Fishing Equipment

Fishing equipment is called fishing tackle by specialists and hobbyists and it usually includes to rods, lines, hooks, weights, spears, lures, bait, reels, nets, and et cetera. The fishing gear that is attached at the end of a line is referred to as the terminal tackle

The word tackle referring to fishing equipment comes from ‘takel’ which first meant the rigging of a ship, that is, the equipment consisting of ropes supporting a ship’s masts and sails. Later, the same word was recorded to have a another meaning, that of apparatus for fishing and that meaning has been preserved ever since.

The most basic fishing apparatus consists of a rod, a line, a hook, a lure, a bait and a weight or sinker. The line is a basic cord specially made for fishing that is both long, strong and yet thin, so that fish do not notice it. There are several questions that an angler asks when buying a fishing line, like its resistance, stretch, strength and so on. The line will be chosen depending on what species of fish the angler hopes to catch.

The sinker or weight, also referred to as a plummet, is actually a weight that helps in casting the hook and the bait as far as possible from the shoreline or from the boat that the fisherman is using. They are usually made of lead because it is cheap and easy to melt at home. However, lead sinkers have been banned in some parts of the world, especially the really small ones, which are often called ’shot’. If eaten by birds or other fish, the lead, which is well-known to be poisonous, will cause the death of that animal.

Another basic piece of fishing gear is the hook. This device meant for attaching the bait on the line and for hooking into the fish’s mouth. It is attached to the line and the fisherman can choose from a pretty wide range of shapes, sizes and metals.

And last but far from least, is the bait or lure, without which the fishing equipment cannot be effective. A lure is a device tied at the end of the line that looks and moves something like the prey of the fish you are after. Its raison d’etre is to catch the attention of the fish with its colour and vibrations. Artificial flies, tiddlers and sand eels come into into this category. When the fish eats the lure, it becomes hooked.

Bait, on the other hand, is the item actually attached to the hook. Bait is usually of two types: animal or foodstuff. ‘Animal’ refers to small fish or other water creatures, insects or crawlers. ‘Foodstuff’ refers to grains, like corn, bread or whatever the angler believes might work.

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