Fishing for beginners.

[Chef Matt]

Ok So, I want to learn how to fish. My dad never took me fishing as a kid, he's not the outdoorsy type. We did other things together, movies, baseball games, Disneyland etc... Basically the same things I do with my own kids now. In fact exactly what I do with my kids now.

But I want to be able to take my boys fishing. Before I do that though, I should probably learn myself.

I've been with buddies a few times but they always supply everything and all I have to do is cast... and bring the beer. So I'm asking for any tips, advice, what beginner equipment I should get, what type of fish should a beginner go for, etc...

There will be no boat involved. Strictly off the bank if that makes any difference.

I know Walrmart has a section that sells fishing/outdoors stuff. Should I go there? If so what do I get?

Any help is appreciated.

[Yeah...THAT Guy]

Re: Fishing for beginners.

Only 20 years old, but I've been fishing my whole life. If you're just trying to get your kids interested, the key is to actually catch fish. So I'd just go out with some worms and hook them up, put a bobber on the line, and then all you gotta do is cast the worm out into the water, let the line out til you get some slack in it, and then reel it in just enough that it gets rid of the slack. Maybe just jerk the tip of the pole a little bit here and there to give the worm some movement, and if you start to see the bobber start drifting to the side or start dipping underwater, that means you have a fish playing with it.

I used to go down by the dock at my uncle's cottage with worms and a bobber and literally just drop the worm in right at the edge of the dock and I'd watch the fish all come swimming up to it and I'd catch like 10-15 fish for my dad to use as bait to get pickerel.

At the lake in the Adirondacks where I grew up fishing, it would be a lot of sunfish, perch, rock bass, and the occasional small mouth/pickerel/doghead (or something like that; I only caught that one once).

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: Fishing for beginners.

I would go to a dedicated outdoor store like Gander Mountain, Bass Pro Shop, etc if you are new to fishing. They are way more informative and helpful then Walmart or Kmart associates. Plus they have much bigger selection.

Ok.........1st thing first. You need a fishing license. Depending on what state you live in, fines for being caught without one can be very expensive.

2. Do you want a rod where you can take apart or one that you can't. That really depends on the size of your vehicle. If you drive a car, you will want one that you can take a part. Don't worry you are aren't completely taking it apart, the rod shaft itself is what you basically breaking down into half for you can fit it in a regular car trunk.

3. Tackle box. For a beginner, just buy a small one. Buy various weights, hook sizes, liters, fishing line, a net preferably one with a long pole and a pair of needle nose pliers.

4. Buy one of those outdoor game books that tell you what breed of fish is all the type of waters throughout the state you live in. This is important, because you have to know what breed of fish is in the water because it will determine what type of fishing line you need, how much weight you need, what size hook to use and the type of bait.

I mean it will be stupid as hell to go fishing for northern pike when they aren't even in the body of water you fishing at.

So once you know the different breeds of fish that will be in your body of water that you will be fishing at, you can now game plan on which one you want to go after. Different breeds like different type of bait and be at different depths.

Also learn the laws of your state. Certain states have a size limit on certain species of fish and they have a catch limit too on certain species. Some states heavily enforce these laws, some don't. Either way, fines can be pretty damn expensive depending on the state.

Other then that, fishing is a trial and error event. Over time you will learn which bait works best for the type of fish you looking to catch. And you will learn what areas certain breeds of fish like to hang out at too.

[mgoblue]

Re: Fishing for beginners.

My mom got into fly fishing at a "Outdoor Women's" weekend thing she goes to. She got me into it, so we ended up gearing up.

While you may just want to bait fish instead of fly fish, here's what we ended up doing:

1. Joined a local fly fishing club that has regular outings, had events that also would teach us how to cast, tie knots, etc. Helped us get to the point where we were good on our own mostly. Also get your license based on what you'll be fishing. I got mine at Bass Pro.

2. Got our own rods at Bass Pro. We got a kit that had rod, reel, line, case that was a decent price. You can go crazy with gear/price, but we're staying lower end but trying to avoid getting crap (we asked the people at the group what would be ok starter gear).

3. Eventually got a fishing vest and got items over time that we needed for fly fishing (leader, tippet, flies, etc).

4. We both got float tubes on sale online, these allow you to go down a river or on a lake. We've only used them once, but nice to have.

5. Last week at a "yard sale" for the fishing group my mom found me waders and boots for 20 bucks, that's the next purchase for my mom as well, so we can be in the water when it's colder.

For you I'd slowly build up your gear, talk to Bass Pro and see if there's a good starter combo. That's what I'm doing, because for something I do every other month or so I don't want to go crazy spending money on it.

Also, enjoy it. I find it's awesome to get out in nature, even if we're not catching tons of fish sometimes.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: Fishing for beginners.

One more thing. When you find a good fishing spot, keep it to yourself. Seriously.......keep it to yourself. You end up telling one person and before you know it the next time you go there it will be 6 families within 50 feet of each other at your spot.

I can't get down with that. I like my fishing experience to be ISOLATED. The nearest person who isn't with me better be a good 200 feet or more away. I use to so hate when people would treat fishing like it is a damn beach party and bring a radio and have the radio blasting. Their kids running around like idiots, throwing rocks and sticks into the water.

ISOLATION......that is what you need. Get you a good spot off the path and keep it to yourself.

[AUChase]

Yep, isolation is important. I don't fish often, but when I do, its usually off the boat in the lake. We have a few good spots and don't mention them to anyone.

I wouldn't try to get any sort of crazy rod and reel for your first.
Just a basic zebco reel would be ideal. I love fishing with a baitcaster, but they are tough to get used to, because your thumb controls the line.

Sent from my Desire HD

[Pappy Knuckles]

Re: Fishing for beginners.

Ok.........1st thing first. You need a fishing license. Depending on what state you live in, fines for being caught without one can be very expensive.

I don't know much about fishing and didn't know that I needed a license, but I took a kid I mentored to the lake once because he wanted to go. I bought some cheap gear from Walmart and headed there without thinking twice about it, but when we were fishing an officer approached me and asked me for my fishing license. I'm sure he could've been a jerk about it, but he just told me that I needed to purchase one in order to fish there and let me go on about my business.

[Chef Matt]

Re: Fishing for beginners.

Thanks for all the 411 so far. I don't have a Bass Pro Shop near me but I found a Fishermans Wharehouse that's close to me. I'm going to head there after work and scope it out.

Re: Finding a spot.

That leads to my next question. Where do I go? We have a river that runs through the northern part of town. Can you fish that off the bank? Heck I don't even know if there's fish in it. It comes from a pretty nice size lake thats about 30 minutes away. Can you fish off the bank at a lake? Seems like there'd be a lot of stuff in the water that I'd snag on.

What about state parks? I'm only 2 hours from Yosemite. Can you fish there?

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: Fishing for beginners.

I don't know much about fishing and didn't know that I needed a license, but I took a kid I mentored to the lake once because he wanted to go. I bought some cheap gear from Walmart and headed there without thinking twice about it, but when we were fishing an officer approached me and asked me for my fishing license. I'm sure he could've been a jerk about it, but he just told me that I needed to purchase one in order to fish there and let me go on about my business.

Consider yourself lucky. In the state of Georgia that is a $500 fine.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: Fishing for beginners.

Thanks for all the 411 so far. I don't have a Bass Pro Shop near me but I found a Fishermans Wharehouse that's close to me. I'm going to head there after work and scope it out.

Re: Finding a spot.

That leads to my next question. Where do I go? We have a river that runs through the northern part of town. Can you fish that off the bank? Heck I don't even know if there's fish in it. It comes from a pretty nice size lake thats about 30 minutes away. Can you fish off the bank at a lake? Seems like there'd be a lot of stuff in the water that I'd snag on.

What about state parks? I'm only 2 hours from Yosemite. Can you fish there?

Yeah you can fish at most state parks that I know of, however state parks aren't open 24/7, not all of them anyway and some close by 9pm or 10pm.

Far as the river that runs through your town, it depends on how deep it is. I have a various creeks and small rivers that run through my town, how ever they aren't deep and don't have many fish in it at all, not until you make it out of town where the waters actually get deep.

You can fish off the bank at a lake. How ever try NOT to be on the shallow end of the lake. If you are, then all you will catch is crappie and very small perch. You got to be in the deep part of the lake to snag the good stuff.

Trial and error. Might take you 4 trips to learn which side of the lake is the best side for fishing.

[Phobia]

Re: Fishing for beginners.

If you wanna get in depth on tactics, baits, seasons, etc on find and catching fish. PM me, I don't wanna go long winded on here.

Now for just basic entry level starting out. 5 things you need to find

1) Fishing license
2) Cheap zebco push button spin reel
3) Target easier fish to find, bream, sac-a-lait, catfish, etc
4) beer or cold drinks
5) peaceful outdoors to enjoy

[Phobia]

Re: Fishing for beginners.

Thanks for all the 411 so far. I don't have a Bass Pro Shop near me but I found a Fishermans Wharehouse that's close to me. I'm going to head there after work and scope it out.

Re: Finding a spot.

That leads to my next question. Where do I go? We have a river that runs through the northern part of town. Can you fish that off the bank? Heck I don't even know if there's fish in it. It comes from a pretty nice size lake thats about 30 minutes away. Can you fish off the bank at a lake? Seems like there'd be a lot of stuff in the water that I'd snag on.

What about state parks? I'm only 2 hours from Yosemite. Can you fish there?

I use google earth a lot to do my scouting when I'm looking for new kayak fishing areas.

First thing you wanna make sure is the land is public and not private.

Edit: really quick search of areas around you.

Bass lake looks public
Hensley Lake
Madera Lake
Lake McClure
Don Pedro Reservoir
Eastman lake

I did a pretty wide search area, but there is a ton of fishing spots around that general area I'm sure you can find a couple good ones.

[Chef Matt]

Re: Fishing for beginners.

I use google earth a lot to do my scouting when I'm looking for new kayak fishing areas.

First thing you wanna make sure is the land is public and not private.

Edit: really quick search of areas around you.

Bass lake looks public
Hensley Lake
Madera Lake
Lake McClure
Don Pedro Reservoir
Eastman lake

I did a pretty wide search area, but there is a ton of fishing spots around that general area I'm sure you can find a couple good ones.

Yeah those lakes are fairly close. Millerton lake is really close. I read there's good rainbow trout fishing below the Dam there. That's about 20 minutes from me. I guess those are good fish for beginners.

It's crazy I have Yosemite 2 hours away, tons of lakes within an hour or two drive, and I've yet to venture to any of them. Better late than never I guess.

[ABR173rd]

Re: Fishing for beginners.

Yeah those lakes are fairly close. Millerton lake is really close. I read there's good rainbow trout fishing below the Dam there. That's about 20 minutes from me. I guess those are good fish for beginners.

It's crazy I have Yosemite 2 hours away, tons of lakes within an hour or two drive, and I've yet to venture to any of them. Better late than never I guess.

If your buying new rod/reel combos I would stay away from the push button models. They are slightly simpler for kids to be able to cast with, however they are not as durable as open face reels and when the little one's get a birds nest inside the push button it is a lot more difficult to catch early and fix then with an open faced reel.

As other's have stated if your intent is to take your kids out I would focus on simply catching fish and some of the easier species to target would be blue gill, crappie, cat fish, trout, and carp. I would also suggest sticking to a lake for now as bobber fishing in rivers can get annoying. For live bait I would grab some worms or smaller minnows. Pieces of bread, bacon, or corn also work well for most of the species you would be targeting.

[Gotmadskillzson]

Re: Fishing for beginners.

I caught 25 striped bass with corn once....A lot of my mexican friends that is all they fish with is corn.

For catfish, I use liver. The more spoiled the liver, the BETTER.

For northern pike or another predator type of fish, I use minnows.