Sport Fishing

If compared to commercial fishing, sport fishing falls in the category of hobbies that put very little pressure on the environment: we are talking abount an activity that takes nothing for the fun it gives in return. The sheer leisure pursuit, this is the main trait of sport fishing, as it has nothing to do with profit or survival issues.

The most basic of sport fishing form requires nothing else but lots of hooks, a rod, a line and a reel. Of course, there are other additional devices, called terminal tackle, that people use to enhance the impact on fish. Among the terminal tackle items used in both commercial and sport fishing, swivels, weights and floats deserve a first mention. Sometimes, instead of baits fishermen rely on different types of lures, thus, sport fishing incorporates handcrafter applications as well as plastic artificial flies and imitations of crawlers.

Though a male occupation first and foremost, sport fishing has left room enough for women too. Some hobbyists are disatisfied with the way things stand in the fishing circles and the big question comes from the lack of apparent purpose for the sport. Why fish if you eventually release the catch anyway? And yet, this is the very purpose of sport fishing. It is a catch and release type of activity/hobby, plus, relaxation and fun are the very elements that define the sport.

Various practices carry the name of sport fishing. The explanations for this variety were mainlyprovided to challenge their abilities and to play the game on the fish’s ground. Thus, on the average sport fishing types include noodling, big-game fishing, kayak fishing and trout tickling. For example, in the case of kayak fishing people use stealthy sea kayaks that allow fishermen to reach areas that are unfishable under regular circumstances. In big-game fishing the main action occurs from boats, too, and the catch is represented by large open-water fishes such as tuna, marlin or sharks. Anyway, individual fishing contests are run on land while team competitions depend on boats.

As for the beginnings of sport fishing, it is known that it started off between the 16th and 17th centuries, but big-game fishing imposed itself as a sport after the invention of motorized boats. In 1898, the marine biologist, Dr. Charles Frederick Holder created the foundation for this sport and published quite a few articles and books that provided a nice combination of exciting stories and accurate scientific details.

Fishing Tackle

Fishing is one of the most popular pastime activities, together with sports, playing musical instruments, pottery, and so on. It is commonly known that all sorts of equipment are required by any of these activities. Fishing tackle and the items it includes get the attention of any amaterish or professional fisherman.

First of all, whether we call it fishing tackle or fishing gear it basically represents a wide range of tools and elements that can be taken separately or together as complex assemblies. Harpoons, downriggers, rods, lures, reels, baits, nets, lines, rods, clevises, floats and so on, assist the fisherman for more or less complex capture making, with the mention that not all these parts of fishing tackle are necessary all the time. The items that are normally hung or attached at the end of the fishing line are usually called terminal fishing tackle. Thus, the terminal tackle includes things like hooks, swivels, sinkers, leaders, and snaps.

Europe and the UK have some leading fishing tackle brands like Middy, Fox, Svendsen, Okuma, Preston, Daiwa or Shimano. Yet, America also produces fishing tackle brands that are famous not only at home but also overseas. The advantages of good equipment become obvious in the amount of the catch and the personal satisfaction of the amateurish angler who tries his skill just for fun. Basic tight line fishing requires just a few items of fishing tackle: the sinker, the line and the hook.

Furthermore, the selection of the fishing tackle greatly varies according to a complex combination of elements showing influences depending on the season, the fish species and the water surface you fish on. On a basic search on the Internet you will surely discover plenty of websites created by individual fishermen or fishing organizations, fishing tackle producers and traders that are willing to share their experience and offers with you.

For example, getting some good salt water fishing tackle can make or break the success of any fishing campaign. Saltwater fishing tackle contains all sorts of hook designs, lures, sinkers, flies and swivels. These things have to be manufactured specificaly for saltwater fishing, since the swivel is the most important part of the terminal tackle. For fly fishing, on the other hand, you have to consider other forms of equipment and different specifics for your trip. Although almost most of the fishing gear works as fly fishing tackle, yet the equipment varies depending on the fish you want to catch and the georgraphical traits of the environment.

Fishing Lures

Fishing lures are mostly used in recreational fishing. They consist of objects attached at the end of the line and they are designed to look like the prey of the fish that you want to catch. Color, vibration, movement and shape, all influence the capture as such. If there were no lures attached to the lines, the bait could remain invisible for the fish. All fishing lures come with a hook on the end for the attaching of the bait. Once the fishing lures play their part, the fish gets hooked.

With the help lures, hiding fish are also attracted out of their hidings becoming an easier prey. This is done by casting and retrieving the lures progressively, and such movements make the lures appear to be swimming. The movement of the lure will also make light reflect and thus attract the attention of the fish.

Fishing lures fall into several categories depending on the manufacturing concept and the purpose they serve. A first type is the jig, a lead hook with a sharp tip onto which artificial or natural bait is placed. This is usually shaped like a minnow, worm or crawfish. Another category consists of the surface fishing lures that got their names because they are lighter than the jigs and therefore meant to float on the water and look like surface prey. Last but not least, the spawn fishing lures have been created for surface fishing; they are thin and shiny so that they can get fish attention as quickly as possible.

Another category is that of plugs or crank-baits; these fishing lures are designed to move at faster speeds and to go back and forth exactly as fish prey would. In the popular group of artificial baits, bass worms and flies are extensively used.

Fishing lures are not an invention of our times, as they have been part of fishing ever since the appearance of this occupation. The change results from the possibility to manufacture the lures artificially; thus the most common materials for fishing lures are rubber, cork, plastic, wood and metal. Somehow, the decreased use of smaller fish species as baits poses no longer a threat for the survival of such small-sized specimens; consequently, the food chain will remain unaltered if regular living baits are used restrictively.

Last but not least, with recreational fishing, caught and released fish have better chances of survival if artificial fishing lures are used. The hooks attached to the fishing lures are not very dangerous for the fish and do not impale the mouth as deep as the old type hook varieties used to. Therefore, more and more fish survive after being released by recreation interested fishermen.

Fishing Equipment

Fishing equipment is called fishing tackle by specialists and hobbyists, and it generally refers to rods, lines, hooks, sinkers, spears, lures, baits, reels, nets, and so on. Some of these items belong to the fishing gear known as terminal tackle which usually covers snaps, sinkers, swivels and hooks.

Etymologically speaking, the ‘tackle’ as fishing equipment originates from ‘takel’ which initially meant the rigging of a ship, or to put it otherwise, the rope supports necessary for a ship’s masts and sails. Later the same word was recorded to have a different meaning, that of apparatus for fishing and that meaning has been preserved ever since.

The standard fishing equipment consists of a rod with a line and a hook, a lure and a bait attached to the hook and a sinker. The line consists of a basic cord especially made for fishing that is both long and thin so that fish do not notice it. When a fisherman buys fishing line he has to be sure that the stretch, the resistances and the strength of the product is suitable for the kind of fishing he has in mind. The line will be selected based on what kind of fish he/she intends to catch.

The sinker, also called a plummet, is made form a weight that helps in casting the hook and the bait as far as possible from the shoreline or from the boat that the fisherman uses. They are usually made of lead as their purpose is to get underwater quickly attracting the attention of fish to the bait. In some parts of the world, lead can no longer be included in the fishing equipment because of its high toxicity level. If ingested by bird species or other fish, the sinker causes the death of the animal.

Another basic item of fishing equipment is the hook. The hook serves as a support for the bait and it gets stuck in the mouth of the fish. These sharp ‘claws’ get attached to the line; and the angler can take the pick from a large array of hook sizes, materials and shapes.

Last but not least, the fishing equipment relies on baits and lures for efficiency. The lure is a piece at the end of the line that looks and moves like something resembling the prey of the fish you are after. The color, motion and vibration of the lure become focal points for the fish that afterwards goes for the bait. When the fish goes for the lure, it gets hooked. Bait, on the other hand, is the actual item attached to the hook and intended to be attacked and eaten by the fish. The bait can be either natural consisting in smaller fish, insects or crawlers or artificial, made of plastic or other material to lure the fish|Bait can be natural including insects, little fish or worms, or artificial made of fabric or plastic materials.