Water & habitat
How to read a river, a lake or a flat: the parts of the water, where fish hold in them, and why. The vocabulary for knowing where to cast before you make the first one.
10 terms in 3 groups
Flats & coastline (3)
- Backcountryalso back country, back baysRemote flats and shoreline water reached by long runs, hiking, or shallow-draft skiffs, usually away from marinas and crowds.
- Estuaryalso River mouth, Tidal riverA partly enclosed coastal water where freshwater from a river mixes with seawater. Salinity, temperature, and current direction shift with tide, wind, and river flow.
- Mangrovealso mangrove shoreline, mangrove island, mangrove rootsA mangrove is a salt-tolerant coastal tree that grows in shallow tidal water and forms dense shorelines and islands.
River anatomy (2)
River types (5)
- Chalk streamalso ChalkstreamA chalk stream is a spring-fed river that rises from chalk bedrock, with clear water, steady flows, and weed beds over clean gravel.
- Oxbowalso Oxbow lake, Cutoff meander, Abandoned meanderA river bend that has been cut off from the main channel, forming a U-shaped lake or slow side channel. Some oxbows stay connected during high water, others become fully isolated.
- Side channelalso braid, braided channel, secondary channelA side channel is a smaller branch of a river that splits off from the main flow and rejoins it downstream, or continues as a secondary braid.
- Spring creekalso Spring-fed creek, Spring-fed streamA spring creek is a stream fed mainly by groundwater from springs, so flow and temperature stay relatively steady and clear.
- Tailwateralso tailwater riverA tailwater is a river reach below a dam where flows and temperatures are controlled by reservoir releases.