Fishing equipment is called fishing tackle by fishing aficionados 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 equipment comes from ‘takel’ which first meant the rigging on 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 basic fishing apparatus 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, thin and yet strong, so that fish do not notice it. There are various things that an angler asks about when buying a fishing line, such as its resistance, stretch, strength et cetera. The line will be selected based on what kind of fish the angler intends to catch.
The sinker or weight, also called 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 often made of lead as their purpose is also to sink and to get the bait closer to the fish in the water as quickly as possible. 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 for its high toxicity, will cause the death of the animal.
Another basic 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 fastened 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 to 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.
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 believes might attract the fish.
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