Beginners Guide to Fishing

Part I

What am I Going to Fish for?

The first choice you have to make is what to fish for. What type of fish are you going to try and catch. The rod, reel, fishing line, tackle, bait, and/or lures you use are all based on this decision. Certainly, you wouldn't try to use taco seasonings to make Italian spaghetti. So why try to catch a monster bass with fishing gear designed for crappie or brim. Or a blue marlin with gear designed for bass.

Before investing in a lot of equipment, ask yourself, "What am I most likely to be fishing for most often?" "What kind of fish are in the Body(S) of water I am most likely to fish?" Ask people that have fished the pond, lake, river,stream, or creek. Or, if possible, ask the owner of the pond what kind of fish the pond or lake has been stocked with.

Then it's pretty much a matter of what fish you'd prefer to catch. If you are unsure, then try for them all and see which you prefer. Bream, crappie, shellcracker, and other small pan fish can pretty much be caught with the same gear, bait, tackle and lures. Smaller sizes of bass, and the larger game fish are likely to be caught on this gear as well. But be fore-warned, if a 12 pound bass digs into bait, or a lure that your are trying to catch bream or crappie with, and this will eventually happen to you, the odds of you catching that fish are slim to none. Obviously, a 12 lb. Bass or other fish will break the 2 to 4 lb test line you will be using to catch the crappie or bream. And will more than likely turn your smaller sized hook into a straight pin.

Odds are when that happens you will get an uncontrollable urge to start fishing for bass, and other larger fish such as musky, or catfish. But I suggest you start small and work your way up to bass angling. Bass fishing, while fun, can also be one of the most expensive types of fishing you will ever get into. And disheartening as well, especially to a beginner who throws a chunk of money into lures, rods, reels, and do-dads too numerous to mention, and trys (with no experience) to catch a lunker, only to bring home a lot of aquatic weeds, a sore thumb, and about half the tackle they stared with do to hang ups. But no fish; not even a strike. And that will happen when you try for a monster bass. It still happens to those with experience, even the pros, many won't admit it, but it does happen to them.