Fishing equipment is called fishing tackle by specialists and hobbyists and it generally includes to rods, lines, hooks, sinkers, spears, lures, bait, reels, nets, and et cetera. The fishing gear that is attached at the end of a line is called terminal tackle

The word tackle referring to fishing equipment comes from 'takel' which first 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 different meaning, that of equipment for fishing and that meaning has been preserved ever since.

The most rudimentary fishing equipment consists of a rod, a line, a hook, a lure, a bait and a weight or sinker. The line is a basic string especially made for fishing that is both long, strong and yet thin, so that fish can not see it. There are several questions that an angler asks when buying a fishing line, like its resistance, stretch, strength and so on. The line will be selected depending on what species of fish the angler wants to catch.

The sinker or weight, also called a plummet, is really only 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 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 elementary piece of fishing equipment 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 select from a pretty 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 tied at the end of the line that resembles the prey of the fish you are after in every way. Its raison d'etre 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 eats the lure, it becomes hooked.

On the other hand, bait is the stuff actually 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 thinks might attract the type of fish he's going for.