Sport Fishing Gear - A Quick Guide

What is Sport Fishing Gear?

Sport fishing gear merely refers to any equipment used by an angler when in pursuit of a sport fish. As you can imagine this is a pretty general definition of the term. What most people consider sport fishing gear is rods and reels, line, tackle boxes, baits, and other tools used specifically when fishing. Sport fishing has been around almost as long as there have been people to enjoy the sport. As a result, there's a huge array of sport fishing gear to choose from!

Examples of Sport Fishing Gear

Fishing Rods/Reels: These items, when put together, form the backbone of all fishing. The rod and reel are what connect the fisherman to the fish through the fishing line. Fishing rods are long, thin rods of rigid, yet flexible material, usually graphite or cane, with a real seat and small line guides attached. A fishing reel is any device used to wind and cast fishing line, that is attached to the fishing rod.

Fishing Line: The fishing line could be considered the second most important bit of fishing gear behind the rod and reel. Fishing line is what connects the fish to the rod and reel, and thus to the fisherman. Fishing lines come in braided, monofilament, and flourocarbon varieties.

Tackle Boxes: Tackle boxes are storage devices used to organize and fishing gear or "tackle". These handy containers come in a wider veriety of shapes and sizes to fit any angler's needs. Some examples are tray and system boxes, soft sided, and fly boxes used by fly fisherman.

Fishing Lures/Baits: Some fisherman may argue that this may actually be the most important piece of fishing gear of them all. It's the fishing bait that gets the fish to bite down on the hook in the first place! Fishing lures are artificial fishing baits that either attempt to trick or attract sport fish. what this means is that these baits will either attempt to mimic a fish's natural food to elicit a strike, or to gain a strike through pure reaction. Another fishing bait choice is live bait, or using the fish's natural prey as fishing bait. Some examples of live bait are minnows, leeches, crickets, salamanders, crayfish, shrimp, and even frogs!

Terminal Tackle: Sport fishing tackle of this type is what you would consider the utility gear of the fishing world. Devices such as snaps, swivels, weights, floats, and the all important fish hook are all considered terminal tackle. Other more less obvious devices such as wire leaders and, hemostats, and other items also fit into this category.