Basic Tackle For Beginning Fishermen
The Sport of Fishing sees new members enter on a regular basis. Who knows what attracts a person to fishing. No matter what the reason, numerouspeople go out and purchase their first fishing tackle and rod in hopes of carrying home a mess of fish to skin for the freezer.
I have made an informative list on choosing your beginning rod and reel. You won’t need expensive or complicated gear to catch a fish. Most people know that fishing tackle manufacturers turn out fishing tackle to catch the Fishermen’s eye instead of fish. The Rods and Reels I used to catch fish many years ago still catch fish today. In fact, it may even work better today seeing how the fish haven’t seen this particular offerings over and over again.
Gear to catch Fish shouldn’t be complex or overpriced. Simple set-ups work best for any fish. Back in my younger days, a Buddy and I went Bass fishing at a local lake. The weather was hot that day, even for June. We knocked off about lunchtime and was cleaning up the boat when this Old Man and 2 kids came into the boat launch area.
When they got out, they had a huge stringer of Black Bass. The biggest one was 6 and a half pounds and none were under 2 pounds. I walked over and asked the Old Man what they had used for bait, seeing how my Buddy and I were skunked that morning and we had been using the latest equipment and lures on the Market. The Old Man smiled and showed me his Minnow bucket and said “Just plain old minnows”! I also couldn’t keep from noticing their very basic graphite fishing rods and reels. Their simple set up had out produced the newest technology and presentations on the market at the time!
The basic fishing equipment you’ll want to begin catching Bass or any other fish is a Rod and Reel, line and bait. That’s all you need. You also don’t need to run to the overpriced specialty store to find this tackle, your local sporting goods store or Wal-Mart has an excellent selection. I’d suggest a Rod and Reel combo like the Zebco 33 and a matching rod. This should set you back about $25 or so.
Stay away from level wind reels to begin with. They’re hard to master and expensive. Although easier than a spincast reel to use, Spinning reels can be complex to use and if not used correctly, can leave you with a mess on your hands.
Now on your fishing tackle list comes the line. If you bought a rod and reel combo, chances are it came with line already on it. If not, or you want to change the line, then I’d suggest a 10lb line from either Stren or Trilene. Don’t fall for the marketing hype that you need expensive line. Trilene and Stren is good line and all that one needs.
Now we’re turn our attention to bait selection for the beginner. Start with live bait and work your way up to artificials. You’ll catch more fish and bigger ones on live bait. When you’re in the Fishing Dept. of your favorite store, look for Eagle Claw live bait hooks in the 1/0 to 3/0 sizes and get a few packs. Next try and find some weights. You can generally find the ones that come several sizes to a package. Split shot is a great weight for beginners. Next, check out the floats. I like to use the Balsa wood floats. I use the slip floats. These slide up and down the line for easy adjustment. They’re held in place at the top by a knot or bobber stop. You can now get out on your favorite body of water and start fishing!
That’s your basic list you’ll need to start fishing. This set up should cost you less than a $100 and once you have some experience under your belt, you’ll find it’s pretty easy to outfish the local Pro’s. The fishing companies have made it seem like catching a Bass is nearly impossible unless you’re using the latest and greatest gear on the Market. Nothing could be further from the truth. Catching fish is easy and doesn’t take a lot of sophisticated equipment!
