What is Fishing Equipment

Thursday, June 11, 2009 ·

By Mike Adams

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

The word tackle referring to fishing gear comes from 'takel' which initially meant the rigging of a ship, that is, the gear consisting of ropes supporting a ship's masts and sails. Later, the same word was recorded as having a another meaning, that of equipment for fishing and that meaning has been retained ever since then.

The most basic fishing equipment consists of a rod, a line, a hook, a lure, a bait and a weight or sinker. The line is a simple string especially made for fishing that is both long, strong and yet thin, so that fish do not notice it. There are various questions that an angler asks when buying a fishing line, like its resistance, stretch, strength and so on. The line will be selected based on what species of fish the angler wants to catch.

The sinker or weight, also referred to as a plummet, is really only 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 outlawed 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 equipment is the hook. This device meant for holding the bait on the line and for hooking into the fish's mouth. It is attached to the line and the angler can select from a pretty wide range of shapes, sizes and materials.

Last but not least, the fishing equipment is not efficient without bait or lure. A lure is a device tied at the end of the line that looks and moves something resembling the prey of the fish you are after. Its purpose is to catch the attention of the fish with its colour and vibrations. Artificial flies and sand eels fall into this category. When the fish bites the lure, it gets 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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