All forms of fishing, from salt water fishing and trolling to fly-fishing, depend on a few requisite supplies, better known as fishing tackle. You might also need to pack additional equipment, such as a camera, life jacket and first aid kit, for your fishing trip. As long as you show up with the basics of fishing tackle, though, you will have everything you need to get started.
Rod
Whether you are fishing in a creek or angling for saltwater catch, you need to pack a rod. Ken Schultz, in "Ken Schultz's Essentials of Fishing: The Only Guide You Need to Catch the Big One," describes a fishing rod as an instrument with a handle, long shaft and reel seat, which allows you to cast, retrieve, set a hook and play a fish.
Reel
A fishing reel sits in the reel seat of your rod and allows you to control the fishing line while you are fishing. In "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Fishing Basics," Mike Toth explains that fishing reels have a spool that is wrapped with fishing line and mounted so that it fits on a fishing rod. Spools either revolve in the reel or remain stationary.
Line
Fishing line enables you to cast a lure or bait into the water and then to retrieve a fish once you have made a catch. Schultz explains that fishing lines can vary in strength, diameter and color and each one has been specifically designed for different types of sportfishing. Unweighted nylon monofilament lines are the most common type of fishing line.
Hooks
When attached to the end of your fishing line, a hook will serve to capture and hold a fish until you reel it out of the water. Tosh explains that hooks work by the sharp point becoming embedded in the fish's mouth. Typically made of steel, fishhooks vary in weight, size and style, including some hooks that have multiple barbs or no barbs at all.
Bait
When attached to your fishhook, worms and minnows, as well as other small creatures, will draw fish to your fishing line. In fact, Toth points out that the right bait serves as the most effective way to land a fish. Bait can encompass everything from crayfish to grasshoppers and, as Toth explains, might be fresh, frozen, pickled or freeze-dried.
Lures
Lures serve as imitations of food for fish. Attach one with a hook to the end of your fishing line to entice fish to your fishing rod. Schultz describes a lure as an unnatural object with a hook that is used for catching fish. You can make lures from many different materials, including wood, metal and plastic. You could also include feathers and other ornamental materials.
References
- "Ken Schultz's Essentials of Fishing: The Only Guide You Need to Catch the Big One"; Ken Schultz; 2009
- "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Fishing Basics"; Mike Toth; 2000
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