The term “tackle tart” gets bandied around quite a bit nowadays. I understand it means someone who buys tackle for the sake of it, or someone who likes to look the part by owning the latest gear, even if he or she doesn’t have the ability to use that tackle to its maximum potential.

What surprises, and concerns me, is that it’s starting to cause distinct separations between individuals within the common sport. It creates an element of pre-judgement based just on what an individuals personal expense on tackle happens to be. If a guy turns up with two beach rods worth £300 plus each armed with two top of the range multipliers, has a box full of gear and modern waterproof clothing he’s a “tackle tart” according to a recent conversation I had with another angler. His reasoning was that you can catch fish with the cheapest rod and reel available, so why bother with expensive kit?

I’m the first to acknowledge and defend that fish can be caught with the cheapest fishing tackle. That’s what I started with 50-years ago, just the cheapest rod and reel available as my folks weren’t well off and money was tight. There’s nothing wrong either, with most modern tackle priced at the cheaper end, certainly the past decade has seen a massive advancement in the quality and performance characteristics of budget tackle and most purchases will do a great job if you just aim for general fishing.

If you don’t intend to fish that often and just want to go fishing for a couple of hours of fun and maybe the odd fish supper, then I’d suggest you stick with this type of tackle and enjoy the sport as and when it takes your fancy.

Most anglers though, having begun with budget gear, decide they like the sport and start to take more interest in other fishing situations. Likewise, as they fish more and more, they realise that the budget gear, even when maintained to a high degree, can’t cope with regular week on week fishing. Being realistic it’s not designed for a massive workload just as every other budget commodity we buy is. This is the key moment, a percentage of anglers choose to continue buying budget gear and replace it as necessary. Others realise they need to increase the quality of their tackle to cope with the more demanding fishing and increased fishing time they choose to do.

This key moment can also be induced by watching one of the so called “tackle tarts” out cast and out fish you on the same mark when he’s stood only a short distance away. Realising you haven’t been fishing correctly and missing out on fish obviously available in front of you can be a major motivator to get it right in the future.

A good proportion of anglers will choose to stay with mid price tackle all their lives, and catch plenty of fish in the mean time. Mid price tackle nowadays is generally pretty damn good and will last several seasons with sensible maintenance.

The key moment, inevitably for some, arrives again. This is typically spawned by gaining more experience, travelling to more and varied venues, some decent fish being caught, and probably choosing to learn a powerful casting style to increase catches in the process. A proportion of those anglers who lived comfortably in the middle price tackle zone through their learning curve make another quantum leap. Not all do,  most choose to stay in the mid price zone all their lives enjoying the sport and catching fish to the level they themselves choose. It is not a choice based just on financial income as some try to infer that offers the move up.

The transmission from buying mid to higher price tackle is usually done slowly and with careful purchases. For example anglers with experience tend to prefer to fish two identical beachcasters and reels as they then have compatibility for casting to maximum range when needed, improved bite detection because two identical rod tips behave identically in the tide highlighting bites, plus expensive gear tends to hold more of it’s value when they decide to upgrade again. These are reasoned purchases!

This latter point “reasoned purchases” is often overlooked by those referring to anglers as “tackle tarts”.

Most anglers I know who spend major amounts of money on tackle are not well off, nor enjoy the privileges of high ranking jobs. They’re just ordinary lads with mortgages, wives and kids to support. What they do is build up their tackle over a long period of time until they can achieve the best. Anglers continually buying cheap rods and reels may actually spend just as much as the guy buying high performance gear as he will need to change his budget reel every year or so, whereas a well maintained high performance reel will last at least 3 or 4 years if looked after properly. It’s the same with rods. Just look at the second-hand value of Zziplex rods to prove that good kit holds its value even after prolonged use.

What I’m getting at is that an angler turning up with top of the range tackle does not make him an instant “tackle tart” or a poser, more likely is that he started where we all do, with not much money and even less idea. He’s learnt though, chosen to renew his gear appropriately to match his fishing situations and probably worked overtime to buy it.

Next time you’re on the beach or boat and an angler happens to be fishing with top of the range tackle, you might just learn a little something from him if you strike up a conversation.