Aug
5
2010
Fishing Equipment
Author: Mike AdamsFishing equipment is called fishing tackle by fishing aficionados 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 referring 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 another meaning, that of equipment for fishing and that meaning has been preserved ever since then.
The most basic fishing gear consists of a rod, a line, a hook, a lure, a bait and a weight or sinker. The line is a basic cord especially made for fishing that is both long, strong and yet thin, so that fish can not see it. There are several things that an angler asks about when buying a fishing line, such as its resistance, stretch, strength and so on. The line will be selected depending on what kind of fish the angler wants to catch.
The sinker or weight, also referred to as a plummet, is actually 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 because it is cheap and easy to melt at home. However, lead sinkers have been outlawed 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 equipment is the hook. This is a device meant for attaching the bait 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 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 eats the lure, it gets hooked.
Whilst, bait, on the other hand, is the stuff actually attached to the hook. Bait is often 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 believes might attract the fish.
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