This article refers to a fishing technique. For the dental device see floss pick

Floss pick

A floss pick is a disposable oral hygiene device generally made of plastic and dental floss. The instrument is composed of two prongs extending from a thin plastic body of high-impact polystyrene material. A single piece of floss runs between the two prongs...

.

Flossers are angler

Angling

Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...

s who use the method of "bottom bouncing" to catch fish. Their catch is mainly from the salmon

Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

 species.

Flossing is a controversial method, regarded by some as an unsportlike way of harvesting fish. It is also called "bottom bouncing", or "lining". The method employed uses leaders of between 10 and 25 feet (3 and 8 metres) with a 1 to 4 ounce (30 to 115 gram) lead weight called a "Bouncing Betty " (named after a lethal landmine first used during World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

). Due to angling regulations in British Columbia, Chile, Peru, and Argentina, hooks devoid of any dressing (whether artificial or organic) are illegal.

To work with this method, fishermen often tie on long strands of green or orange wool or Corkies to their hooks. The technique of bottom bouncing is to position the long leader so that it flosses itself through the fish's mouth. The hook attached at the end of the leader then usually pierces the fish's mouth from the outside in as the weight pulls the line downstream. The fish is snagged in the mouth, this is considered by some to be unsportlike. Bottom bouncing is commonly practiced in the summer months on the Fraser River, when sockeye

Sockeye salmon

Sockeye salmon , also called red salmon or blueback salmon in the USA, is an anadromous species of salmon found in the Northern Pacific Ocean and rivers discharging into it...

 and chinook salmon

Chinook salmon

The Chinook salmon, Oncorhynchus tshawytscha, is the largest species in the pacific salmon family. Other commonly used names for the species include King salmon, Quinnat salmon, Spring salmon and Tyee salmon...

run upstream to spawn.

Every year, numerous internet fishing forums are alight with flossing debates as the conflicting sides contest their view points.