largemouth bass – A member of the black bass family that has a green-shaded body with a continuous dark stripe along each side, belly white to yellowish and a dorsal fin almost completely separated between spiny and soft portion, plus a lower jaw that extends past the gold-colored eye. Also called a bucket mouth or bigmouth bass.
Lees Ferry – The popular 16-mile stretch of tail-water fishery along the Colorado River tucked between the Glen Canyon Dam and the Grand Canyon in northern Arizona. It is renowned for its large, wild trout.
larva – Refers to the subsurface stage of development of an aquatic insect.
lake bed, lake-bed (adj.) – The bottom of a lake.
lake zones – Designation that includes four categories: shallow water, open water, deep water and basin.
ledge – A severe drop-off. Commonly found in Arizona’s deep canyon lakes, such as Canyon Lake, Lake Powell, Lake Mead, Blue Ridge Reservoir and Chevelon Lake.
leadhead, lead-head (adj.) – A term for a jig where lead is molder to the hook shaft.
light intensity – The amount of light that can be measured at certain depths of water; the great the intensity, the farther down the light will project. In waters where light intensity is low, brightly colored lures can be good choices.
Light Cahill – A dry fly pattern.
line guides – The eyelets or rings on a rod through which fishing line is passed.
limit-out – To catch the daily limit legally allowed for a species of fish.
lipless crankbaits – Artificial baits designed to resemble a swimming baitfish. Such baits typically vibrate or wobble during the retrieve; some have built-in rattles. Also called swimming baits. Lipless crankbaits typically sink when they are not being retrieved, which can allow anglers to fish them deeper than lipped crankbaits.
lipping – A method of landing fish, especially bass, by placing a thumb into its mouth to bend the lip down slightly, temporarily paralyzing the fish to get it into the boat or unhook and release it.
livebox – A box or container to designed to keep bait or caught fish alive.
live baitfish – Means any species of live fish designated by Arizona Game and Fish Commission order as lawful for use in taking aquatic organisms. The act of using live bait is called live-bait fishing.
livewell – Compartment in a boat designed to hold water and keep fish alive. Typically have some device for re-circulating water.
long-lining – Another term for trolling a bait or lure a long distance behind a boat.
loose-action plug – A lure with wide, slow movements from side to side. Can be the lure of choice when fish are sluggish in colder water, such as during winter or early spring.
lunker – A slang term for a very large fish: can also be called a hawg.
