, lifting the rod in the event of a strike. This is a "downstream technique", where the angler moves in a downstream direction. More advanced techniques make use of a highly visible strike indicator attached to the leader above the sinking fly.

It is also possible to use standard sinking fly lines. Especially if the current is strong and if it is difficult to get down to the correct level to catch the trout.

Still water trout fishing

A rainbow trout taken on an articulated leech pattern, Bristol Bay Region, Alaska

Fishing for trout in lakes requires different tactics. A canoe, pontoon boat or a float tube allows an angler to cover a lot more water than waders. Trout may congregate in cooler water near an inflowing stream or an underwater spring and may be lured to bite on a streamer fly. An often successful tactic is to pull a streamer such as a woolly bugger using clear sinking line, behind the watercraft. The somewhat erratic motion of the oars or fins tends to give the streamer an enticing action. Trout also tend to "cruise" transitional areas (e.g. dropoffs, weed bed edges, subsurface river flow at inlets, etc.) Watching for cruising trout and casting well ahead of any visible fish is often successful.

Playing trout

Once hooked, a small trout can be easily retrieved "on the reel" or by simply pulling in the fly line with the reel hand while pinching the line between the rod handle and the index finger of the rod hand. It is important to keep the rod tip high, allowing the bend of the rod to absorb the force of the fish's struggles against the line. Larger trout will often take line in powerful runs before they can be landed. Unlike spin fishing where the line is already on the reel, playing a large fish with fly line and a fly reel can present a special challenge. Usually, when a fish is hooked, there will be extra fly line coiled between the reel and the index finger of the rod hand. The challenge is to reel up the loose fly line onto the reel without breaking off a large fish (or getting the line wrapped up around the rod handle, one's foot, a stick or anything else in the way). With experience, really large trout can be put on the reel simply by applying light pressure on the outgoing line using the fisher's fingers. Once the extra line is on the reel, an angler can use the reel's drag system to tire the fish. It is important to use heavier tippet material if it won't spook the fish. The reason why this is important is an exhausted fish can easily die if released too soon. Heavier tippet material enables the angler to land the fish while not over exhausting it.

Releasing trout

Main article: Catch and release

Releasing wild trout helps preserve the quality of a fishery. Trout are more delicate than most fish and require careful handling. When a trout has been caught but the hook is still embedded, wet your hands before handling the fish. Dry hands stick to the adhesive slime coating the fish and can pull off its scales. It is preferred for the fish to remain in the water when removing the hook, but holding the trout out of the water will not be lethal, provided the hook is removed quickly and the trout is returned immediately.

Small trout caught on a barb-less hook can be released simply by: grasping the eyelet of the fly, and rotating the eyelet toward the bend (the U-bend). This pulls the point backwards, back through the way it entered. Push the eyelet directly toward the bend until the point is removed from the fish. Large trout can be grasped gently and forceps can be used to grip the bend and push backwards, away from the direction the hook currently points. If necessary, squirming trout can be held on their backs. This often subdues the fish and provides enough time to remove the hook.

Once the hook has been removed, return the trout into the water.Support the trout until it stabilizes. This includes holding the fish in water deep enough to submerge its gills. After long fights, it may be necessary to manually move water past its gills. This can be done either by holding the trout in moving water with its head facing upstream, or, in calm water, moving the trout backwards and forwards repeatedly. Once stabilized, the trout will swim off on its own. If released prematurely, the trout, not having enough energy to move, will sink to the bottom of the river and suffocate. Take however long is necessary to revive a trout.

Saltwater flyfishing

A red drum caught on a fly rod, Louisiana, USA

Saltwater flyfishing is typically done with heavier tackle than that which is used for freshwater trout fishing, both to handle the larger, more powerful fish, and to accommodate the casting of larger and heavier flies. Salt water fly fishing typically employs the use of wet flies resembling baitfish, crabs, shrimp and other forage. However, saltwater fish can also be caught with "poppers," and other surface lure similar to those used for freshwater bass fishing, though much larger. Saltwater species sought and caught with fly tackle include: bonefish, redfish or red drum, permit, snook, spotted sea trout, tuna, dorado (mahi-mahi), sailfish, tarpon, striped bass, salmon and marlin. Offshore saltwater species are usually attracted to the fly by "chumming" with small baitfish, or "teasing" the fish to the boat by trolling a large hookless lure (Billfish are most often caught using this latter method).

Many saltwater species, particularly large, fast and powerful fish, are not easily slowed down by "palming" the hand on the reel. Instead, a purpose-made saltwater reel for these species must have a powerful drag system. Furthermore, saltwater reels purpose-made for larger fish must be larger, heavier, and corrosion-resistant - a typical high-quality saltwater reel costs 500.00 USD or more. Corrosion-resistant equipment is key to durability in all types of saltwater fishing, regardless of the size and power of the target species.

Saltwater fly fishing is most often done from a boat, either a shallow draft flats boat used to pursue species such as bonefish, redfish, permit and tarpon in shallow waters, from larger offshore boats for pursuing sailfish, tuna, dorado, marlin and other pelagics and may be done from shore, such as wading flats for bonefish or redfish or surf fishing for striped bass and other assorted fish. Typically, most trout fly fisherman need to practice new skills to catch saltwater fish on a fly rod. Ocean fish are usually harder to catch. They can be extremely spooky, and much larger. Trout fisherman need to practice with at least an 8 weight fly rod and accurately cast the line 30–90 feet if they are going to have success—particularly in the flat areas fishing for bonefish, redfish, permit, tarpon, jacks and more.

Hooks for saltwater flies must also be extremely durable and corrosion resistant. Most saltwater hooks are made of stainless steel, but the strongest (though less corrosion resistant) hooks are of high-carbon steel. Typically, these hooks vary from size #8 to #2 for bonefish and smaller nearshore species, to size #3/0 to #5/0 for the larger offshore species.

Fly fishing tackle

Main article: Fly fishing tackle

Fly fishing tackle comprises the fishing tackle or equipment typically used by fly anglers. Fly fishing tackle includes:

    * A wide variety of Fly rods of different weights, lengths and material are used to present artificial flies to target species of fish as well as fight and land fish being caught.

    * A wide variety of Fly reels are used to store fly line and provide a braking mechanism (drag) for fighting heavy or fast moving fish.

    * A wide variety of general use and specialized fly lines are used to cast artificial flies under a wide variety of fresh and saltwater conditions.

    * Terminal tackle is used to connect the artificial fly to the fly line and allow the appropriate presentation of the fly to the fish.

    * There are a wide variety of accessories—tools, gadgets, clothing and apparel used by the fly angler for maintenance and preparation of tackle, dealing the fish being caught as well as personal comfort and safety while fly fishing. Includes fly boxes used to store and carry artificial flies.

Fly rods are typically between 1.8 m (6 ft) long in freshwater fishing and up to 4.5 m (15 ft) long for two-handed fishing for salmon or steelhead, or in tenkara fishing in small streams. The average rod for fresh and salt water is around 9 feet (2.7 m) in length and weighs from 3 –5 ounces, though a recent trend has been to lighter, shorter rods for fishing smaller streams. Another trend is to longer rods for small streams. The choice of rod lengths and line weights used varies according to local conditions, types of flies being cast, and/or personal preference.

When actively fishing, the angler may want to keep the fly line lightly pressed against the rod handle with the index finger of the casting arm. The free arm is used to pull line from the reel or to retrieve line from the water. If a fish strikes, the angler can pinch the line with the index finger against the rod handle and lift the rod tip, setting the hook.

Artificial flies

Green Highlander, a classic salmon fly

Main article: Artificial fly

For more details on this topic, see Fly tying.

In broadest terms, flies are categorized as either imitative or attractive. Imitative flies resemble natural food items. Attractive flies trigger instinctive strikes by employing a range of characteristics that do not necessarily mimic prey items. Flies can be fished floating on the surface (dry flies), partially submerged (emergers), or below the surface (nymphs, streamers, and wet flies). A dry fly is typically thought to represent an insect landing on, falling on (terrestrials), or emerging from, the water's surface as might a grasshopper, dragonfly, mayfly, ant, beetle, stonefly or caddisfly. Other surface flies include poppers and hair bugs that might resemble mice, frogs, etc. Sub-surface flies are designed to resemble a wide variety of prey including aquatic insect larvae, nymphs and pupae, baitfish, crayfish, leeches, worms, etc. Wet flies, known as streamers, are generally thought to imitate minnows, leeches or scuds.

Artificial flies, constructed of furs, feathers, and threads bound on a hook were created by anglers to imitate fish prey. The first known mention of an artificial fly was in 200AD in Macedonia. Most early examples of artificial flies imitated common aquatic insects and baitfish. Today, artificial flies are tied with a wide variety of natural and synthetic materials (like mylar and rubber) to represent all manner of potential freshwater and saltwater fish prey to include aquatic and terrestrial insects, crustaceans, worms, baitfish, vegetation, flesh, spawn, small reptiles, amphibians, mammals and birds, etc.

Fly fishing knots

For more details on this topic, see Category:Fishing knots.

A few knots have become more or less standard for attaching the various parts of the fly lines and backing, etc., together. A detailed discussion of most of these knots is available in any good book on fly fishing. Some of the knots that are in most every fly angler's arsenal are: the improved clinch knot which is commonly used to attach the fly to the leader, the overhand slip knot or arbor knot which is used to attach the backing to the spool, the albright knot which can be used to attach the fly line to the backing. A loop can also be put in fly line backing using a bimini twist. Often, a loop is added to the business end of the fly line to facilitate the connection to the leader. This loop may take one of several forms. It may be formed by creating a loop in the end of the fly line itself or by adding a braided loop or a loop of monofilament nylon (as in Gray's Loop). Alternatively, a single length of monofilament nylon, or fluorocarbon, may be tied to the end of the fly line using a nail or tube knot or a needle knot. A loop can then be tied at the end of this monofilament butt length using a double surgeon's knot or a perfection loop, to which the tapered or untapered leader, also looped using a double surgeon's knot or a perfection loop, may in turn be connected via a loop to loop connection. The use of loop to loop connections between the fly line and the leader provides a quick and convenient way to change or replace a tapered leader. Many commercially-produced tapered leaders come with a pre-tied loop connection.

Some traditionalists create their own tapered leaders using progressively smaller-diameter lengths of monofilament line tied together with the blood or barrel knot.