What is Fishing Equipment

By Mike Adams

Fishing equipment is called fishing tackle by specialists and hobbyists and it usually refers 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 when it refers to fishing gear 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 different meaning, that of apparatus for fishing and that meaning has been preserved ever since then.

The most basic fishing gear is made up of 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 various questions that an angler asks when buying a fishing line, like its resistance, stretch, strength and so on. The line will be selected depending on what species of fish the angler wants to catch.

The sinker or weight, also called a plummet, is really only a weight that assists 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 as their purpose is also to sink and to get the bait closer to the fish in the water as fast as possible. However, lead sinkers have been banned in some parts of the world, especially the really small ones, which are often called 'shot'. If ingested by birds or other fish, the lead, which is known for its high toxicity level, will cause the death of the animal.

Another elementary piece of fishing gear 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 choose from a very wide range of shapes, sizes and metals.

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 like the prey of the fish you are after. Its purpose is to catch the attention of the fish with its colour and movement. Artificial flies and sand eels fall into this category. When the fish bites the lure, it gets hooked.

On the other hand, bait is the item physically attached to the hook. Bait is basically of two types: animal or foodstuff: 'animal' referring to small fish or other water creatures, insects or crawlers and 'foodstuff' referring to human food like grains, such as hemp, bread or whatever else the fisherman believes might attract the type of fish he's going for.

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Posted byBertie at 3:33 AM

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