Dictionary of Ichthyology
Brian W. Coad and Don E. McAllister†
W
wacky worm = a rigging method where the hook is through the middle of the worm and is left exposed.
wad = a concentration of fish (or seals) Newfoundland).
wade = the front part of a boat into which fish are drawn (Shetland Isles dialect).
wadi (plural widyan but usually wadis in English) = Arabic for a watercourse, usually dry except during the rainy season and sometimes permanently dry.
wade fishing = angling while wading through the water.
wader belt = a belt around the waist of waders to prevent water entering should the angler fall into the lake or river, a particularly dangerous situation.
waders = waterproof boots extending to the hip or chest used by anglers and scientists when fishing. Made of latex, neoprene, Gortex, etc
wading = crossing a shallow water body on foot.
waggler float = in angling, a type of sensitive float attached to the line through a hole at its base. See float for more details. Types of waggler are crystal, insert, bodied, self depth adjusting, and stepped, q.v.
waif = a stray from its principal habitat or range.
waim = wame.
waith horn = vaity-kabe (an upright piece of wood fitted on the gunwale of a boat with a tip notch to enable fishing line to run freely (Scottish dialect).
walk the dog = retrieval of a topwater lure by downwards movements of the rod tip.
walking fish = any of various fishes able to survive and move about for short periods of time on land, e.g. mudskippers, walking catfish, climbing perch.
walking sinker = sinkers designed to move across the bottom, avoiding snags.
wall = armouring (the outer wall of large mesh netting forming part of a trammel net, q.v. Also called outer net, outer wall, outwall, outwalling, trancher, walling, windows).
walleye = 1) the yellow walleye (Sander vitreus) is a popular North American sport fish with a milky cornea and prominent eyes.
walleye = 2) an eye with a milky-white cornea, a light grey or bluish-white iris, or an eye turned outwards to show more of the white of the eye than usual (wall-eyed means all these plus a wild, irrational staring of the eyes and a divergent squint).
walleye epidermal hyperplasia-associated virus = virus-like particles found in epidermal tumour cells of walleye (Sander vitreus); relationship to walleye epidermal hyperplasia unknown.
walleye rig = a manufactured rig for catching walleye (Sander vitreus) with two baits, one above the other, fished on the bottom or beneath a float.
walleye sarcoma-associated virus = virus-like particles found in walleye (Sander vitreus) with sarcoma; relationship to sarcoma unknown.
walling = armouring (the outer wall of large mesh netting forming part of a trammel net, q.v. Also called outer net, outer wall, outwall, outwalling, trancher, wall, windows).
wallow = to roll on the ground as a fish on dry land (British dialect).
wallybobber = a large bobber, hook and minnow used to catch pike and muskellunge.
Walton, Izaak = 1593-1683, author of "The Compleat Angler", first published in 1653 and the classical work on angling. A fifth edition in 1676 with Charles Cotton added material on fly-fishing.
wame = the entire salmon roe.
wand = a fishing rod.
wantage rod = a ruler-like wooden measuring rod used to determine how much liquid was needed to fill a barrel, q.v. See also gauge rod and sample rod.
wanting = lacking or absent. Used in older descriptions of fishes, e.g. wanting pelvic fins is not a wish on the part of the fish.
wap = to cast a fishing-line or to fish a river (Scottish dialect).
wapper = a fisherman; an angler (Scottish dialect). Also spelled whauper.
warm monomictic = said of a lake with a winter overturn and a temperature never below 4°C.
warm spring = a spring with temperatures 9.5°C above mean air temperature.
warm water = water bodies exceeding 24°C in summer; fishes occurring in such waters.
warmwater fish = a general term for non-salmonid fishes that generally have at least one spiny ray, have pelvic and pectoral fins located behind the gills, and are usually suited for water that consistently exceeds 20°C and may be 25-32°C (or 15-27°C, sources differ).
warp = 1) the heavy cable used to tow trawls, seines, etc. May be up to 2 km long on large trawlers.
warp = 2) a collective noun (a noun that denotes a collection of persons or things regarded as a unit) for fishes.
warp = 3) a count of three herrings used in the retail business. See hundred and tally.
warp = 4) a catch of salmon in a river net (Scottish dialect).
warp block = a block used to guide a fishing line.
warp drum = winch barrel.
warping end = a small, spool-shaped, auxiliary drum with filleted flanges at each end fitted outside the main part of a winch for general use in handling fishing gear.
warping head = warping end.
warping winch = a winch used solely for warping, on which a rope may be wound under power but not stored.
warstling herring = part of a fisherwoman's cry, "herrings all alive".
wash = 1) a flood plain or active channel of an ephemeral stream.
wash = 2) immersing split and salted cod in brine at various stages in making dried fish.
wash box = a container used to wash salt cod before drying on flakes, q.v.
wash house = a room or an area of fishing premises where salted fish are processed for drying (Newfoundland).
washer = a crew member who processes cod in salt water (Newfoundland).
washing = 1) a length of netting connecting the landward end of a cod trap leader to the shore (Newfoundland).
washing = 2) spawning shad (Alosa sapidissima) breaking the water surface.
washing tub = a wooden container in which salted cod are placed at various stages in preparation for drying (Newfoundland). Also called washing vat.
washing vat = washing tub.
washy = a small cod, in poor condition (Orkney dialect).
wasp speir = waster.
waspeir = waster.
wasper = waster.
waste = fish that are caught but do not have market value as food, or fish parts as a by-product of the production process. May be used for fish meal, fish oil and other byproducts.
waster = a fish spear or leister used especially on salmon (Scotland). Also called wester, wasper, waspeir, wausper, wawsper, vauch spear, wasp speir and vasp speyr.
wastewater = water that carries wastes from homes, businesses, and industries; a mixture of water and dissolved or suspended solids.
watch-buoy = a float marking the location and ownership of a net or trap.
water = 1) fish water is a fixed volume of water in which a fish has been kept for a certain period. This water contains external metabolites and can be used in various experimental procedures, e.g. predator/prey interactions without the predator present (metabolite production by the predator may be suppressed when prey is present).
water = 2) to immerse split and salted cod in water in preparation for drying.
water bailiff = an official in charge of fishing rights. See bailiff.
water bloom = algal bloom (the rapid growth of algae on the surface of lakes, streams, or ponds; stimulated by nutrient enrichment. The water takes on a green colour).
water body = a relatively large mass of water in a confined area, e.g. pond, lake, river, etc.
water column = the water mass between the surface and the bottom.
water content = in reference to fish and fish products the amount of water as a percentage of the net weight. It is about 80% in fresh white fish (q.v.), and at 25% there is little bacterial spoilage. Also called moisture content.
water discharge = discharge (flow of water in a river or drainage basin, measured in cubic feet per second (cfs) or cubic metres per second passing a certain point).
water edge = the line where land and water meet.
water flea = Daphnia are used as food for fish in aquaria.
water gate = a gate for confining or releasing water.
water glass = fish glass (a tube with a glass end used to locate schools of cod from a boat in Newfoundland).
water hardening = fertilised eggs becoming turgid in contact with water.
water hardness = the concentration of calcium and magnesium ions in water expressed as p.p.m. or mg/l of calcium carbonate equivalents. Water hardness expressed in degrees of hardness. 0-4 is very soft, 5-8 soft, up to 30 which is extremely hard water. Note that different countries use different measures: 1 English (Clark) degree is 14.3 p.p.m. calcium carbonate, 1 American degree is 17.1 p.p.m. calcium carbonate and 1 French degree (fh) is 10.0 p.p.m. calcium carbonate. However1 German degree (dh) is 17.9 p.p.m. calcium oxide. Confusingly the German dh is used generally for degrees of hardness.
water haul = any fishing net that comes up empty.
water knot = an angling knot used to tie together two pieces of monofilament line of the same or different breaking strains. Various websites have animated steps showing how to tie this knot.
water line = the juncture of sea and land, varying with the tide.
water mass = a body of water identified by its temperature and salinity.
water parting = a boundary line separating the drainages areas of two streams.
water quality criteria = specific levels of water quality desired for identified uses, including fish production.
water resources = overall amount of water in the area considered.
water system = a river with all its tributaries.
water table = top of the zone of saturation.
water wash = to soak dried and salted cod in water to remove salt preparatory to cooking.
water-collecting area = catchment basin (the entire area from which drainage is received by a river or a lake; most generally used in reference to surface runoff).
water-hardening = the phenomena involving the movement of water into the perivitelline space (between the external capsular membrane and the vitelline membrane) and the toughening of the capsular membrane of a teleost egg freshly released into water. Takes about a day in Salmonidae. Egg diameters in the litertaure may be water-hardened or not, often without mentioning which.
water-horse (noun) = 1) a stack of salted cod-fish piled in layers to drain, having recently been removed from salt and washed clean in Newfoundland. After the piling and draining (or pressing out), water-horse fish were taken up onto the drying rack or flake. Water-horse fish were very susceptible to damage of various kinds and had to be carefully tended for a number of days.
water-horse (noun) = 2) a trough or tube used for washing fish after salting (Newfoundland).
water-horse (verb) = 3) the process of piling, stacking and draining fish.
waterbody = aquatic habitats where fishes and other organisms animals live, such as rivers, lakes, dams, creeks, streams, or ponds.
watercourse = a natural or man-made channel through which water flows.
watercraft = 1) a general term for various types of boats.
watercraft = 2) the study and knowledge of the environment and the fish that live in it.
waterfall = fall(s) (free-falling water over a cliff; falls are often a barrier to fish movement, sometimes a complete barrier or only passable to fish able to leap such as salmonids. Falls may refer to one waterfall or a series).
waterman = a commercial fisherman.
watermarked = the dully darkened skin of a salmon entering fresh water prior to spawning.
watermelon = a hook with a large gap between the shank and point.
waters = a series of freshwater ponds linked by a stream (Newfoundland).
watershed = strictly an elevated boundary area separating tributaries draining to different river systems; often used to mean a drainage basin, i.e. the area which supplies water by surface and subsurface flow from precipitation to a given point. See also drainage basin.
waterside = the shore of a body of water.
waterway = a navigable inland body of water, usually implying some or major modification on natural conditions by man.
wattle fencing = a method used in eastern Europe to prevent ponds freezing. The wattle material, supported by poles and framework, covers the pond. The water level is lowered to ensure a cushion of air remains between the water surface and the snow-covered wattle, ensuring aeration.
wauch = a bank or mound of stones set up in a river as a salmon trap (Scottish dialect). Also spelled vauch.
wauch net = a salmon net used at a vauch, q.v.
wausper = waster.
wawsper = waster.
wayward supper = salt fish stewed to tenderness in milk or fried, accompanied by boiled parsnips.
weak = scarcely evident, e.g. an anatomical character that is difficult to discern or is poorly developed.
weak stock = a fish stock of high to moderate risk of extinction or of high concern as variously defined by management authorities.
weaning = in aquaculture the transition between live food and artificial food for larval fishes.
Wear shot net = an encircling net set by boat used in salmon fishing (Northumberland dialect).
weaver knot = a form of non-sliding knot used in most netting.
web = a length or quantity of twine for knitting a net.
webbing = lint (netting in the main body of a drift or gill net. Also called body, middle twine, middle yarn, netting, sheet, yarn).
Weberian apparatus = four bones and associated tissues connecting the gas bladder to the inner ear and conveying pressure changes and sound. Usually the definition includes the first four vertebrae (two and three may be fused), a supporting unit or pars sustentaculum comprising two transverse plates projecting downwards from the fourth vertebra enclosing a circular space for the aorta and the neural complex comprising modified neural arches and spines. Found in the Cypriniformes and Siluriformes.
Weberian vertebrae = the four anterior vertebrae associated with the Weberian apparatus.
Weberian ossicles = the four bones in a chain derived from vertebrae in the Weberian apparatus forming the auditory unit or pars auditum (anterior to posterior): claustrum, scaphium, intercalarium and tripus. Also called ossa auditoria.
wed = to leap out of the water as a trout after a fly (Shetland Isles dialect).
wedge = a small, cut-out and lens-less portion of the pupil margin of the eye. This widens the field of vision and allows more light to enter the eye, rather than falling on the iris. Usually found antero-ventrally for improving forward vision. Found in a various species of salmonids and cyprinids, for example. Also called pimple, notch or notche. See also aphakic space.
wedge knot = a general purpose knot used in connecting line to leader. A knot is tied in one end of the two lines and fed through and back a loop in the other line, and cinched tight. Various websites have animated steps showing how to tie this knot.
weed fish = 1) an unwanted fish species.
weed fish = 2) small fishes serving as food for other fish in aquaculture.
weed killer = a chemical for destroying weeds, used in pond culture of fish.
weed mat = aquatic vegetation forming an almost complete coverage of the water surface; favoured by fish as a protected area from predators and insolation.
weedguard = a piece of stiff monofilament or light wire attached to the top of the hook and extending in front of the hook point and bend to the hook eye. This device reduces fouling with weeds but does not inhibit hooking a fish. There are various patterns of these hooks, illustrated in angling books and catalogues.
weedless hook = a hook with a weedguard.
weedless lure = a lure designed to be fished in vegetation without becoming entangled.
weedless spoon = a wobbling spoon with a fixed hook and a guard used when fishing in weedy waters.
weedline = an abrupt edge to a weed bed caused by a change in depth, bottom sediment, etc. May be the inside or outside edge of a weed bed.
weedy odour = blackberry odour (an odour found in some fish flesh caused by dimethylsulphide formed from dimethyl-ß-propiothetin in the diet when fish feed on pteropods such as Spiratella retroversa and S. helicina, e.g. in mackerel and cod respectively. Resembles a sulphide, gunpowder or paraffin-like odour).
weedy water = a water body overgrown with weeds.
weel = a wicker trap set on a stream bed to catch fish migrating up or downstream, often eels (English dialect).
weeping water = waterfall in New Zealand; translation from the Maori waitangi.
weigh of fish = one hundredweight (0.802 kg (long), 45.359 kg (short)).
weight = 1) ballast (a weight used to sink a fishing line).
weight = 2) ballast (one of a series of weights along the footrope of a fishing net).
weight = 3) a bundle of fishing lines (Shetland Isles dialect).
weight = 4) the vertical force exerted by a mass as a result of gravity.
weight = 5) in statistics, a coefficient assigned to elements of a frequency distribution in order to represent their relative importance.
weight loss = a decrease in fish weight occasioned by unfavourable conditions.
weight note = a receipt from a fish merchant to a fisherman recording the amount of cod delivered (Newfoundland).
weight-at-age = the average individual weight of the fish in each age class of a particular stock. Weights-at-age vary over time as well as between stocks.
weight-at-recruitment = weight of a fish when recruited to a fishable stock.
weight-forward = a type of fly line with most of its weight in the first 10 metres of line. The large section of this line is called the line belly, with a long tapering section towards the front and a short tapering towards the back where it becomes a thinner running line.
weight-length relationship = relation between weight and length of individual fishes, usually expressed as an exponential curve.
weighted usable area = the habitat area available to support a species or one of its life stages. May be expressed as the actual area or as a percentage of habitat area predicted to be available according to stream length, flow regime, substrate, and other factors.
weighting = 1) a method of giving different importance values to different characters in systematics.
weighting = 2) use of weight (4), see above.
weiner = a fish weiner is a smoked fish sausage. Also spelled wiener.
weir = 1) nets or fences set in streams or along the coast to direct fish into a holding container for easy capture. Some weirs take advantage of the falling tide to capture fish; others catch upstream migrating adults; others strain fish out of the water on a screen through which the water drains, or into bags suspended from the screen; along a chute with a bag or box at its end; or in an arched weir, higher in the middle to direct water laterally, to the shore ends where a trap awaits the fish.
weir = 2) a dam in a river to stop, raise and divert the water, for the purpose of conducting it to a mill, forming a fishpond, etc. When uncontrolled, the weir is termed a fixed-crest weir. Other types of weirs include broad-crested, sharp-crested, drowned, and submerged.
weir = 3) a bank or levee to hold a river in its bed or to direct it to a new bed.
weir feeler = the operator of a weir has to determine the number of fish captured in the weir before striking a bargain with a dealer. A weighted length of copper wire is lowered over the side of a boat in the weir, the weight is held just off the bottom and the wire looped over a finger and, as the boat is rowed around the weir, fish striking the line can be felt and counted. Expert weir feelers can distinguish numbers, sizes and even species caught.
well = 1) a storage compartment in a fishing vessel for live fish, usually in a sport fishing boat. May have perforations to allow water to flow in and out through the hull. Also called live well.
well = 2) to boil or heat; used in welling livers for their oil. See also try.
well boat = a fishing boat having a compartment or well that allows water to enter and where fish can be kept alive.
well smack = a fishing vessel using hand lines or longlines for cod and turbot in the eighteenth century that could stay at sea for some time, keeping fish alive in a well (holes in the planking allowed free circulation of sea water).
well-fished= well-supplied with fish.
wendigo = splake (an artificial hybrid of male brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) and female lake trout (S. namaycush). The name comes from speckled trout (an older name for brook trout) and lake trout. Wendigo is an alternate a name decided on by a contest sponsored by the Carling Conservation Club. Introduced to many waters in North America, particularly in Ontario where they mature earlier than lake trout and before lampreys become a significant scourge).
went = a bend in a fishing line when not cast in one stretch (Scottish dialect).
Wentworth-Udden scale = particle size; the size ranges for sediments. The scale is an international standard as follows:-
| Size Range | Particle Name |
| >256 mm | boulder |
| 64-256 mm | cobble |
| 4-64 mm | pebble |
| 2-4 mm | gravel, granule |
| 1/16-2 mm | sand |
| 1/256-1/16 mm | silt |
| <1/256 mm | clay |
West India(n) = a grade of dried and salted cod shipped to the West Indies from Newfoundland.
wester = waster.
western gill disease = nutritional gill disease (hyperplasia of gills caused by a deficiency of pantothenic acid in the diet).
western roll cast = reverse cast (casting across the body on the off-hand side of the stream in nymphing (the right side of the stream for a right-handed angler, and vice versa)).
Westoll line = roughly concentric lines in the cosmine at the base of lungfish scales assumed to be caused by resorption and growth. Also present as large structures between head shield plates.
wet all one's salt = said of a Newfoundland fishing vessel having used up all its salt on a full catch of fish.
wet barrel = a barrel used to contain wet materials, particularly fish, the staves having to be much tighter than barrels used for dry materials.
wet bundh = a perennial irrigation pond used for carp breeding (India).
wet collection = museum specimens or parts thereof stored in ethanol, isopropanol, formalin or other preservatives. Also called fluid collection.
wet cure = preserving fish by immersion in brine.
wet cured = brine cured fish (fish treated with salt in a water-tight container so that they cure in the pickle that is formed. Also called brine cured, brine salted, tank salted, wet cured, wet salted).
wet dense smoke = distilled smoke (smoke with a high moisture content produced by slow burning wood, used to smoke fish).
wet deposition = acid rain (rain falling through an atmosphere containing sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide pollutants thus making the rain acidic (pH less than 7.0); in lakes without the ability to neutralise the acid survival of fish eggs and young is compromised. Also referred to as acid deposition and wet deposition).
wet fish = 1) fresh as opposed to frozen, dried or cooked.
wet fish = 2) fish preserved with ice or chilled but not frozen.
wet fish = 3) fish caught at sea and not landed and dried, e.g. the historical French cod fishery on the Grand Banks.
wet fish = 4) wetfish.
wet fish = 5) split and salted cod, but not dried (Newfoundland).
wet fly = a lure imitating an insect and fished below the water surface.
wet fly swing = typical fishing method for a wet fly, downstream and across the current.
wet lining = 1) fishing with a sinking fly line, usually down and across the current.
wet lining = 2) commercial fishing without restrictions on the number of licensed fishing vessels with access (Australia).
wet one's line = 1) angling.
wet one's line = 2) fishing for cod in Newfoundland.
wet preservative = the liquid used as a storage medium for fish specimens, e.g. ethanol, isopropanol, formalin. Also called fluid preservative.
wet reduction = a method of production of fish meal from fatty fish such as herring.
wet salted = brine cured fish (fish treated with salt in a water-tight container so that they cure in the pickle that is formed. Also called brine cured, brine salted, tank salted, wet cured, wet salted).
wet salting = immersion of fish in a strong brine or pickle; pickling.
wet stack = salted fish, kept stacked before drying.
wet wade = wading in water without any waterproof covering.
wet weight = the weight of a whole fresh fish.
wet/dry filter = a type of biological filtration in aquaria which has media exposed to the air to aid in nitrification through bacterial growth. Common forms are trickle filters and rotating paddle wheel filters. The air/water mix promotes bacterial growth and the bacteria remove ammonia and nitrites. Also called ammonia tower.
wetland = land where water saturation is the dominant factor determining the nature of soil development and the types of plant and animal communities living in the surrounding environment. Other common names for wetlands are bogs, ponds, estuaries, and marshes.
Westoll lines = more or less concentric lines of discontinuity in the cosmine of Dipnoi, probably due to cyclic resorption and redeposition during growth occurring on the bases of individual scales and also as large structures between headshield plates.
wetfish = cartilaginous and finfish (Australia).
wetland = an area of low-lying submerged land, or land periodically inundated by fresh or salt water.
whackle = to whip a stream in fishing, to fish with a fly (Scottish dialect).
whale = 1) a marine mammal.
whale = 2) a codfish (slang, Cheltenham College.
whale = 3) a sardine (slang, Royal Military Academy).
whales = anchovies on toast (slang).
whang = a strip of dried eelskin used as a hinge for a flail (Scottish dialect).
wharf (plural wharfs or wharves) = a landing place or pier supported by piles where vessels may tie up and load or unload a catch of fish.
wharves = plural of wharf.
what's that got to do with the price of fish = a phrase used to question the accuracy of some statement.
what's up = a gene name for a zebrafish mutation affecting the ear (initially no otoliths or very tiny otoliths, sometimes one or two otoliths present later). See also einstein, half stoned, rolling stones, van gogh, among many others.
whauper = a fisherman; an angler (Scottish dialect). Also spelled wapper.
wheel = 1) a series of lift nets on a wheel frame that is rotated by the river current, catching migrating fish.
wheel = 2) a cross-sectional centre cut from a large fish such as swordfish and sharks.
wheel organ = the apparatus consisting of the velum and velar tentacles in the mouth of Amphioxi.
whemmle = to catch fish by means of a hang net (q.v.) (Cumberland dialect).
whemmle net = a drift or hang net (q.v.) (Cumberland dialect).
whemmler = a fisherman who uses a whemmle net (Cumberland dialect).
whiff = whiffling.
whiffle = whiffling.
whiffing = trolling (trailing a fishing line (or trolling line) behind a moving boat. In commercial fisheries a speed of 2-10 knots is used to catch tunas and their relatives.
whip = 1) a light fishing rod with the line tied directly to the tip; used to catch very small fish on very light tackle very quickly. Whip length is usually 6 m and line strength can be less than 0.5 kg.
whip = 2) a method of tying line to a spade-end hook where the line is fastened to the shank by a series of loops, drawn tight. Also called snelling, q.v.
whip finisher = a tool used in tying flies in fly fishing. It enables the fly tier to lay down a smooth and compact head of the fly.
whippack = a small fishing rod (Shetland Isles).
whipping drum = warping end (a small, spool-shaped, auxiliary drum with filleted flanges at each end fitted outside the main part of a winch for general use in handling fishing gear).
whippy bough trap = a fishing rod is bent and the fixed line attached underwater with the baited hook free. When a fish takes the bait, the attachment is released and the tension in the bent rod hooks the fish and holds it out of the water away from predators to be collected later. Also called automatic fishing line.
whirling disease = a parasitic disease of trout caused by the myxosporidean protozoan Myxosoma cerebralis. The parasite enters spine of the fish at a stage before the cartilage has turned to bone. Causes bent spines which force the fish to swim in the characteristic "whirling" motion, that is also called tail hunting. The spores of the parasites can remain in the mud of ponds for a long time. Also called black tail disease and twist disease.
white fish = 1) general term for fishes which have fat concentrated in the liver, not the flesh; lean fish with less than 2% fat in the flesh, e.g. cod. Used in the United Kingdom. Note that whitefish is a widely used common name especially for members of the Salmonidae (Coregoninae).
white fish= 2) silvery or white fishes, e.g. species breeding in the Mekong River, Cambodia, during the dry season and entering the Tonle Sap (lake) with rising water levels where they form a fishery, cf. black fish. Taxa include Barbodes, Cirrhinus, Cyclocheilichthys, Pangasianodon, Chitala.
white fish in the net = an old Scottish game in which two players hold a plaid stretched out between them for the other players to leap over, and try to foil each attempt by entangling the leaper.
white fish meal = fish meal, q.v., made from white, non-fatty fish.
white fishing = 1) fishing for white fish.
white fishing = 2) fishing for haddock, ling, etc. in contrast to herring fishing.
white fishing = 3) a French-Canadian term for ice fishing, rarely seen in English (fishing through holes cut in the ice of lakes or rivers, using specially designed gear and often with a shack positioned over the hole to mitigate the weather conditions. See also ice fishing under Symbols).
white gold = valuable commercial fish, e.g. the Patagonian toothfish or Chilean sea bass (Dissostichus eleginoides, Nototheniidae). See also pirate fishing.
white herring = 1) a fresh herring.
white herring = 2) a pickled but unsmoked herring.
white meat = a commercial measure of fish flesh colour, e.g. canned tuna is white meat or white tuna when it has a diffused luminous reflectance of not less than 33.7% of that of magnesium oxide when measured by a prescribed method. Equivalent to 6.3 Munsell units. See also light meat and dark meat.
white nape = to remove the black lining from the napes of split fish.
white spot = 1) ich (a contagious disease of aquarium and hatchery freshwater fishes, caused by a large protozoan (Ichthyophthirius multifiliis or I. hoferi) and characterized by small white to greyish pustules on the skin and eyes, the encysted mature parasite. Fish become hyperactive, show flashing and may cut themselves on sharp objects as the parasites cause irritation. Severe infections cause respiratory problems and death. Various chemical additives such as malachite green, formalin and methylene blue can be used to treat the aquarium water. Removal of fish from the aquarium will interrupt the parasite life cycle as encysted trophozoites settle to the aquarium bottom and divide into tomites or theronts which re-infect fish skin. Also called white spot and ichthyophthiriasis).
white spot = 2) cryptocaryon (a ciliated protozoan parasitic infection of marine fishes in aquaria caused by Cryptocaryon irritans. White spots develop on the body and fins and fish will scratch themselves against rocks. Gills may become infected and respiration affected).
white spot = 3) formation of crystals of disodium hydrogen phosphate on stale, raw, dried, salted white fish stored in very dry conditions.
white water = 1) frothy water in rapids, breakers or waterfalls.
white water = 2) seawater with a light colour as it is over a sandy bottom.
white wings = dried salted and split cod with the dark peritoneum removed.
White's method = 1) estimation of the number of individuals based on remains, e.g. in an archaeological sample of fish vertebrae, the observed sample frequency (O) and expected frequency (weighted mean)(E) are obtained for various types of vertebrae (atlas, thoracic, caudal, etc.) and the minimum number of individuals is obtained from Σ(O/E)/N.
White's method = 2) determining the size of fish, or amount of flesh furnished, from archaeological remains using the average size of an individual of a particular species, based on fishery data and the ratio between bone and flesh weights. See also Cook and Traganza method.
whitebait =1) the young of various fishes, especially the herring, considered a delicacy when fried. Often the fish are transparent.
whitebait = 2) any of various similar or related small edible fishes.
whitebait = 3) a piece of fish on a hook.
whitebait = 4) common name for Galaxias maculatus (Galaxiidae) and Salangichthys microdon (Salangidae).
whitebait stage = the pelagic juvenile stage of some Galaxiidae with marine or lacustrine phases in which the body is elongate and transparent.
whiteling = whitling.
whitenape = white nape.
whiteworm = worms of the genus Enchytraeus, cultured in containers of damp potting compost and fed on oatmeal, soaked bread or a special whiteworm food. Used as aquarium food for medium-sized fishes. Whiteworms are fairly large (3cm) earth-dwelling oligochaetes living in damp soil rich in decaying organic materials.
whiting = 1) a common name for several species of fishes, e.g. Semotilus corporalis (Cyprinidae), Merluccius bilinearis (Merlucciidae), Theragra chalcogramma (Gadidae).
whiting = 2) precipitation of calcium carbonate in hard water lakes during early summer. Chalky white clouds form and calcium carbonate rains down on the lake bed, consolidating to form marl in some cases. Temperature-dependent reduction in carbonate solubility and a seasonal change in pH related phytoplankton growth are cited as the causes. Whitings are visible on satellite images of the North American Great Lakes.
whiting's eye = an amorous glance (slang).
whitling = a juvenile salmonid during its marine phase (Scottish dialect). Also spelled whiteling and whittering.
whittering = whitling.
who cries stinking fish? = who would deprecate his own abilities or his own goods?
whole fish = fish as caught without any treatment or removal of parts. May refer to gutted fish in contrast to fillets.
whole meal = press cake (q.v.) mixed with condensed fish solubles (q.v.) and dried.
wicker trap = a fish trap of wicker used for catching eels.
wide gap = wide gape.
wide gape = in reference to angling hooks, those having a wide distance between point and shank. This enables large baits to be placed on the hook but leave the point free to hook the fish.
width of = see .....width.
widyan = plural of wadi, although the anglicised form "wadis" is usually seen.
wiener = a fish wiener is a smoked fish sausage. Also spelled weiner.
Wiener Linie = 2.195 mm (used in older taxonomic works in Austria). But see also Linie.
Wiener Zoll = 26.34 mm (used in older taxonomic works in Austria). But see also Zoll.
wild = living in nature.
wild fish = undesirable fish species in an aquaculture operation, economically unimportant and in competition with desirable fish.
wild population = a population that is sustained by natural spawning and rearing in the natural habitat, with no assistance from hatcheries.
wild spawning = an aquaculture term for uncontrolled spawning.
wild stock = a stock that is sustained by natural spawning and rearing in the natural habitat, regardless of parentage or origin.
wild type = the form of an organism that occurs most frequently in nature.
Wilder’s organ = paired serrated appendages in the gill chamber attached to the isthmus by connective tissue and some sternohyoideus muscle fibres in Amia (Amiidae). It is supported by bone and equipped with tooth-like structures. Function unknown.
William Beukel = a fourteenth century Dutchman reputedly the first to pickle fish, hence pickle from his name (unlikely as pekel exists in medieval Dutch). Also spelled Bukelz.
willowleaf blade = in angling, a spinner or spoon blade shaped like a willow leaf, elongate and with a pointed tip, flashier and used more in vegetation and clear water than some other types.
winch = any powered or unpowered machine having horizontally mounted drum on which a rope or net can be wound.
winch barrel = barrel of winch on to which the warp is wound. Since nets have two warps or ropes, trawlers will have two separate winch barrels which can be worked together or separately.
winch head = warping end.
wind dried fish = fish dried by the action of wind; air dried.
wind knot = a loop formed in the process of casting a fly line, usually by beginners and made worse when casting in the wind (hence the name), and becoming a knot. The loops form particularly in the leader or tippe Occurs when the rod tip dips under the straight line path, usually the result of a jerk forward at the end of the backcast.
wind lane = a calm area in a lake or river where surface food items accumulate with the fish that feed on them. Visible as a ribbon or lane of calm water.
wind on wire leader knot = a knot used by anglers to connect plastic-coated wire to line and enable it to be wound up through rod guides. Various websites have animated steps showing how to tie this knot.
windfall gain = a benefit realised without sacrifice, e.g. obtained by a fisherman's selling his fishing privilege. Also called windfall profit.
winding = the threads used to attach the runners and guides on a fly or other fishing rod.
window fishing = theft by entering a house through the window (slang).
windows = armouring (the outer wall of large mesh netting forming part of a trammel net, q.v. Also called outer net, outer wall, outwall, outwalling, trancher, wall, walling).
winding = thread wraps used to attach stripping guides and snake guides on a fly rod blank.
window = a clear area, e.g. in species with a light organ a patch of skin without scales, e.g. in Macrouridae.
windshark = the area on the window of car not reached by either wiper blade.
windward = 1) on the side exposed to the wind.
windward = 2) the direction from which the wind is coming.
windward = 3) away from the wind. Used to describe geographical positions where fish are caught or are absent. See also leeward.
wing = 1) the enlarged pectoral fin joining to the head and body found in Rajoidei.
wing = 2) a tapered net section extending forward from either side of the main body of a trawl.
wing = 3) tapered net section at the opposite end from the bunt of a purse seine.
wing = 4) belly flap (a loose piece of skin and flesh hanging from fish ribs in fish preparation). Also called lug or lug flap.
wing = 5) bait cut from the belly of a fish near the gills.
wing net = fyke net (a bag-shaped, cylindrical or cone-shaped fish trap, mounted on rings, with funnels which direct the fish into successive compartments. The net is fixed in place by stakes or anchors. Fish are deflected towards the mouth of the bag by leader nets set obliquely on either side of the mouth. Used particularly in rivers).
wing tip = the point where adjacent breast lines, q.v., intersect or where a breast line intersects with the fishing line.
wingwall = a retaining wall parallel to a stream.
winter pond = an earthern pond up to 2.5 metres deep with a relatively high flow rate ensuring adequate oxygen supply even if it ices over. Used by carp producers in colder climates.
winter race = semi-anadromous (q.v.) fish that move into rivers in autumn as overwintering there is less stressful and energy-consuming for a freshwater fish. They often spawn earlier in spring and further upstream than non-anadromous or sedentary stocks. See also spring race.
winter resistance = the ability of fish, particularly fry, to survive winter conditions.
winter sleep = hibernation (overwintering in a torpid state).
winter-run fish = anadromous fish that migrate to fresh water in fall or winter and spawn in late winter or spring.
wintering = a migration of fish to a winter site away from feeding and spawning areas.
wintering pond = a pond for overwintering fish, e.g. second year carp.
winterkill = the death of fishes in enclosed water bodies during winter owing to oxygen depletion. Snow and ice cover prevent oxygen exchange through the water surface and the breakdown of organic matter on the bed of the pond and in the water column also uses up the oxygen.
wip = a hair-line by which a fish-hook is attached to a small line or snood, which in turn is spliced on to the back or principal line used in fishing haddocks.
wire basket = a fish trap made of wire or wire mesh.
wire lining = using a metal line to present lures when trolling.
wire net = a cone-shaped net with a two inch or more stretched mesh over a wire frame of five inch mesh to support the netting. Used in Louisiana.
wire trace = a wire connecting a lure or baited hook to the main fishing line. Used for fish with sharp teeth.
wirlin = a not fully grown trout or salmon (Scottish dialect). Also spelled wirling, wurlin and variants.
wirling = wirlin.
Wisconsin bank cover = an artificial ledge of wood supported by rock along a stream margin as cover for fish.
wisp = a collective noun (a noun that denotes a collection of persons or things regarded as a unit) for eels.
withdrawal period = the time between cessation of any drug treatment of fishes in an aquaculture facility and slaughter so no hazard is passed along to a consumer.
wobbler = spoon (a lure that is spoon-shaped, with a hook(s) at one end, and that is cast out and retrieved in sport fishing. It flutters when drawn through the water. Numerous sizes, shapes and colours available).
wobbling = retrieval of a lure cast out a long way in an erratic fashion with side-to-side movements of the rod tip and varying retrieval speeds.
Wolffian duct = the mesonephric duct into which urine drains from the mesonephric tubules and which also serves in many fishes for sperm transport. In females these ducts open into the urogenital sinus.
wood smoke = a mixture of chemicals from burning wood used to flavour and preserve fish in a smokehouse. A preservative effect is attained from phenolic compounds, formaldehyde and acids. Aliphatic and aromatic vapours contribute flavours.
Worcester sauce = the generic name for Worcestershire sauce.
Worcestershire sauce = a sauce made with vinegar, molasses, chilli peppers, soy sauce, corn syyrup, black pepper, tamarinds, onions, shallots, cloves, asafoetida and garlic and, the ichthyological ingredient, anchovies. Used on many dishes, particularly beef, but also an ingredient of Caesar salad and Bloody Marys. This is the trade name, cf. Worcester sauce.
work = 1) in the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, any text whether published, unpublished, or carrying a disclaimer containing a name or other information bearing on nomenclature; an anonymous work is a published one where the name(s) of its author(s) cannot be determined from the contents of the work; an available work is a published one in which under the provisions of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature, or by a ruling of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, names or nomenclatural acts may be established; a conserved work is one that the Commission has ruled to be an available work; a rejected work is any work included by the Commission in the Official Index of Rejected and Invalid Works in Zoological Nomenclature; a suppressed work is any work that the Commission has ruled to be unpublished or unavailable; an unavailable work is a published work in which, under the provisions of the Code, or by ruling of the Commission, names or nomenclatural acts cannot be established; an unpublished work is a work that is not published within the meanings of the Code or which the Commission has ruled to be treated as unpublished.
work = 2) any written information such as a manuscript or a publication.
work = 3) any structure or impression resulting from the activity of an animal but not part of an animal, e.g. burrows, nests, etc.
work = 4) of fish, to be on the move.
work of an animal = result of the activity of an animal, but not a part of an animal nor a mold, impression or replacement of an animal, e.g. a coprolite.
workhorse run = the Sacramento River fall run of chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), so-named because of its abundance (at least in the past).
working end = the part of a line actively in use when tying a knot; the opposite end is the standing end.
working fecundity = free and ripe ova in a female, i.e. eggs ready to be shed.
working paper = rough notes and calculations used to prepare a final document such as a research paper.
working sheet = an informal document used to record basic museum catalogue information for an eventual permanent record.
world ocean = all the sea waters of the Earth regarded as one ocean. Also called global sea.
worm = to fish with worms.
worm cataract = a parasitic eye disease of fish caused by larval trematodes (Hemistomum spathaceum) between the lens and the lens capsule.
worm dapping = touching a worm to the water surface immediately over where a fish lies, using a short piece of line on a long rod. Used for trout.
worm fishing = fishing with worms as bait.
worm itch = gyro (a parasitic infestation of fish caused by the trematode Gyrodactylus).
worm rig = a specialised combination of hooks, weights and plastic or live worms.
worm track = vermiculation, e.g. one of a series of wavy markings on the back of such fishes as the brook trout, Salvelinus fontinalis.
worming = fishing with a worm or similar bait, usually referring to a technique using only a worm on a hook.
wormy = 1) infested with parasitic worms.
wormy = 2) a disease of the musculature of halibut from cysts of Myxosporidea such as Unicapsula.
Worshipful Company of Fishmongers = a livery company (trade association) of the City of London with a royal charter dating back to the thirteenth century. It had a monopoly over sale of fish in the City and now inspects all fish sold.
wounding gear = grappling gear (fishing gear that wounds or kills fish rather than trapping them, e.g. harpoons, spears, arrows, etc.).
wraiker = a person who examines fish for defects.
wraker = wraiker.
wrap = one complete revolution of line around another; when tying a knot. Also called a turn.
wrapping = impounding a school of fish.
wreck buoy = a buoy with red and black horizontal stripes used to mark a wreck.
wreck fishing = angling for fish over or near a sunken ship that provides habitat for fish in an otherwise less diverse environment.
wurlin = wirlin.
Wye lead = an anti-kink, q.v., device used in fast water.
© Brian W. Coad (www.briancoad.com)