Basic Fishing Equipment

Basic Fishing Equipment - Beginner's Guide
By Malabika Mukherjee

Be it a warm summer morning or a cold wintry afternoon, you can never fail to see a fishing line or two while passing a lake or a stream. Fishing is a habit close to addiction for those who have the flair and skill for it. Ask any seasoned angler what it takes to land up with a good catch and he’ll promptly tell you that it is sheer instinct and logic mixed with basic common sense. With a lot of practice and experience, you get to know which rod and reel is best suited with which line and in what kind of rig. Matching all the fishing tools properly goes a long way in making a fishing experience both enjoyable and productive.

Now let us go through the checklist of fishing equipment for the benefit of beginners. The list includes the following basic tools:

1. Fishing rod
2. Hook
3. Line
4. Reel
5. Float/bobber
6. Sinker
7. Lure

Before getting into the nitty-gritty of the best combination of the above-mentioned equipment for good fishing experience, let us discuss briefly the different varieties of each tool available in the market.

Fishing rod:

In modern times, a fishing rod is manufactured to allow the angler to feel the bite of fish. The rod shaft is termed as blank. The blank is usually made of graphite, fiberglass, or other material depending upon its actions. The action of these blanks can be light, medium, medium-heavy, and heavy. The actions of the tip of the blank are called regular, light, and extra light. When the guides and handles have been assembled onto the blank, we get a complete fishing rod. Depending on the type of fish you are out to catch, you can choose a rod based on its blank. Most of the new graphite rods are light in weight and are balanced at the reel seat (i.e., when you set the rod handle on your finger with the reel attached, the rod should balance equally from tip to the end of the handle). The guides (or eyes) fitted on the rod help in transmitting signals to the rod so that the angler can feel the fish biting on the bait. The guides should be clean and in prim condition to allow optimum performance of the rod.