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 et cetera. The fishing gear that is attached at the end of a line is called terminal tackle
The word tackle when it refers to fishing equipment comes from ‘takel’ which first 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 to have a different meaning, that of apparatus for fishing and that meaning has been retained ever since.
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 simple cord specially made for fishing that is both long, strong and yet thin, so that fish do not notice it. There are several things that an angler asks about when buying a fishing line, such as its resistance, stretch, strength et cetera. The line will be chosen depending on what kind 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 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 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 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 purpose is to attract the attention of the fish with its colour shape and movement. Artificial flies, tiddlers and sand eels come into under 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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