Fishing Equipment

By Mike Adams

Fishing equipment is referred to as fishing tackle by fishing aficionados and it usually includes to rods, lines, hooks, weights, spears, lures, bait, reels, nets, and so on. The fishing gear that is attached at the end of the 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 as having a different meaning, that of equipment for fishing and that meaning has been preserved ever since then.

The most rudimentary fishing equipment consists of a rod, a line, a hook, a lure, a bait and a weight or sinker. The line is a simple 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 et cetera. The line will be chosen based on what species of fish the angler intends 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 often 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 very small ones, which are often called 'shot'. If ingested 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 tied to the line and the angler can choose from a very variety of shapes and sizes.

And last but far from least, is the bait or lure, without which fishing equipment cannot be effective. A lure is a man-made device attached at the end of the line that resembles the prey of the fish you are after in every way. Its raison d'etre is to attract the attention of the fish with its colour shape and movement. Artificial flies, tiddlers and sand eels fall under this category. When the fish eats the lure, it becomes hooked.

Whilst, bait, on the other hand, is the item physically 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 and 'foodstuff' refers to things like grains, such as wheat, bread or whatever the angler thinks might attract the fish. - 31875

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