Advice to begin fishing

[Milemaker13]

Hey gang,
I want to start fishing now that my boat is working pretty good(Thanks to these forums!). What kind of pole/reel would you suggest? I will be fishing mainly smaller freshwater lakes in northern IL, also Springfield, IL...

I havn't been fishing since I was a little kid, and even then it wasn't much. I have seen poles at sprawl mart for like $30. I also saw a couple poles on craigslist for $25 apiece. One was a Shakespeare LX25, the other was a Daiwa 130RL. They look to be the 'open reel' type, if that makes any sense. Are these good poles for $25 apiece? What should I be looking for in a beginner's pole?

I don't know if I should stick with the standard looking reel with the thumb button on the back or what. I think I'll be fishing with a bobber mainly, but the 'lure casting' sounds cool too. I have never done that before, just a bobber line from the shore as a little kid.

What other gear should I get before starting out? Net? Pliers? Filet knife? Hooks, sinkers, bobbers? Bait? Beer?

Also, my boat (14' smokercraft "Big Fisherman") has a live well built in to the bench. It has a hose that runs under the floor out the transom with a small valve at the well. How exactly do I use this to my advantage?

Thanks!

 

[Skytex83]

Re: Advice to begin fishing

That's still a very open ended question. What gear you get will wholly depend on what type of fish you want. Alot is also personal preference IE I prefer spinner reels to open face or closed. A dip net if you plan to catch anything over a couple pounds, pliers are always a good thing to keep handy. Needle nose variety for pulling hooks. Filet knife? Only if you plan to eat what you catch, which again, goes back to what you want to catch. Hooks, sinkers, bobbers, etc again all depend on what your fishing for. Bait is fish specific as well. Beer is better consumed after a day out fishing as drinking and boating is only marginally safer than drinking and driving a school bus full of toddlers. Personally, I'd stick with new gear and not used. Not sure what fish are up that way as I'm in Texas, so I'd recommend a Google search of game fish in the area. Be sure you have a fishing license if it's required in your state. As for your live well, it sounds kinda jerry rigged. However, guessing what you've got, I'd purchase an aerator that clamps onto your battery, then when fishing, open the valve while sitting still in the water until the tank fills. It will only go up to the water level outside of the boat, then close the valve. Once you've got a fish or two in there, turn on the aerator and it will keep the fish alive and fresh until you get home thus making for better meat.

 

[Milemaker13]

Re: Advice to begin fishing

I guess I'll need to talk to some local folks about what to catch around here. But what about rod type? Personal preference, ok, but will and type work for everything? I think i understand the basic differences between thereel types... But if they were all the same they wouldn't make different kinds. Well, maybe they would-lol.

The live well is factory built into the boat. Its is one of the bench seats. Can't say weather the hose assembly is original, but it doesn't look to be rigged up.

So the idea is to keep the fish aliveuntil you gut them? Then pack them in ice? Can they be brought home alive in there or should they only be kept in there till you dock up? Where do most guys clean fish?

 

[Skytex83]

Re: Advice to begin fishing

Yes, the idea is to keep them alive until you kill them. The moment they die, the meat starts decaying/rotting. Yeah, they would prolly be ok if you got straight home, but if your spending the day fishing, a stringer may kill em. The livewell will keep them alive for as long as you wish to fish. The valve should be able to be closed on the hose to keep the water in the well until you get home. The aforementioned aerator can be kept running to keep the water full of oxygen. So say, if you caught a nice catfish and just threw him in the bottom of the boat, he would die within a few minutes. Lets say you plan to be on the lake 8 hours and get this fish in the first 20 minutes. Say you've got a 30 minute ride home. You're looking at a fish being dead for 8 hours before you can gut him and freeze him. As opposed to dropping him in the oxygenated livewell, fishing all day, closing your valve before pulling out of the water, and the fish will still be swimming around 8 hours later and as fresh as when he bit your hook. Like I said, you'll have to purchase a 12v aerator. I think they are around 15 bucks at walmart. The newer/fancier boats come with one built in, but even then you'll want one for the trip home.

Rod types? Again fish specific. IE you'll want a thin sensitive pole if your just catching perch or perhaps crapie. You'll want a big thick long pole if your fishing for cats, especially when there's a chance of large yellow or blue cat. Obviously I mostly fish for catfish here in TX cause I feel they are the best tasting fish in the water. So yeah, personal preference. The reels as well. Your closed faces reels are basically good beginner reels. They don't tangle easily and can handle general fishing. I wouldn't wanna catch anything too big, or cast it alot. The open face reels are best for catching larger fish/drift fishing such as my cats. They aren't really cast much but just stuck in a rod holder, push the button, and let it spool out. Spinner reels are best IMO if you plan to cast alot. Their motion is considered good for lure fishing and bass fishing where your constantly casting and reeling.

That is just basic stuff, you can get into more and more specific things in reels, rods, etc. Then you start getting debates. Carbon fiber vs wood and such. For that kinda info, browse here and google. However, if you get into it that deep, you'll start forming your own opinions.

Now my personal fish/preference is a 7.5' berkley big game rod or ugly stik of equal size, open faced reels (ambassador series), 20lb test berkley xt line, various size circle hooks depending on what's biting, using shad/shrimp/rotten weenies as bait drifting 1-2mph in ~30ft water with 4 lines set out, 8 if with a partner.

 

[james__12345]

Re: Advice to begin fishing

It really does all depend on what you're wanting to fish for. Personally I've always been more of a panfish guy, blue gill, shell cracker, that type of fish. They may not be all that big, but they can be caught in much greater numbers much easier than bass or other more "popular" fish. If you use light weight rods a nice sized panfish can still put up quite a fight. For panfish, you want something pretty light and sensitive. One of my favorite rods is the shakespeare micro graphite. They come in a couple of different lengths i'm thinking from like five feet to six feet. Best I remember they cost around 25-30 bucks for the rod. I run the shakespeare sigma spinning reel on all of my panfish rigs. They cost around 20 bucks too best I remember. I greatly prefer a spinning reel to a push button, and they really aren't that much harder to use. As far as bait, I have alot of luck with redworms (night crawlers tend to be alot bigger than you need for panfish and you can get more redworms for the same price) crickets, and meal worms. For hooks, I really like the smaller true turn hooks, but they're a little pricey. The design of the hook, and the longer shank make getting them out by hand much easier than alot of other hook designs. Eagle claw has a very similar design that is sold in much larger packs and quite a bit cheaper that I'm going to try out as soon as I get back on the water. Small plugs like the bitsy minnow tend to do well on larger panfish, and I also like to use small curly tailed grubs with a jig head hook. I've also had some luck with the small spinners that clip onto a jig head like the beetle spin lures.

 

[Javelin JD]

Re: Advice to begin fishing

I concur, everyone is gonna tell you basically the same thing, "depends on what you are fishing for, how much you want to spend". I'm not that far from you, I live by Louisville, ky. I mostly fish for bass, just learning how to crappie fish, like you, I've been an "on the shore fisherman", having a boat is so much more fun. I would recommend a spinning rod as you can do most anything with it, baitcasters can be a little more difficult learning spool control and such. BPS or cabelas have some nice ones, but so does walmart. I like berkly rods med action, 6 1/2 to 7 foot. a trick I was told was to look at the number of eyelets, the more the better. Also sounds crazy, but at the store, hold the handle up to your throat and lightly drag the tip of the rod on the floor to check for sensitivity of the rod, can't be any crazier than other stuff people do at walmart. I like 10-15 pd test, p-line is good, anything fluro-carbon. Of course if you want to spend more, it's up to you/

 

[IraRat]

Re: Advice to begin fishing

Got my first baitcaster a few weeks ago after a lifetime of spinning reels. LOVE it!

If you're in open water, no difference at all between the two. (Well, you can cast further with spinners.) But when you're casting toward the shore...around overhanging branches, logs that stick out, etc. ...baitcasters allow you to drop the lure/whatever you're using exactly where you want, after some practice. Baitcasters also allow you to case sidehand and even underhand to place it on target.

Start with a heavy braid, which won't backlash on you and create tangled bird's-nests if you screw up. But after one day out and learning to work your thumb on the spool when you cast, you WON'T screw up.

Remember that so much of good fishing is along that shoreline, where a baitcaster is perfectly suited for.

 

[jwalterus]

Re: Advice to begin fishing

I guess I'll need to talk to some local folks about what to catch around here. But what about rod type? Personal preference, ok, but will and type work for everything? I think i understand the basic differences between thereel types... But if they were all the same they wouldn't make different kinds. Well, maybe they would-lol.

The live well is factory built into the boat. Its is one of the bench seats. Can't say weather the hose assembly is original, but it doesn't look to be rigged up.

So the idea is to keep the fish aliveuntil you gut them? Then pack them in ice? Can they be brought home alive in there or should they only be kept in there till you dock up? Where do most guys clean fish?

they sell "fishing kits" at wally world for different types of fishing (bass, walleye, etc), otherwise visit an actual bait shop and let them know what you're fishing for, they'll set you up
as far as rod/reel, places like scheels have the setups with a rod handle with the reel mounted so you can see how the reel feels, find one that's comfortable for you, and make sure you understand how the action on it works
I have 1 spincasting, 3 spinning, and 1 baitcasting rod/reel setups in my boat at all times, but the majority of the time I use a spinning reel
I've got a $250 setup, it's super-sensitive and I use it for light lures, and I've got a $50 setup that I've used for 15 years, caught many fish with it and use it more than the spendy one
I wouldn't spend a bunch on gear until you figure it all out, besides the cheap stuff becomes the "Yeah I have a rod you can borrow..." setup

as far as transporting live fish, check locally with G&F, in ND these days, once you get them out of the water, they have to be dead and your livewell MUST be completely drained (ANS regs)

 

[blackhawk180]

Re: Advice to begin fishing

All good advise. I've gone from borrowed, to super cheap to super expensive and finally back to 'reasonable'. All of them catch fish and once you develop a target species or even a few, you will know what you need and how much you need to spend. Having said all that, there is nothing like a 'new setup'. Kind of like a golfer with a new putter.

 

[bret632]

Re: Advice to begin fishing

Always have a good knife, needle nose plyers are handy. Im old fashion with the nightcrawlers for bait. As said before it all depends on what you want to catch. as far as rod and reel its all pretty similar. but where it counts is the line, and the knots you put in for hook/sinkers/bobbers. Good luck my friends
ps. bring beer and good company just in case the fish dont cooperate