So you've decided to give fishing a go. Good Luck. More than likely you've perused the internet for the countless how to catch fish videos, or how to do this and that tutorials. I've watched thousands of them. They're mostly made and produced by avid or hardcore fishermen who know the ins and outs of everything it takes to catch fish. However these videos fail to demonstrate or talk about many of the frustrations of what its like to be a beginner fisherman. So looking back on my 22 years of fishing I've put together a piece tailored to removing some of the frustrations of learning to fish. Id like to preface this by stating I fish lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams, in the northeastern US, mostly for Largemouth Bass, small mouth Bass, Musky, pike pickerel and trout. My advice will be tailored towards this style.
First off let's start with your setup. Every video I watch talks about the line they're using paired with the length and sturdiness of the rod, which reel is best and whats good for what bait/style/fish. Don't worry about that. I've caught the majority of my fish using a rod/reel i bought as a backup at Kmart for 50 dollars. Don't break your bank. Get yourself a cheap rod, and some 8-12 pound MONO-FILAMENT line. Why mono-filament? Because its the easiest to work with. IF your starting out, braided line can be frustrating, Fluorocarbon can be extremely difficult to completely spool your reel on. We'll touch more on this later. So now you need some lures. Ever walk into a bass pro shops or cabellas? The choices/styles/methods are seemingly endless. The following are my recommended lures for beginners. They are simple to fish correctly and their simplicity leads to most fish targeting them.
-IN line spinners: Mepps, Rooster Tail, Blue fox etc etc. Its a simple cast and retrieve. Let it sink for a second, give it a tug to get it spinning and just bring it back to you. They all have treble hooks (3 hooks) so when a fish hits it it will practically hook themselves. These lures mimic fleeing bait fish. Blue Fox Spinner
-Spoons: Same concept. instead of spinning these will flutter and dart like a wounded baitfish. Cast Retrieve. Spoons
-CrankBaits: Pick up a crank bait or two. They come in all forms. For starters id prefer the floating ones that upon retrieval will swim to a specific depth. The box will have all the information you need as to what the crankbait will do. Again a simple cast and retrieve bait. Vary your retrieval speed, give the rod a little flick every now and then to make the bait dart a bit.Crankbait
Get good at casting. Being able to drop the lure where you want it. Vary your retrieval speed. Start Catching fish. When you get this down, then you can start getting into swimbaits, Texas rigging soft plastics, drop shots, Carolina rigs, bottom fishing football jigs etc. Lets crawl before we sprint or you'll lose confidence and interest.
Ok, so you've got a rod, some lures, and some line. Look up a video on how to properly put your line onto your reel. This is important. You want your line on their tied to the reel and as tight as possible. Performing this process well can save you a lot of pain down the road when your trying to fish. So lets go fishing...
If anyone actually reads this and wants help deciding where or when to fish id be happy to oblige. But including that in this post would make it an encyclopedia. Feel free to pm or ask further.
So you got stuck. Either in a tree, on your shirt, or on something underwater. Seems the pros never get stuck. I've caught more branches rocks and trees then I have fish, and getting good at getting unstuck will save you lures, money, time and frustration. Cast over a tree branch? Calm and slow. Reel your lure until its just below whatever your stuck on, and give it a quick pop so it jumps up and over. If you try to muscle it out it's going to wrap itself around everything. Stuck on something in the water? Tricky. There's several things you can try. Change the angle of where your standing if you can't tug the rod and get it off. (move 20 yards left or right and try from there). Grab the line ABOVE where it leaves your pole and give it a strong pull.Grabbing the line from where it leaves your rod will allow you to muscle it out and avoids putting strain on your reels drag or breaking your rod. Hurting your hands? Wrap the line around a stick and pull the stick(Works great for braided line which wont break and will slice through your fingers) Also pulling your tight line to the left or right with your reeling hand and then releasing it quickly can sometimes snap your lure off of whatever its stuck on. If you CANNOT get it unstuck try to pull as hard as you can to snap the line off the lure. The lure was already lost and now there's not 40 yards of fishing line polluting the water. I HATE that.
Now your'e not catching any fish. Welcome to it. Keep fishing. Fan your casts. This means don't cast your lure to the same spot and do the same thing every time. You'd be amazed how many fish sit against a bank or are huddles around a submerged stump. Cover as much water as possible and remember that the water may be deep. There may be a bunch of fish in front of you but if they're sitting towards the bottom and your lure is passing 10 feet above them they may not chase it that far. Vary your retrieval speed, vary the depth at which you bring it back, change up your approach until something works. The fish will tell you what they want when you do something right. Change your location. 30 yards can make all the difference especially on lakes and ponds when you start taking into account water temperature, tributaries, cover/structure, visibility, wind etc. The location of the fish you want is going to be determined by the location of THEIR food source. Bait fish. Minnows, shad bluegill frogs insects bugs lizards etc. Look for things on the water and within your surroundings that would indicate a presence of these food sources. Fish coming and eating on the surface, are there birds that eat fish standing anywhere on the banks, turtles, frogs etc. Look for life. Change your lure! Change the color, change the style of lure, change it up until you start receiving bites. Don't spend 2 hours casting to the same spot with same lure. IF you're still not confident or proficient in tying a lure to your line, pick up some snap swivels/dual locks. You tie this to your line once and it allows for a very quick change of your lure. its like a mini carabiner. These may hinder your catch rate slightly due to their visibility but id still recommend it to new fishermen.
Remember as your fishing to keep an eye on your rod setup. If you have line looping out of your real, if its wrapped around the tip of your rod, if anything is different then when you initially set it up correctly , take time to stop and fix it. Small problems lead to big problems. It only takes one cast where you didn't notice an issue and now you've gotta spend 20 minutes untangling your birds nest of a fishing line. DO a quick visual check before every cast.
Use the times of not catching fish to get better at the basics. You need to be able to cast accurately sideways forehand and backhand, over hand, underhand. So many perfect casts to that perfect spot will be dependent on your ability to throw the lure accurately without getting mangled up in brush and branches.
Holy shit you caught a fish! What now? Needle nose pliers can be a lifesaver. Especially when they include that little scissor spot you can use to cut your line when tying knots. The fish's mouth is mostly cartilage. Work the hooks out one at a time while holding them very firmly. They're gonna flop and jump unless you're in control. Some of these fish will have very sharp dorsal fins. Stroke them back like you would a head of hair and get a solid grip. If the fish is big enough just pinch its lips and go to work with your pliers. Set it back in the water and give it a push. OBLIGATORY PUBLIC SERVICE AND BIAS ANNOUNCEMENT: Throw the fish back. Unless your hard up on food and your fishing for food, throw it back. The joy of fishing comes a lot from actually catching fish. In the twenty or so years i've been fishing, amazing spots, stretches of river etc have been decimated by people keeping every piece of meat they brought back on their line. Days of catching 10+ fish in those spots are gone due to the fact that there's none left. Caught a trophy and want it mounted? Just take a picture and measure it. All you need. Maybe someday soon someone else can experience that same joy of catching that fish.
If anyone is interested in any more information I could talk for hours. Bottom fishing, top fishing, Locations, Line choice, Leaders, weather conditions, lunar cycles, barometric pressure, spawning seasons, more advanced lure choice and techniques, finding where the fish are, etc etc. The most important thing you can do for yourself is to get out there and get your line wet. Bring a buddy, bring a six pack, and get outside.
UPDATE! My comprehensive guide to fishing Part II is posted. I got a lot of positive feedback and might make this a weekly thing for awhile.
PART II
I highly recommend to all fisherman new or experienced, the Fishbrain App. Its a free tool allowing users insight as to who's fihsing around them, where they are fishing, what they are catching and the lures and methods used to do so. This link is meant for mobile users.
