The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 6 plus 4 letter word LEDGER LINE
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
L
E
D
G
E
R
L
I
N
E
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "item of angling gear" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case item of angling gear = ledger line.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.