I remember many years ago when talking to a ex retired pro fisherman,he said the two most important pieces of equipment in fishing was the hook and line.
These two things attach you to the fish and they need to be good quality products,and it will always depend on how good your knot is.
The next part is the rod and that will be used to cast and to give you some control in guiding the fish back into the net,plus it acts as a spring relief for the line when under strain.
The last and most least important in all this is the reel,all that does is hold the line and gives you a drag to play