Fishing Galore! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Bare Hands

This method requires nothing but your bare hands to grab those suckers. It can be done solo or in pairs, with one person diving into the freshwater habitat of the catfish and placing their hand in the catfish hole. What comes next is simple, the catfish should come out and latch onto the noodler's hand in defense, and the noodler will drag it out and swim back to the surface with his/her catch.

This technique is risky, but reward is high as the average weight of these catfishes is about 40 lbs or 18 kg. While experienced noodlers can do this bare handed, it is very dangerous as it will lead to cuts or infection from the biting catfish, so it is advised to wear protective gloves like chain mail to prevent and damage. You also need to be a very strong and confident swimmer, as the fish can be strong enough to prevent you from reaching the surface if they are too heavy.

Answer: Bow and Arrow

Bowfishing requires the bow and arrow, but with a few modifications such as the use of a line attached to the arrow to help pull in your catch. This technique is best used in shallow locations, and the fisherman can aim their sights on land, on a boat or walking in the water for a close shot. Longbows, recurve bows, compound bows or crossbows can be used, and arrows tend to be of sturdy build, with as aluminum or carbon fiber being popular choices.

Due to refraction of the water, aiming will take practice. A common piece of advice fishermen give regarding bowfishing is to aim low when in doubt. In addition, to reduce glare when fishing in the daytime, have protective sunglasses to help with your shot.

Answer: Gigging

The trident or gig is a three pronged fishing spear. To gig your fish, just aim for your intended target, then strike the long polearm and grab your prey with a single blow. The overall simple design is very effective as it helps with trapping fish within those sharp prongs. Gigging is often employed to take out flounders, frogs, bottom feeders like carp, and all sorts of trash fish.

The trident has been seen as part of mythological iconography, from Poseidon and his Roman counterpart Neptune wielding it to control the seas, to Hindu god Shiva using said weapon to fight against evil, though I'm not certain if any of those evil ones are fish.

Answer: Gillnet

The gillnet is a vertically hung wall net that snags fish by trapping them at the gills, making sure they cannot retreat or struggle. It is made with synthetic monofilament line, which is virtually invisible to fish in the water. They are set with weights and floats to keep control of how deep the net is set.

This technique is considered illegal in many parts of the United States due to environmental issues, most common being the accidental catches of endangered species like whales, sharks and turtles, these are called by-catches. To prevent such happenings, certain forms of equipment maybe used to help these by-catches to be released, such as weak points on the net, or a pinger, which periodically emits a high pitched sound to warm marine mammals of the obstacle ahead.

Answer: Dragnet

A seine net or dragnet is a basic net that can be used on shallow water with two people or deep water with two boats. The pursing technique requires the net go around a school of fish to capture. Once within range, the line is pulled and the rings will close in on one another to envelop the school.

This prevents them from swimming under to escape capture. The purse seine net is a sustainable way to fish, as it is easy to spot and release by-catches. Schooling fish are prime targets as stated; they include mackerel, anchovies, salmon and sardines.

Answer: Tooth Net

The tooth net or tangle net is made of a thin nylon rope with extra small mesh to trap fish by their jaw or nose. Unlike gillnets that could potentially risk killing fish by trapping at the gills, tooth nets reduce the risk of death with its jaw trapping and if any fish are unconscious, they can be resuscitated back to life.

Generally the net is left in the ocean for about two days before they gather it up. This method is popular in the Phillipines by commercial fishermen and scientists catching specimens as it is does no damage to the fish. Kudos to safety there!

Answer: Spinnerbait

Spinnerbaits attract fish by having one or a few blades to spin in the water while the caster trolls the water with his line. The spinning sends out vibrations that can be felt through the water, as fish have a strong sense of touch via the lateral line system that detects the slightest change in water flow.

These lures have elaborate disguises to mimic fish in distress, and this is crucial in attracting your potential catch. Popular varieties include the 'In-line' and 'safety-pin'. The 'In-line' has a single blade to create mass disturbance in the water, and a swivel that helps prevent line entanglement due to the spinning. This can be fitted with a single or treble hook. 'Safety pin' spinners have a sharp 90 degree bend, cone shaped head and a single hook. 'Safety pin' spinners are fast to retrieve, and can help create strong ripples to further intrigue fish to the surface.

Answer: Tenkara Fishing

Tenkara fishing sees beauty in its simplicity, all there is is your rod, fly and line with no reel. These rods are long, up to 4.5 metres long and are very flexible. They tend to be made from bamboo, though modern types exist in the form of carbon fiber and/or fibreglass.

This style of fishing is designed for fishing at mountain rivers, as it gives pinpoint accuracy at casting your line. That long length is also the reason why it has no reel, unlike shorter Western designed rods do.

Answer: Lobster Pot

The lobster pot is made of wire and wood, and has a good amount of chum to attract any stray lobster to enter for a meal, and not leaving after it. These traps are two chambered and have a one way exit which will prevent escape, if successful. The first chamber is nicknamed the 'kitchen', lets the lobster enter in and lead to the second chamber of netting called the 'parlour', which traps the poor thing.

The pots have buoys attached with a serial number to denote the owner of the pot. Lobster fishing is very dangerous, as the waters around New England are choppy and if things go wrong, fishermen may get entangled and dragged to sea.

Answer: True

Indeed it is true. As spectacular as it maybe, blast fishing is practiced in certain regions of Southeast Asia and Africa. It is as easy as the name states, an explosive charge is left in the waters' edge and then detonated. The ensuing blast radius will kill any fish in sight, as the shockwave alone can be too much for their sensitive swim bladders.

This practice is HIGHLY dangerous and damaging to any environment, with problems like damaged corals and is considered illegal in many countries. Luckily, my dome only has this as a mock display, so all is fine.