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I'm a total novice interested in learning to fish. I went pond fishing with my grandfather as a young kid, and have done a couple of inshore/deep water half-day charters in the past few years, but I want to learn how to do it myself. I live in Mississippi and have access to at least a couple of private ponds that are home to fish like crappie, bream, and bass. I can borrow a basic rod, reel, and some tackle, and I can pick up live bait. I'll probably be fishing from the bank or a dock to start with. What skills do I need to learn before I get out there? I'm thinking about fundamental knots, how to set up the terminal tackle, casting, how to remove a hook without injuring the fish, etc. I can look that stuff up on the youtube but I feel like I don't know what I don't know. e: oh jfc what a bad page snipe
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Sep 10, 2020 20:50
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| # ? Jun 3, 2024 07:23 |
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One of us! One of us! Knots to get you started: the palomar, the improved clinch, and/or the uni-knot. Any one of these will get you started, and everybody has a favorite. Knot practice is not time wasted - at some point, you will be tying knots with cold, wet hands, and it's going to be 10x harder than practicing while watching a movie at home or something. Bait: crappies love live bait. Bass are a lot less picky. Not many bass fishers use live bait; the vast majority would use lures or jigs. If you're using bait, though, don't sleep on the common nightcrawler worm. There are very few fish that won't take a nightcrawler. Rigs: for crappie, you'll want a slip bobber setup. Getting started with bass, Texas-rigging a plastic stickbait worm off the bottom is a good place to start. The Carolina Rig is also worth knowing, as it is simple and useful for a variety of species: catfish, trout, bass, whatever. Releasing the fish without injury: wet your hands before handling the fish, otherwise your dry hands will remove the fish's protective slime and probably some scales, too. Needle nose pliers are helpful for removing hooks (but never hold the fish by the lip with the pliers!), and using circle hooks helps keep the fish from swallowing the hook. If you catch a big fish and you're handling it outside of the water, use one hand to support the belly so you don't put the fish's entire weight on its spine. Casting: what kind of reel do you have?
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Sep 10, 2020 21:32
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KingKapalone posted:There are dick spooners this close to me?! Lake Harriet? We would walk down and catch easy bass by the bandshell. Just moved a bit west though so need to find a new local lake. Oh dang! You just missed this lunker: https://www.kare11.com/article/sports/outdoors/teen-angler-hauls-in-giant-pike-at-lake-harriet/89-3818a41d-410d-4a7a-b711-c410adae2900 I’m in uptown so I usually cast into Isles, but wanted to go for Nokomis.
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Sep 10, 2020 21:33
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A Pack of Kobolds posted:One of us! One of us! Thanks for all of this! The terminology is super helpful. Looking forward to my wife rolling her eyes at me watching fishing videos constantly now. I don't have a reel (or any equipment beyond hand tools), but I'm sure whatever I borrow will be a spinner or spincaster. Bass fishing seems like a a good way to start out so as to get some repetition. If you handed me a spincaster right now I could cast it just based on muscle memory from the handful of times that I've fished. I've used a spinning reel before too, but I'd have to fiddle with it for a second to remember how to cast it. I don't know how to load line onto a reel, so that's another thing I need to add to my list of things to learn. What sort of conditions are conducive to this type of fishing and what conditions are hopeless? Air temperatures are currently in the 60s at dawn and 80s at dusk. We haven't had much rain in the past two weeks but the forecast shows some next week.
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Sep 10, 2020 22:11
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Easychair Bootson posted:spincaster do I ever have just the friend for you
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Sep 10, 2020 22:20
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Easychair Bootson posted:Thanks for all of this! The terminology is super helpful. Looking forward to my wife rolling her eyes at me watching fishing videos constantly now. Late summer fishing can be hard, and fishing in general can vary significantly based on region. Hop on the Discord, there are lots of active users from all over the place on there, and someone might have more local insight than me in the opposite corner of the country.  And ghostnuke ain't kidding, either. If you want to know everything about the Zebco company and everything they have ever made, we know a guy ...
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Sep 10, 2020 23:02
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Easychair Bootson posted:Thanks for all of this! The terminology is super helpful. Looking forward to my wife rolling her eyes at me watching fishing videos constantly now. Also, just go buy a cheap combo spinning reel/rod from Walmat. It's like $30 and you'll do perfectly fine. If you have access to private ponds, you'll clean up. Worm or crappie minnow on a 1/8 oz jighead 3' underneath a bobber and you'll catch every fish in the pond. Go do it and report back.
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Sep 10, 2020 23:19
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Dangerllama posted:Decided to take a little fishing trip today. Headed up to Summit County to fish the Blue, then up to the Colorado through Granby, and back to Denver. Only caught one fish all day (12” rainbow), almost landed another, and had a few refusals on a hippie stomper and a purple chubby chernobyl. For whatever reason I just can’t figure out freestones. The difference in structure makes it much more difficult to spot fish, and it feels like you constantly have to change your rigging — one spot will call for a hopper-dropper, then 30’ later you’re in a run that requires going deeper than Ed Harris in The Abyss. Are you deep enough? Are you using the right pattern? Who knows! Generally, that’s one advantage of the tenkara/keiryu method. I have one for dry/dry-dropper, and another for nymphing. Fishing the eagle v. deckers v. clear creek is t so different to me. Targeting fish is mostly the same, just an issue of choosing the right rig. Having the two rods makes that less of a logistic nightmare.
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Sep 11, 2020 00:55
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Yeah. In retrospect, I think having uncertainty about what was going on at the bottom should have pushed me to contact techniques. Throwing on a couple of weighted nymphs and “feeling” the bottom probably would have got me more fish. I was being lazy and really didn’t want to remove the hopper, and I think that handicapped me. Related, here’s an awesome rigging tip from Red’s that I’m eager to try. https://youtu.be/933lCDQ4K0Q
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Sep 11, 2020 01:04
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Been gathering some tackle, debating on what reel to put on my brand-new Eagle Claw fiberglass rod. My brother just casually tosses me an old 70's Zebco 404 he's tinkered with, and goddamn I should have just gone trawling ebay for old tackle. Even after all this time the 404 feels more natural to me and I have better lure placement with it than with any spinning reel I've tried in the past twenty years. So yeah, welcome back to the spincast club, etc.
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Sep 11, 2020 06:40
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Hey, if it works for you and you can use it better, ain't no shame in it. 
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Sep 11, 2020 11:05
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I'm probably going to buy a new spincast reel, though, there are bound to be huge improvements over the years.
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Sep 11, 2020 11:32
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A new 404 sells for $12.99, so you wouldn't be out much either way. Though you can get really weird with it if you want. https://www.zebco.com/bullet-zb3-10-bx3 
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Sep 11, 2020 12:09
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Man id love to play with a $100 spincast reel
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Sep 11, 2020 14:42
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Both appalled and intrigued by all the spincaster love.
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Sep 11, 2020 14:59
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I bounced a tuna over the rail yesterday. I have 12 years of marriage and 3 children under my belt, but yet, it was the probably the moment when I became a man.
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Sep 11, 2020 16:23
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Woodpile posted:Both appalled and intrigued by all the spincaster love. This is the general sentiment for many of us, but forums user Untrustable is a living Zebco encyclopedia and has piqued curiosity about a thing that many of us had written off.
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Sep 11, 2020 19:05
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Did some paddling in Algonquin last weekend and somehow managed to do almost zero fishing. Day 1 was lightning storms, day 2 was spent mostly portaging between a bunch of little lakes (spent more time hiking with a canoe on my head than out on the water), day 3 was huge winds and five foot waves. So rather than spending a leisurely few days shooting the poo poo at camp and trying to figure out how to troll for trout, we spent the majority of the time trying to just stay alive. The good news is I landed my biggest ever smallmouth! Was just absent-mindedly casting while breaking for lunch between portages and thought I had hooked a log at first. Cellphones were all packed in drybags so didn't get a good picture, but my pal had a dinky gopro out and got a not-very-good video - the fish-shaped shadow is the fish: 
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Sep 11, 2020 21:17
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A Pack of Kobolds posted:This is the general sentiment for many of us, but forums user Untrustable is a living Zebco encyclopedia and has piqued curiosity about a thing that many of us had written off. I am eagerly awaiting my chance to get my kid her first Zebco after all the recent Zebco chat.
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Sep 12, 2020 01:53
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HenryJLittlefinger posted:I am eagerly awaiting my chance to get my kid her first Zebco after all the recent Zebco chat. I did that 2 year ago with my daughter and I have a lifetime fishing buddy. Now she uses a hot pink ugly stick and pink spinning reel and cast that thing like a pro.
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Sep 12, 2020 03:10
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Yes, our local Zebco zealot got me intrigued enough to go digging around the garage for thr ol' push n' throw.
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Sep 12, 2020 03:38
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I’m new and started on a pflueger president spin caster combo from dicks for like $70 and love it tbh Probably should have got a shorter rod tho since I like to find untouched bank spots which usually have a lot of brush and stuff
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Sep 12, 2020 03:56
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rap music posted:I’m new and started on a pflueger president spin caster combo from dicks for like $70 and love it tbh Good buy imo. I have a 400 president on my steelhead rig that i bought on sale for $40 and i like it so much that i have been looking for a deal on a 300 size to use on my general purpose setup for the last 3 years but i can never find them for less than $60. If you got one with a decent rod for $70 then I'm super jelly tbh
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Sep 12, 2020 04:33
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titties posted:Good buy imo. I have a 400 president on my steelhead rig that i bought on sale for $40 and i like it so much that i have been looking for a deal on a 300 size to use on my general purpose setup for the last 3 years but i can never find them for less than $60. If you got one with a decent rod for $70 then I'm super jelly tbh Ya I noticed the combo at dicks was the same price as the reel on amazon so free rod kinda? It’s this one except 6’6 2pc rod https://www.dickssportinggoods.com/...wE&gclsrc=aw.ds
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Sep 12, 2020 23:33
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Thinking about rods, I got an 8'6" rod because I'm a bank fisherman and have always thought longer rods meant I could launch lures further. Is this a wrong assumption? Would I be better served by a shorter rod? I mostly fish lakes and ponds, there are very few rivers to fish near me. For the record, I have super drowning skills and don't like boats. rndmnmbr fucked around with this message at 23:54 on Sep 12, 2020 |
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Sep 12, 2020 23:50
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rndmnmbr posted:Thinking about rods, I got an 8'6" rod because I'm a bank fisherman and have always thought longer rods meant I could launch lures further. Is this a wrong assumption? Would I be better served by a shorter rod? But boats are awesome and you should wear a pfd anyway. Yeah, longer rod generally means better casting distance.
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Sep 13, 2020 03:01
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rndmnmbr posted:Thinking about rods, I got an 8'6" rod because I'm a bank fisherman and have always thought longer rods meant I could launch lures further. Is this a wrong assumption? Would I be better served by a shorter rod? learn to slingshot that poo poo and do the Hatteras Heave https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M7CSXF9-b3s Your assumption isn't wrong, but the idea that you have to huck it out as far as possible can be, especially in freshwater
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Sep 13, 2020 16:32
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I always felt sorry for this poor dope who otherwise does decent videos but was completely unprepared for Hatteras combat fishing https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKUcxG5TN1g
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Sep 13, 2020 16:37
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rndmnmbr posted:Thinking about rods, I got an 8'6" rod because I'm a bank fisherman and have always thought longer rods meant I could launch lures further. Is this a wrong assumption? Would I be better served by a shorter rod? I recently got a 10 foot rod for the exact same reason. You'll be able to cast noticeably farther. Watch the video posted above and tie a weight to the end of your line and do practice casts.
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Sep 13, 2020 16:54
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DeesGrandpa posted:Man id love to play with a $100 spincast reel I bought a Daiwa Goldcast for 10 dollars at a flea market. 100 dollar spincasts are cool. Zebcos are cool. Not...not the new ones though. Except the new 33s. They're alright. Everything else, just find one from 1960-1995.
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Sep 13, 2020 20:25
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Rev. Bleech_ posted:I always felt sorry for this poor dope who otherwise does decent videos but was completely unprepared for Hatteras combat fishing
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Sep 14, 2020 19:43
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So I made some posts about getting into some freshwater fishing for bass etc in SC and I think I want to try my hand w a baitcaster. Any good recommendations for a good combo low profile baitcaster for a beginner?
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Sep 14, 2020 21:27
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The abu Garcia black max combo is held in pretty high esteem for the price.
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Sep 14, 2020 23:08
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Dik Hz posted:I hear the CaLo point is even worse. The guys who do that year-round rack up triple digit 40#+ redfish counts per year, though. Dang, they gotta put some work into that. Never been out there, but I hear the island is littered with the rusting hulks of old lovely beach buggies that broke down and never restarted
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Sep 14, 2020 23:19
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Gooch181 posted:The abu Garcia black max combo is held in pretty high esteem for the price. This. The black max is still my budget beater/learner setup recommendation. Next step up I would actually say the lews mach combo is a decent choice.
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Sep 15, 2020 06:22
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Has anyone tried the pflueger pres xt caster? Been thinking about grabbing one, I love the spinning version.
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Sep 15, 2020 14:57
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Elmnt80 posted:This. The black max is still my budget beater/learner setup recommendation. Next step up I would actually say the lews mach combo is a decent choice. Nice! I can’t seem to find any combos floating around—is the pro max still pretty good? Seems like only 30 or so more but I’m not sure if the learning curve goes up? Or would the black max reel go ok on another rod? Recommendations? E: this makes me sound like a dummy I know it’ll go with another one but any thread-approved recommendations? LeeMajors fucked around with this message at 16:09 on Sep 15, 2020 |
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Sep 15, 2020 16:02
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LeeMajors posted:Nice! I can’t seem to find any combos floating around—is the pro max still pretty good? Seems like only 30 or so more but I’m not sure if the learning curve goes up? I'd just go with what you can get and start fishing. The learning curve difference between any of these is negligible. They're designed to work. The only thing you might do is get new line so you don't have a lot of old, coily line (memory) to deal with.
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Sep 15, 2020 18:08
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Fair enough. I’m, uh, susceptible to paralysis by analysis.
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Sep 15, 2020 18:45
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You can put any baitcasting reel on any baitcasting rod. I've got abu, daiwa and lews reels on a different brand's rods because I really do love options that company has and the general feel of their rods.
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Sep 16, 2020 05:12
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