Gifts for the beginning angler

Angling is a sport with thousands of gadgets. Some would say this is an understatement. These two sentences become completely believable and understandable when walking down the fishing aisle of any sporting goods store.

The merchandise displayed includes tiny, single-egg hooks, which are designed to hold one individual salmon egg. There are large hooks, some designed to catch sturgeon weighing 100 pounds, 200 pounds and larger.

Displayed are fishing line strong enough to catch the sturgeon, in the 80- to 100-pound range. There are spools of fly-fishing leader in the 2-, 4- or 6-pound range, which fly fishermen use to attract fish Rocky Ford Creek and other Washington waters.

Weights are also displayed. A fishing weight is used to pull the bait under the surface of the water and into an area where the fish will see the bait. Weights are heavy. We can confidently say the fishing equipment isle holds several pounds of fishing weights.

Next, we have lures. We have hundreds, or more, lures in the fishing aisle; bass lures, trout lures and lures for every species of fish. There is an old cartoon with two anglers are in a boat.

One says to the other, “I have 300 lures in this tackle box, three of which I use regularly.”

It is a true scenario, comical and true. Many anglers, including me, have lots and gobs of lures in the several tackle boxes in my possession. Plus, there are many lures not used in my tackle boxes. However, there are a few lures in my tackle boxes having marks, such as teeth marks, on them from salmon, trout and steelhead who have hit those lures and been landed.

The rest of the lures should be counted as those who have been unopened, but are ready to be exercised, at some time in the future. The tried and true lures will be used again and again, as long as they continue to catch fish.

Miscellaneous fishing equipment continue to pop up. There are fishing nets and fishing creels.

When we, Dad and me, would fish different section of the San Poil River, we would each have a creel attached to our side. This fish-keeping attachment would allow each of us to keep the fish we kept fresh, as we placed grasses inside and kept the grass wet with river water.

We would dip the creel every 30 minutes or so, to keep the fish inside fresh. When we arrived to a point near camp, the fish would be gutted and rinsed, ready for the next meal.