Fishing Terms Glossary and Definitions
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P

• PFD - Personal Floatation Device, aka, a life vest or life jacket.
• pH - Concentration of Hydrogen ions (H+); a value used to express acidity and alkalinity. A pH of 7 is neutral, a pH of 2 is a strong acid and a pH of 12 is a strong alkali.
• pH Meter - Just as a thermometer measures heat and cold, a pH meter can be used to measure the acidity and alkalinity of water.
• Pattern - A defined set of location and presentation factors that consistently produce fish.
• Pectoral Fin - The fin usually found on each side of the body behind the gill opening; this pair of fins is found on the lower parts of the body in primitive forms of fish; corresponding to the forelimbs of higher vertebrates; united to form the disc in most rays.
• Pelvic Fins - Pair of juxtaposed fins ventrally on the body in front of the anus; varies from abdominal in position in primitive fishes such as herrings to the more anterior locations termed thoracic or jugular in advanced fishes; sometimes called ventral fins.
• Perca flavescens - Latin name for yellow perch
• Pick-Up - The act of a bass taking a slowly fished lure, such as a plastic worm, crawfish or lizard.
• Pike - Fish of the Family Esocidae, Order Salmoniformes (salmons, pikes and smelts).
• Pit - Area excavated for mining operations that fills with water.
• Pitching - Presentation technique in which worms or jigs are dropped into cover at close range with an underhand pendulum motion, using a 6 1/2 to 7 1/2 foot baitcasting rod.
• Pocket - A small indentation of the shoreline.
• Point - A finger of land jutting into the water. A shoreline feature where the shoreline makes a turn out into the lake and cuts back on itself forming a peninsula. These can be large main-lake features at the opening of a creek arm or as small as a boat. In natural lakes, a point may not be that obvious. It may only be discernable by weed growth outlining the point underwater. In this case, look at the weeds as if they were the shoreline.
• Pomoxis annularis - The Latin name for the White Crappy
• Pomoxis nigromaculatus - The Latin name for the Black Crappy
• Pop R - Topwater plug with a dished-out (concave or "cupped") head designed to make a splash when pulled sharply.
• Post Front - The period following a weather front.
• Port - The left side of a boat or ship.
• Presentation - A collective term referring to choice of type of lure, color, and size; structure targeted; amount of disturbance a bait makes when entering the water; and retrieval technique, speed, and depth used to catch fish.
• Professional Overrun - Another more polite term for backlash. Also called spaghetti.
• Put-In - A term used to denote the launch area for the start of a float trip.