Fishing tackle - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Fishing tackle, is a general term that refers to the equipment used by fishermen when fishing

Fishing

Fishing is the activity of trying to catch wild fish. Fish are normally caught in the wild. Techniques for catching fish include hand gathering, spearing, netting, angling and trapping....

. Almost any equipment or gear used for fishing can be called fishing tackle. Some examples are hooks, lines

Fishing line

A fishing line is a cord used or made for angling. Important parameters of a fishing line are its length, material, and weight...

, sinkers, floats, rods

Fishing rod

A fishing rod or a fishing pole is a tool used to catch fish, usually in conjunction with the pastime of angling, and can also be used in competition casting. . A length of fishing line is attached to a long, flexible rod or pole: one end terminates in a hook for catching the fish...

, reels

Fishing reel

A fishing reel is a "cylindrical device attached to a fishing rod used in winding the line". Modern fishing reels usually have fittings which make it easier to retrieve the line and deploy it for better accuracy or distance. Fishing reels are traditionally used in the recreational sport of angling...

, baits

Fishing bait

Fishing bait is any substance used to attract and catch fish, e.g. on the end of a fishing hook, or inside a fish trap. Traditionally, nightcrawlers, insects, and smaller bait fish have been used for this purpose...

, lures

Fishing lure

A fishing lure is an object attached to the end of a fishing line which is designed to resemble and move like the prey of a fish. The purpose of the lure is to use movement, vibration, and colour to catch the fish's attention so it bites the hook...

, spears

Spearfishing

Spearfishing is an ancient method of fishing that has been used throughout the world for millennia. Early civilizations were familiar with the custom of spearing fish from rivers and streams using sharpened sticks....

, nets

Fishing net

A fishing net or fishnet is a net that is used for fishing. Fishing nets are meshes usually formed by knotting a relatively thin thread. Modern nets are usually made of artificial polyamides like nylon, although nets of organic polyamides such as wool or silk thread were common until recently and...

, gaffs, traps, waders

Waders (footwear)

Waders refers to a waterproof boot extending from the foot to the chest, traditionally made from vulcanised rubber, but available in more modern PVC, neoprene and Gore-Tex variants. Waders are generally distinguished from counterpart waterproof boots by shaft height; the hip boot extending to the...

and tackle boxes.

Gear that is attached to the end of a fishing line is called terminal tackle. This includes hooks, leaders, swivels

Fishing swivel

A fishing swivel is a small device consisting of two rings connected to a pivoting joint. The device is usually made of metal, and the pivoting joint is usually ball- or barrel-shaped. The line from a rod and reel is tied to one end, and a length of fishing line, often terminated by a hook, lure or...

, sinkers, floats, split rings and wire, snaps, beads, spoons, blades, spinners and clevises to attach spinner blades to fishing lures.

Fishing tackle can be contrasted with fishing techniques

Fishing techniques

Fishing techniques are methods for catching fish. The term may also be applied to methods for catching other aquatic animals such as molluscs and edible marine invertebrates....

. Fishing tackle refers to the physical equipment that is used when fishing, whereas fishing techniques refers to the manner in which the tackle is used when fishing.

The term tackle, with the meaning "apparatus for fishing", has been in use from 1398 AD. Fishing tackle is also called fishing gear. However the term fishing gear is more usually used in the context of commercial fishing

Commercial fishing

Commercial fishing is the activity of catching fish and other seafood for commercial profit, mostly from wild fisheries. It provides a large quantity of food to many countries around the world, but those who practice it as an industry must often pursue fish far into the ocean under adverse conditions...

, whereas fishing tackle is more often used in the context of recreational fishing

Recreational fishing

Recreational fishing, also called sport fishing, is fishing for pleasure or competition. It can be contrasted with commercial fishing, which is fishing for profit, or subsistence fishing, which is fishing for survival....

. For this reason, this article covers equipment used by recreational fishermen.

Hook, line and sinker

Hook, line and sinker is a classic combination of tackle empowering a fisherman to catch fish.

Hooks

The use of the hook in angling is descended, historically, from what would today be called a "gorge". The word "gorge", in this context, comes from an archaic word meaning "throat". Gorges were used by ancient peoples to capture fish. A gorge was a long, thin piece of bone or stone attached by its midpoint to a thin line. The gorge would be fixed with a bait so that it would rest parallel to the lay of the line. When a fish swallowed the bait, a tug on the line caused the gorge to orient itself at right angles to the line, thereby sticking in the fish's gullet

Esophagus

The esophagus is an organ in vertebrates which consists of a muscular tube through which food passes from the pharynx to the stomach. During swallowing, food passes from the mouth through the pharynx into the esophagus and travels via peristalsis to the stomach...

.

A fish hook is a device for catching fish either by impaling them in the mouth or, more rarely, by snagging the body of the fish. Fish hooks have been employed for millennia by fishermen

Fisherman

A fisherman or fisher is someone who captures fish and other animals from a body of water, or gathers shellfish. Worldwide, there are about 38 million commercial and subsistence fishermen and fish farmers. The term can also be applied to recreational fishermen and may be used to describe both men...

to catch fresh and saltwater fish. Early hooks were made from the upper bills of eagles and from bones, shells, horns and thorns of plants (Parker 2002). In 2005, the fish hook was chosen by Forbes as one of the top twenty tools in the history of man. Fish hooks are normally attached to some form of line

Fishing line

A fishing line is a cord used or made for angling. Important parameters of a fishing line are its length, material, and weight...

or lure

Fishing lure

device which connects the caught fish to the fisherman. There is an enormous variety of fish hooks. Sizes, designs, shapes, and materials are all variable depending on the intended purpose of the hook. They are manufactured for a range of purposes from general fishing to extremely limited and specialized applications. Fish hooks are designed to hold various types of artificial, processed, dead or live bait

Fishing bait

s (bait fishing

Bait (luring substance)

Bait is any substance used to attract prey, e.g. in a mousetrap.-In Australia:Baiting in Australia refers to specific campaigns to control foxes, wild dogs and dingos by poisoning in areas where they are a problem...

); to act as the foundation for artificial representations of fish prey (fly fishing

Fly fishing

Fly fishing is an angling method in which an artificial 'fly' is used to catch fish. The fly is cast using a fly rod, reel, and specialized weighted line. Casting a nearly weightless fly or 'lure' requires casting techniques significantly different from other forms of casting...

); or to be attached to or integrated into other devices that represent fish prey (lure fishing

Fishing lure

Lines

A fishing line

Fishing line

A fishing line is a cord used or made for angling. Important parameters of a fishing line are its length, material, and weight...

is a cord used or made for fishing. The earliest fishing lines were made from leaves or plant stalk (Parker 2002). Later lines were constructed from horse hair or silk thread, with catgut

Catgut

Catgut is a type of cord that is prepared from the natural fibre found in the walls of animal intestines. Usually sheep or goat intestines are used, but it is occasionally made from the intestines of cattle, hogs, horses, mules, or donkeys.-Etymology:...

leaders. From the 1850s, modern industrial machinery was employed to fashion fishing lines in quantity. Most of these lines were made from linen

Linen

Linen is a textile made from the fibers of the flax plant, Linum usitatissimum. Linen is labor-intensive to manufacture, but when it is made into garments, it is valued for its exceptional coolness and freshness in hot weather....

or silk

Silk

Silk is a natural protein fiber, some forms of which can be woven into textiles. The best-known type of silk is obtained from the cocoons of the larvae of the mulberry silkworm Bombyx mori reared in captivity...

, and more rarely cotton

Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

.

Modern lines are made from artificial substances, including nylon

Nylon

Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers known generically as polyamides, first produced on February 28, 1935, by Wallace Carothers at DuPont's research facility at the DuPont Experimental Station...

, polyethylene

Polyethylene

Polyethylene or polythene is the most widely used plastic, with an annual production of approximately 80 million metric tons...

, dacron and dyneema. The most common type is monofilament

Monofilament line

Monofilament fishing line is fishing line made from a single fiber of plastic. Most fishing lines are now monofilament because monofilament fibers are cheap to produce and are produced in a range of diameters which have different tensile strengths...

made of a single strand. Fishermen often use monofilament because of its buoyant characteristics and its ability to stretch under load. Recently, other alternatives to standard nylon monofilament lines have been introduced made of copolymers or fluorocarbon

Fluorocarbon

Fluorocarbons, sometimes referred to as perfluorocarbons or PFCs, are organofluorine compounds that contain only carbon and fluorine bonded together in strong carbon–fluorine bonds. Fluoroalkanes that contain only single bonds are more chemically and thermally stable than alkanes...

, or a combination of the two materials. There are also braided fishing line

Braided fishing line

Braided line was one of the of earliest types of fishing line, and in its modern incarnations it is still very popular in some situations because of its high knot strength, lack of stretch, and great overall power in relation to its diameter...

s, cofilament and thermally fused lines, also known as 'superlines' for their small diameter, lack of stretch, and great strength relative to standard nylon monofilament lines.

Important parameters of a fishing line are its length, material, and weight (thicker, sturdier lines are more visible to fish). Factors that may determine what line an angler chooses for a given fishing environment include breaking strength, knot strength, UV resistance, castability, limpness, stretch, abrasion resistance, and visibility.

Fishing with a hook and line is called angling

Angling

Angling is a method of fishing by means of an "angle" . The hook is usually attached to a fishing line and the line is often attached to a fishing rod. Fishing rods are usually fitted with a fishing reel that functions as a mechanism for storing, retrieving and paying out the line. The hook itself...

. In addition to the use of the hook and line used to catch a fish, a heavy fish may be landed by using a landing net or a hooked pole called a gaff

Gaff (fishing)

In fishing, a gaff is a pole with a sharp hook on the end that is used to stab a large fish and then lift the fish into the boat or onto shore. Ideally, the hook is placed under the backbone. Gaffs are used when the weight of the fish exceeds the breaking point of the fishing line or the fishing pole...

. Trolling

Troll (angling)

Trolling is a method of fishing where one or more fishing lines, baited with lures or bait fish, are drawn through the water. This may be behind a moving boat, or by slowly winding the line in when fishing from a static position, or even sweeping the line from side-to-side, e.g. when fishing from...

is a technique in which a fishing lure

Fishing lure

on a line is drawn through the water. Snagging is a technique where the object is to hook the fish in the body.

Sinkers

A sinker or plummet is a weight

Weight

In science and engineering, the weight of an object is the force on the object due to gravity. Its magnitude , often denoted by an italic letter W, is the product of the mass m of the object and the magnitude of the local gravitational acceleration g; thus:...

used when angling to force the lure

Fishing lure

or bait

Fishing bait

to sink more rapidly or to increase the distance that it may be cast. The ordinary plain sinker is traditionally made of lead

Lead

Lead is a main-group element in the carbon group with the symbol Pb and atomic number 82. Lead is a soft, malleable poor metal. It is also counted as one of the heavy metals. Metallic lead has a bluish-white color after being freshly cut, but it soon tarnishes to a dull grayish color when exposed...

. It can be practically any shape, and is often shaped round like a pipe-stem, with a swelling in the middle. However, the use of smaller lead based fishing sinkers has now been banned in the UK, Canada and some states in the USA, since lead can cause toxic lead poisoning

Lead poisoning

Lead poisoning is a medical condition caused by increased levels of the heavy metal lead in the body. Lead interferes with a variety of body processes and is toxic to many organs and tissues including the heart, bones, intestines, kidneys, and reproductive and nervous systems...

if ingested. There are loops of brass

Brass

Brass is an alloy of copper and zinc; the proportions of zinc and copper can be varied to create a range of brasses with varying properties.In comparison, bronze is principally an alloy of copper and tin...

wire on either end of the sinker to attach the line. Weights can range from a quarter of an ounce for trout fishing up to a couple of pounds or more for sea bass and menhaden.

The swivel

Swivel

A swivel is a connection that allows the connected object, such as a gun or chair, to rotate horizontally and/or vertically. A common design for a swivel is a cylindrical rod that can turn freely within a support structure. The rod is usually prevented from slipping out by a nut, washer or...

sinker is similar to the plain one, except that instead of loops, there are swivels on each end to attach the line. This is a decided improvement, as it prevents the line from twisting and tangling. In trolling, swivel sinkers are indispensable. The slide sinker, for bottom fishing, is a leaden tube which allows the line to slip through it, when the fish bites. This is an excellent arrangement, as the fisherman can feel the smallest bite, whereas in the other case the fish must first move the sinker before the fisherman feels him.

Fishing rods

A fishing rod is an additional tool used with the hook, line and sinker. A length of fishing line is attached to a long, flexible rod or pole: one end terminates with the hook for catching the fish. Early fishing rods are depicted on inscriptions in ancient Egypt

Egypt

Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...

, China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

, Greece

Greece

Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....

and Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

. In Medieval England they were called angles (hence the term angling). As they evolved they were made from materials such as split Tonkin bamboo, Calcutta reed, or ash wood, which were light, tough, and pliable. The butts were frequently made of maple. Handles and grips were made of cork, wood, or wrapped cane. Guides were simple wire loops.

Modern rods are sophisticated casting tools fitted with line guides and a reel

Fishing reel

for line stowage. They are most commonly made of fibreglass, carbon fibre or, classically, bamboo

Bamboo

Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....

. Fishing rods vary in action as well as length, and can be found in sizes between 24 inches and 20 feet. The longer the rod, the greater the mechanical advantage in casting. There are many different types of rods, such as fly rods, spin and bait casting rods, spinning rods, ice rods, surf rods, sea rods and trolling rods.

Fishing rods can be contrasted with fishing poles. A fishing pole is a simple pole or stick with a line which is fastened to the tip and suspended with a hooked lure

Fishing lure

or bait

Fishing bait

at the other end.

Fishing reels

A fishing reel is a device used for the deployment and retrieval of a fishing line using a spool mounted on an axle

Axle

An axle is a central shaft for a rotating wheel or gear. On wheeled vehicles, the axle may be fixed to the wheels, rotating with them, or fixed to its surroundings, with the wheels rotating around the axle. In the former case, bearings or bushings are provided at the mounting points where the axle...

. Fishing reels are traditionally used in angling. They are most often used in conjunction with a fishing rod, though some specialized reels are mounted on crossbow

Crossbow

A crossbow is a weapon consisting of a bow mounted on a stock that shoots projectiles, often called bolts or quarrels. The medieval crossbow was called by many names, most of which derived from the word ballista, a torsion engine resembling a crossbow in appearance.Historically, crossbows played a...

s or to boat gunwale

Gunwale

The gunwale is a nautical term describing the top edge of the side of a boat.Wale is the same word as the skin injury, a wheal, which, too, forms a ridge. Originally the gunwale was the "Gun ridge" on a sailing warship. This represented the strengthening wale or structural band added to the design...

s or transoms

Transom (nautical)

In naval architecture, a transom is the surface that forms the stern of a vessel. Transoms may be flat or curved and they may be vertical, raked forward, also known as a retroussé or reverse transom, angling forward from the waterline to the deck, or raked aft, often simply called "raked", angling...

. The earliest known illustration of a fishing reel is from Chinese paintings and records beginning about 1195 A.D. Fishing reels first appeared in England around 1650 A.D., and by the 1760s, London tackle shops were advertising multiplying or gear-retrieved reels. Paris, Kentucky

Paris, Kentucky

As of the census of 2000, there were 9,183 people, 3,857 households, and 2,487 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 4,222 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 84.23% White, 12.71% African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.16%...

native George Snyder is generally given credit for inventing the first fishing reel in America around 1820, a bait casting design that quickly became popular with American anglers.

Fishing bait

Natural baits

The natural bait angler usually uses a common prey species of the fish as an attractant. The natural bait used may be alive or dead. Common natural baits include bait fish

Bait fish

Bait fish are small fish caught for use as bait to attract large predatory fish, particularly game fish. Species used are typically those that are common and breed rapidly, making them easy to catch and in regular supply. Examples of marine bait fish are anchovies, halfbeaks such as ballyhoo, and...

, worms

Earthworm

Earthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. In classical systems they were placed in the order Opisthopora, on the basis of the male pores opening posterior to the female pores, even though the internal male segments are anterior to the female...

, leech

Leech

Leeches are segmented worms that belong to the phylum Annelida and comprise the subclass Hirudinea. Like other oligochaetes such as earthworms, leeches share a clitellum and are hermaphrodites. Nevertheless, they differ from other oligochaetes in significant ways...

es, minnow

Cyprinid

The family Cyprinidae, from the Ancient Greek kyprînos , consists of the carps, the true minnows, and their relatives . Commonly called the carp family or the minnow family, its members are also known as cyprinids...

s, frog

Frog

Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...

s, salamander

Salamander

Salamander is a common name of approximately 500 species of amphibians. They are typically characterized by a superficially lizard-like appearance, with their slender bodies, short noses, and long tails. All known fossils and extinct species fall under the order Caudata, while sometimes the extant...

s, nightcrawlers

Lumbricus terrestris

Lumbricus terrestris is a large reddish worm native to Europe, but now also widely distributed elsewhere around the world due to human introductions...

and other insect

Insect

Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...

s. Natural baits are effective due to the lifelike texture, odour and colour of the bait presented.

The common earthworm

Earthworm

is a universal bait for fresh water angling. In the quest for quality worms, some fishers culture their own worm compost or practice worm charming

Worm charming

Worm charming, worm grunting, and worm fiddling are methods of attracting earthworms from the ground. The activity is usually performed to collect bait for fishing but can also take the form of a competitive sport...

. Grub

Larva

A larva is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle...

s and maggots are also considered excellent bait when trout fishing. Grasshopper

Grasshopper

The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...

s, flies

Fly

True flies are insects of the order Diptera . They possess a pair of wings on the mesothorax and a pair of halteres, derived from the hind wings, on the metathorax...

, bee

Bee

Bees are flying insects closely related to wasps and ants, and are known for their role in pollination and for producing honey and beeswax. Bees are a monophyletic lineage within the superfamily Apoidea, presently classified by the unranked taxon name Anthophila...

s and even ant

Ant

Ants are social insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from wasp-like ancestors in the mid-Cretaceous period between 110 and 130 million years ago and diversified after the rise of flowering plants. More than...

s are also used as bait for trout in their season, although many anglers believe that trout or salmon roe

Roe

Roe or hard roe is the fully ripe internal egg masses in the ovaries, or the released external egg masses of fish and certain marine animals, such as shrimp, scallop and sea urchins...

is superior to any other bait. Studies show that natural baits like croaker

Sciaenidae

Sciaenidae is a family of fish commonly called drums, croakers, or hardheads for the repetitive throbbing or drumming sounds they make...

and shrimp

Shrimp

Shrimp are swimming, decapod crustaceans classified in the infraorder Caridea, found widely around the world in both fresh and salt water. Adult shrimp are filter feeding benthic animals living close to the bottom. They can live in schools and can swim rapidly backwards. Shrimp are an important...

are more recognized by the fish and are more readily accepted. A good bait for red drum

Red Drum

The Red Drum , also known as Channel Bass, Redfish, Spottail Bass or simply Reds, is a game fish that is found in the Atlantic Ocean from Massachusetts to Florida and in the Gulf of Mexico from Florida to Northern Mexico. It is the only species in the genus Sciaenops...

is menhaden

Menhaden

Menhaden, also known as mossbunker, bunker and pogy, are forage fish of the genera Brevoortia and Ethmidium, two genera of marine fish in the family Clupeidae.-Description:...

. Because of the risk of transmitting whirling disease

Myxobolus cerebralis

Myxobolus cerebralis is a myxosporean parasite of salmonids that causes whirling disease in farmed salmon and trout and also in wild fish populations...

, trout

Trout

Trout is the name for a number of species of freshwater and saltwater fish belonging to the Salmoninae subfamily of the family Salmonidae. Salmon belong to the same family as trout. Most salmon species spend almost all their lives in salt water...

and salmon

Salmon

Salmon is the common name for several species of fish in the family Salmonidae. Several other fish in the same family are called trout; the difference is often said to be that salmon migrate and trout are resident, but this distinction does not strictly hold true...

should not be used as bait.

Processed baits, such as groundbait

Groundbait

Groundbait is used in coarse fishing in order to attract fish to the fishing area. It is a mixture of various natural ingredients, for example bread crumbs, vanilla sugar, hemp, maize and other ingredients, and moistened with water so it's possible to make balls. These balls are then thrown out...

and boilies, can work well with coarse fish, such as carp

Carp

Carp are various species of oily freshwater fish of the family Cyprinidae, a very large group of fish native to Europe and Asia. The cypriniformes are traditionally grouped with the Characiformes, Siluriformes and Gymnotiformes to create the superorder Ostariophysi, since these groups have certain...

. For example, in lakes in southern climates such as Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, fish such as bream

Lepomis

Lepomis is a genus of freshwater fish in the sunfish family of order Perciformes. The most recognizable species of the sixteen in this genus is the Bluegill....

will take bread bait. Bread bait is a small amount of bread, often moistened by saliva, balled up to a small size that is bite size to small fish.

Artificial baits
Many people prefer to fish solely with lures

Fishing lure

, which are artificial baits designed to entice fish to strike. The artificial bait angler uses a man-made lure that may or may not represent prey. The lure may require a specialised presentation to impart an enticing action as, for example, in fly fishing

Fly fishing

. Recently, electronic lures have been developed to attract fish. Fishermen have also begun using plastic bait. A common way to fish a soft plastic worm

Plastic worm

A plastic worm is a plastic fishing lure, generally made to simulate an earthworm. Plastic worms can carry a variety of shapes, colors and sizes, and are made from a variety of synthetic polymers. Some are even scented to simulate live bait.Plastic worms can be rigged on the line many different ways...

is the Texas rig

Texas Rig

The Texas rig is a technique used for fishing with soft plastic lures. It involves a bullet-shaped weight being threaded onto the fishing line first followed by an optional glass or plastic bead, and then the line is secured to a hook, usually an offset worm hook.The hook is then inserted into the...

Bite indicators

A bite indicator is a mechanical or electronic device which indicates to an angler

Angling

that something is happening at the hook end of the fishing line

Fishing line

A fishing line is a cord used or made for angling. Important parameters of a fishing line are its length, material, and weight...

. There are many types of bite indicators. Which ones work best depends on the type of fishing.

Other devices which are widely used as bite indicators are
floats which float in the water, and dart about if a fish bites, and quiver tip

Quiver tip

A quiver tip is the top section, or tip, of the fishing rod which is designed to move, or quiver, when a fish bites. The main characteristic of its design is its sensitivity. It is a popular and very effective method of coarse fishing both on still and running water. It is not used in game...

s which are mounted onto the tip of the fishing rod. Bite alarms are electronic devices which bleep when a fish tugs a fishing line. Whereas floats and quiver tips are used as visual bite detectors, bite alarms are audible

Sound

Sound is a mechanical wave that is an oscillation of pressure transmitted through a solid, liquid, or gas, composed of frequencies within the range of hearing and of a level sufficiently strong to be heard, or the sensation stimulated in organs of hearing by such vibrations.-Propagation of...

bite detectors.

Spears

Spearfishing is an ancient method of fishing conducted with an ordinary spear

Spear

A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head.The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with bamboo spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fastened to the shaft, such as flint, obsidian, iron, steel or...

or a specialised variant such as a harpoon

Harpoon

A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument used in fishing to catch fish or large marine mammals such as whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the target animal, allowing the fishermen to use a rope or chain attached to the butt of the projectile to catch the animal...

, trident

Trident

A trident , also called a trishul or leister or gig, is a three-pronged spear. It is used for spear fishing and was also a military weapon. Tridents are featured widely in mythical, historical and modern culture. The major Hindu god, Shiva the Destroyer and the sea god Poseidon or Neptune are...

, arrow

Arrow

An arrow is a shafted projectile that is shot with a bow. It predates recorded history and is common to most cultures.An arrow usually consists of a shaft with an arrowhead attached to the front end, with fletchings and a nock at the other.- History:...

or eel spear.
Harpoon

Harpoon

s are spears which have a barb

Barb

Barb may refer to:* A backward-facing point on a fish hook or similar implement, rendering extraction from the victim's flesh more difficult* Wind barbs for each station on a map of reported weather conditions...

at the end. Their use was widespread in palaeolithic times. Cosquer cave

Cosquer Cave

The Cosquer cave is located in the Calanque de Morgiou near Marseille, France, not very far from Cap Morgiou. The entrance to the cave is located 37 meters underwater, due to the rise of the Mediterranean in Paleolithic times. It was discovered by diver Henri Cosquer in 1985, but its...

in Southern France contains cave art over 16,000 years old, including drawings of seals which appear to have been harpooned. Trident

Trident

s are spears which have three prongs at the business end. They are also called leisters or gigs. They feature widely in early mythology and history.

Modern spears can be used with a speargun

Speargun

A speargun is an underwater fishing implement designed to fire a spear at fish.The basic components of a speargun are:A spear, a stock/barrel, and a handle/grip containing a trigger mechanism...

. Some spearguns use slings

Sling (weapon)

A sling is a projectile weapon typically used to throw a blunt projectile such as a stone or lead "sling-bullet". It is also known as the shepherd's sling....

(or rubber loops) to propel the spear. Polespear

Polespear

A polespear is an underwater tool used in spearfishing, consisting of a pole, a spear tip, and a rubber loop. Polespears are often mistakenly called Hawaiian slings, but the tools differ...

s have a sling attached to the spear, Hawaiian sling

Hawaiian sling

The Hawaiian sling is a device used in spearfishing. The sling operates much like a bow and arrow on land, but energy is stored in rubber tubing rather than a wooden or fiberglass shaft.-Description:...

s have a sling separate from the spear, in the manner of an underwater bow and arrow.

A bow

Bow (weapon)

The bow and arrow is a projectile weapon system that predates recorded history and is common to most cultures.-Description:A bow is a flexible arc that shoots aerodynamic projectiles by means of elastic energy. Essentially, the bow is a form of spring powered by a string or cord...

or crossbow

Crossbow

can be used with arrow

Arrow

s in bowfishing

Bowfishing

Bowfishing is a method of fishing that uses specialized archery equipment to shoot and retrieve fish. Fish are shot with a barbed arrow that is attached with special line to a reel mounted on the bow. Some freshwater species commonly hunted include common carp, grass carp, bighead carp, alligator...

Nets

Fishing nets are mesh

Mesh

Mesh consists of semi-permeable barrier made of connected strands of metal, fiber, or other flexible/ductile material. Mesh is similar to web or net in that it has many attached or woven strands.-Types of mesh:...

es usually formed by knot

Knot

A knot is a method of fastening or securing linear material such as rope by tying or interweaving. It may consist of a length of one or several segments of rope, string, webbing, twine, strap, or even chain interwoven such that the line can bind to itself or to some other object—the "load"...

ting a relatively thin thread.
Between 177 and 180 the Greek author Oppian

Oppian

Oppian or Oppianus was the name of the authors of two didactic poems in Greek hexameters, formerly identified, but now generally regarded as two different persons: Oppian of Corycus in Cilicia; and Oppian of Apamea in Syria.-Oppian of Corycus:Oppian of Corycus in Cilicia, who flourished in the...

wrote the Halieutica, a didactic poem about fishing. He described various means of fishing including the use of nets cast from boats, scoop nets held open by a hoop, and various traps "which work while their masters sleep". Ancient fishing nets used threads made from leaves, plant stalk and cocoon silk. They could be rough in design and material but some designs were amazingly close to designs we use today (Parker 2002). Modern nets are usually made of artificial polyamide

Polyamide

A polyamide is a polymer containing monomers of amides joined by peptide bonds. They can occur both naturally and artificially, examples being proteins, such as wool and silk, and can be made artificially through step-growth polymerization or solid-phase synthesis, examples being nylons, aramids,...

s like nylon

Nylon

, although nets of organic polyamides such as wool

Wool

Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and certain other animals, including cashmere from goats, mohair from goats, qiviut from muskoxen, vicuña, alpaca, camel from animals in the camel family, and angora from rabbits....

or silk

Silk

thread were common until recently and are still used.

Hand net

Hand net

A hand net, also called a scoop net, is a net or mesh basket held open by a hoop. It may or may not be on the end of a handle. Hand nets have been used since antiquity and can be used for scooping fish near the surface of the water, such as muskellunge or northern pike.A hand net with a long handle...

s are held open by a hoop, and maybe on the end of a long stiff handle. They have been known since antiquity and may be used for sweeping up fish near the water surface like muskellunge

Muskellunge

A muskellunge , also known as a muskelunge, muscallonge, milliganong, or maskinonge , is a large, relatively uncommon freshwater fish of North America. Muskellunge are the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae...

and northern pike

Northern Pike

The northern pike , is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus Esox...

. When such a net is used by an angler

Angling

to help land a fish it is known as a landing net. In England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, hand netting is the only legal way of catching eel

Eel

Eels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators...

s and has been practised for thousands of years on the River Parrett

River Parrett

The River Parrett flows through the counties of Dorset and Somerset in South West England, from its source in the Thorney Mills springs in the hills around Chedington in Dorset...

and River Severn

River Severn

The River Severn is the longest river in Great Britain, at about , but the second longest on the British Isles, behind the River Shannon. It rises at an altitude of on Plynlimon, Ceredigion near Llanidloes, Powys, in the Cambrian Mountains of mid Wales...

.

Cast net

Cast net

A cast net, also called a throw net, is a net used for fishing. It is a circular net with small weights distributed around its edge.The net is cast or thrown by hand in such a manner that it spreads out on the water and sinks. This technique is called net casting or net throwing. Fish are caught as...

s are small round nets with weights on the edges which is thrown by the fisher. Sizes vary up to about four metres in diameter. The net is thrown by hand in such a manner that it spreads out on the water and sinks. Fish are caught as the net is hauled back in.

Traps

Fishing traps are culturally almost universal and seem to have been independently invented many times. There are essentially two types of trap, a permanent or semi-permanent structure placed in a river or tidal area and pot-traps that are baited to attract prey and periodically lifted. They might have the form of a fishing weir

Fishing weir

A fishing weir, or fish weir, is an obstruction placed in tidal waters or wholly or partially across a river, which is designed to hinder the passage of fish. Traditionally they were built from wood or stones. They can be used to trap fish...

or a lobster trap

Lobster trap

Not to be confused with Lobster-tailed potA lobster trap or lobster pot is a portable trap that traps lobsters or crayfish and is used in lobster fishing. A lobster trap can hold several lobsters. Lobster traps are constructed of wire and wood. An opening permits the lobster to enter a tunnel of...

. A typical trap can have a frame of thick steel wire in the shape of a heart

Heart

The heart is a myogenic muscular organ found in all animals with a circulatory system , that is responsible for pumping blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions...

, with chicken wire

Chicken wire

Chicken wire, or poultry netting, is a mesh of wire commonly used to fence poultry livestock. It is made of thin, flexible galvanized wire, with hexagonal gaps...

stretched around it. The mesh wraps around the frame and then tapers into the inside of the trap. When a fish swims inside through this opening, it cannot get out, as the chicken wire opening bends back into its original narrowness. In earlier times, traps were constructed of wood and fibre.

Fly fishing tackle

Fly fishing tackle comprises the fishing tackle or equipment typically used by fly anglers. Fly fishing tackle includes:* Fly rods - a specialized type of fishing rod designed to cast fly line and artificial flies...

is equipment used by, and often specialised for use by fly anglers

Fly fishing

. Fly fishing tackle includes fly lines designed for easy casting, specialised fly reels designed to hold a fly line and supply drag

Drag (physics)

In fluid dynamics, drag refers to forces which act on a solid object in the direction of the relative fluid flow velocity...

if required for landing heavy or fast fish, specialised fly rods designed to cast fly lines and artificial flies, terminal tackle including artificial flies

Artificial fly

An artificial fly or fly lure is a type of fishing lure, usually used in the sport of fly fishing . In general, artificial flies are the bait which fly fishers present to their target species of fish while fly fishing...

, and other accessories including fly boxes used to store and carry artificial flies.

Tackle boxes

Fishing tackle boxes have for many years been an essential part of the anglers equipment. Fishing tackle boxes were originally made of wood or wicker and eventually some metal fishing tackle boxes were manufactured. The first plastic fishing tackle boxes were manufactured by Plano in response to the need for a product that didn't rust. Early plastic fishing tackle boxes were similar to tool boxes but soon evolved into the hip roof cantilever tackle boxes with numerous small trays for a plethora of small tackle, these types of tackle boxes are still available today and still have the disadvantage of mixing up small tackle. Fishing tackle boxes have also been manufactured with drawers and a storage bin under a lid, some of these types of tackle box also have lids on the drawers which helps to stop small tackle from mixing, this turns each drawer into a container which is useful for carrying small tackle to a rod placed away from the main fishing area without having to pack up and fasten the whole tackle box.

Tackle industry

World wide, the recreational fishing tackle industry is big business, worth over five billion US dollars annually in the United States alone.
European brands

North American brands

The Shakespeare Company
Orvis
Orvis
Orvis is a family-owned retail and mail-order business specializing in high-end fly fishing, hunting and sporting goods. Founded in Manchester, Vermont in 1856 by Charles F. Orvis to sell fishing tackle, the company has changed hands only twice and has had only five CEOs in its 150-year history...
Lindy Legendary Fishing Tackle
Lindy Legendary Fishing Tackle
Lindy Legendary Fishing Tackle is an American producer of fishing tackle. Since its founding in 1968, the company's Lindy Rig has been used by over 40 million fishermen.- Company history :...
Fin-Nor
Van Staal
Plano
PDY Systems
Flambeau

Japanese brands

Shimano

Other brands

Fibras Industriales S.A.
Fibras Industriales S.A.
Fibras Industriales S.A., commercially known as FISA is the largest multi-filament fishing net manufacturer in the western hemisphere. FISA has more than 60 years of experience in the market, developing products for use in purse seine fishing, trawling, long line fishing, gillnet fishing, fish and...

(nets, Peru)

External links

fishingpatents.com
Tackle box Te Ara - The Encyclopedia of New Zealand

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