Recreational fishermen usually fish either from a boat or from a shoreline or river bank. When fishing from a boat, or fishing vessel, most fishing technique can be used, from nets to fish traps, but some form of angling is by far the most common. Compared to fishing from the land, fishing from a boat allows more access to different fishing grounds and different species of fish.
Inshore boat fishing is fishing from a boat in easy sight of land and in water less than about 30 metres deep. The boat can be as small as a dinghy. It can be a row boat, a runabout, an inflatable or a small cabin cruiser. Inshore boats are typically small enough to be carried on a trailer, and are much more affordable than offshore fishing boats. In recent times fishing from a kayak has become popular.
Anglers either use an uptide rod between 9 and 10 feet in length to cast from the boat or a shorter downtide rod between 6 and 8 feet. Lines are usually between 18 pounds and 50 pounds breaking strain dependent on the species of fish being targeted. Reels are usually multipliers, although fixed spool reels are being used more and more. Baits are similar to those used for beach and rock fishing except they are often larger since larger fish are targeted. The species will include all the beach species, but now also include big conger eels and small sharks like tope and smoothhound.
Menominees spearfishing salmon at night by torchlight and canoe on Fox River