Editing Fishing line (section)

==Terminology==
[[Fishing]] with a hook-and-line setup is called [[angling]]. Fish are caught when one is drawn by the [[fishing bait|bait]]/[[fishing lure|lure]] dressed on the hook into [[suction feeding|swallowing it in whole]], causing in the hook (usually [[fish hook#Sections|barb]]ed) piercing the [[soft tissue]]s and anchoring into the [[fish jaw|mouthparts]], [[gullet]] or [[fish gill|gill]], resulting in the fish becoming firmly tethered to the line. Another more primitive method is to use a straight [[gorge (fishing hook)|gorge]], which is buried longitudinally in the bait such that it would be swallowed end first, and the tension along the line would fix it cross-wise in the fish's stomach or gullet and so the capture would be assured. Once the fish is hooked, the line can then pull it towards the angler and eventually fetch it out of the water (known as "landing" the fish). Heavier fish can be difficult to retrieve by only dragging the line (as it might overwhelm and snap the line) and might need to be landed via additionally using a [[hand net]] (a.k.a. landing net) or a hooked pole called a [[gaff (fishing)|gaff]].

[[Troll (angling)|Trolling]] is a technique where one or more lines, each with at least one hooked [[fishing lure]] at the end, is dragged through the water, which mimick [[schooling and schooling|schooling]] [[forage fish]]. Trolling from a moving boat is used in both [[big-game fishing|big-game]] and [[commercial fishing]] as a method of catching large open-water species such as [[tuna]] and [[marlin]] (which are instinctively drawn to schoolers), and can also be used when angling in freshwater as a way to catch [[salmon]], [[northern pike]], [[muskellunge]] and [[walleye]]. The technique allows anglers to cover a large body of water in a short time without having to cast and retrieve lures constantly.

[[Longline fishing]] and [[trotlining]] are commercial fishing technique that uses many secondary lines with baited hooks hanging perpendicularly from a single main line.

[[Snagging]] is a [[fishing technique]] where a large, sharp [[grappling hook]] is used to pierce the fish externally in the body instead of inside the fish's mouth, and is therefore ''not'' the same as angling. Generally, a large open-gaped treble hook with a heavy [[fishing sinker|sinker]] is cast into a river containing a large amount of fish (such as [[salmon]]) and is quickly jerked and reeled in, which gives the snag hook a gaff-like "clawing" motion that can spear its sharp points past the [[fish scale|scale]]s and skin and deep into the body. Modern technologies such as [[underwater camera]]s are sometimes used to help improve the timing of snagging. Due to the mutilating nature of this technique (where the fish are typically too deeply injured to be [[catch and release|released alive]]), snagging is frequently deemed an unethical and [[illegal fishing|illegal]] method, and some snagging practitioners have added procedures to disguise the snagging practice, such as adding baits or jerking the line using a fishing rod, to make it look like angling.

=== Sections ===
Traditionally, only a single thread of line is used to connect the hook with the rod and reel. However, most modern angling setups use at least two sections of line (typically the mainline and the leader) joined with a [[bend knot]] (such as the famously named [[fisherman's knot]]). Occasionally a [[fishing swivel|swivel]] might be used to join the lines and reduce the bait/lure spinning due to the inherent line twisting from a fixed-spool reel.

A typical modern angling setup can include the following line sections:
* '''Backing''' is the rearmost section of the fishing line and typically used only to "pad up" the [[bobbin|spool]] of the [[fishing reel]], in order to prevent unwanted slippage between the mainline and the (usually metallic and well polished) spool surface, increase the effective radius of the spooled line and hence the retrieval speed (i.e. [[inch]]es per turn), and to shorten the "jump" distance during line release in spinning reels. The backing can also act as a line reserve in case a powerful fish that manages to overpower the drag mechanism of the reel and stretch out the entire length of the mainline.

* '''Mainline''' is the main section of the fishing line, and the portion that primarily interacts with the rod, line guides and reel. This is the section that handles most of the [[tensile stress]] when retrieving the line.

* '''Leader''' is the frontmost section of the fishing line that is attached to the hook/lure, and the portion that most likely will be in actual physical contact with the fish.  Many larger, feistier [[game fish|target fish]] warrants a strong mainline, which might make it too thick to thread through the eye of the hook, thus necessitating a thinner line to "lead" into the hook (hence the name). Leader lines usually use high-[[specific strength]] material with clear colors and water-like [[refractive indices]] (thus harder for the fish to spot it) such as [[polyvinylidene fluoride]] (PVDF, commonly called "[[fluorocarbon]]"), or even [[stainless steel]]/[[titanium]] wires to reduce breakage due to abrasion damage or fish biting. The leader line can also serve as a [[sacrificial device]], as having a leader rated at a designated breaking strength ''less'' than that of the rod and mainline helps to cap the transferred stress and protect those more costly gears/tackles from overloading and breaking (similar to how a [[fuse (electrical)|fuse]] protects a [[circuitry]]), which will minimize loss and cost of repairs/replacements if the fish manages to overpower the angler's gear setup.

* '''Tippet''' or '''trace''' is used occasionally in [[fly fishing]], and serves as a secondary leader that thread to the much smaller and delicate [[artificial fly|fly hook]]s.