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fishable

fishable

1 4.1
A body of water where people can catch fish
  • adjective
  • /ˈfɪʃəbl/
translation icon : pescable
  • The Madison is fishable throughout the summer and into the fall months.
  • fishable and swimmable
  • fishable stock
  • fishable water

Examples

  • The nearest fishable body of water to Colfax is 114 miles away at Lake.

  • In 1994, there were only 79 legally open days that met the fishable criteria out of 233 open days (33.9%).

    Academic text (1997)
  • A recent assessment by the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management stated that 95 percent of the state's estuarine waters meet federal "fishable-swimmable" standards.

    Academic text (1990)
  • In 1990, there were 119 fishable days with less than 2.13 m wave height out of 266 legally open days (44.7%).

    Academic text (1997)
  • The team plans to construct fish ladders at two impassable dams to help bring the shad fish population back to the river and restore it to its fishable classification.

    Academic text (1994)
  • And as a result of that, fifty-six percent of our rivers, forty-three percent of our lakes, and fifty-six percent of our estuaries are now swimmable and fishable.

    Academic text (1995)
  • Normally, the North Raven is fishable by late April, but the best time to get started is in mid-May.

Antonyms

Too polluted or shallow to catch fish

How Fishable

teeming
1 4.7
fishable
1 4.1

Surface Forms

fishable positive

Morphology

fishable = fish (transparent) = fish + able

Standard adjectival formation from the verb 'fish' with '-able' meaning 'able to be fished'; the permission/possibility nuance is contextual but the derivation is clear.

Etymology

Fishable is made from fish and the ending -able, where -able means 'able to be'. Like readable or washable, fishable means 'able to be fished' or 'fit for fishing', so we call a lake fishable when people can catch fish there.