Fishing equipment is called fishing tackle by specialists and hobbyists and it usually includes 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 referred to as terminal tackle
The word tackle referring to fishing gear comes from ‘takel’ which initially 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 another meaning, that of apparatus for fishing and that meaning has been retained ever since then.
The most rudimentary fishing apparatus 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 string specially made for fishing that is both long, strong and yet thin, 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 and so on. The line will be selected depending on what kind of fish the angler intends to catch.
The sinker or weight, also called 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 usually 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 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 known for its high toxicity level, will cause the death of the 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 very wide range of shapes, sizes and materials.
And last but far from least, is the bait or lure, without which the fishing equipment cannot be effective. A lure is a device attached at the end of the line that looks and moves something like the prey of the fish you are after. Its raison d’etre is to catch the attention of the fish with its colour and movement. Artificial flies, tiddlers and sand eels fall into this category. When the fish bites the lure, it becomes hooked.
On the other hand, bait is the stuff 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.