Fishing Forum

My wife and I are new transplants to Topeka Kansas. We have not met any new friends who happen to fish. I was taken fishing a few times as a boy, and a couple of times since. I have always wanted to really get into fishing, but have mostly been around people with no interest for it. Now I have decided to finally indulge in this long time desire.

I would like to fish for crappie, blue gill, bass, and catfish. I do not know of all the game fish around here. I do not know anyone with a boat, so I will be just be doing bank or dock fishing.

I went to wal mart, then Dick’s Sporting Goods to look at fishing gear. [shocked] WOW! Where do I even start?
What are the different types of rods and reels out there? I know some are called bait casters, but which are these? What are the others? When is each type used?
I saw the different open and closed reels.
Which will I need?
What diameter, length, stiffness/flexibility rod(s) should I start out with?

I am 6ft my wife 5’3.
I know I don’t need to spend big $$$ on equipment that is way above my skill level. At the same time I don’t want to buy junk either.
Today I saw Zebco, Shimano, Shakespeare Ugly stick, Daiwa, Abu Garcia. What’s good, what’s not, whats excessive?

And then the tackle and accessories, cheap stuff, expensive stuff, gimmicks, hooks, line(line weight), LURES, bait, scales, pliers, mouth openers, sinkers, bobbers, fillet knives! Geeze! Rows and rows of things that either all looked the same, or COMPLETELY alien to me.

Neither store seemed to have any knowledgeable staff working when I was there. So I am asking everyone here what are the essentials I need to get set up in this hobby….or should I say life style?

Thanks in advance for helping a newbie step into the sport.

Sean
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WOW what a loaded question. Too bad you do not live close to me I would take you to cabelas and Sportsmans warehouse to get you rigged up.

To start get yourself a good rod and reel. I would say spinning (open face) rod and reel. About medium light. For example Walmart carries a shakespeare Excursion graphite spinning rod for around $15. a 6 foot rod will do. I have played with these rods and I can say I like the action. To match a reel with it go for an abu garcia open face spinning reel like an Avocet II. Then put some monofilament line on it. I use Trilene XL 8 lb test. A good all around line. After you get the rod then go get yourself a tackle box to put the stuff in. Lots of choices from soft side bags to hard side plastic boxes. Get one that will match your style of fishing. Usually the bags will have several smaller boxes inside of it. The box can have either trays, boxes, or trays and boxes.

Here is a list of basic stuff to get:

Snap swivels sizes 7 and 10
snaps (clips) size 10
sinkers: split shot and bullet
bait hooks size 6 and 8, and 12
a few small bobbers (the red and white ones)
a few small clear bubbles
get a small spool of 6 lb test line to use as leader
get some flies like woolly buggers size 6, and some wet flies (find a local fly shop to help you there)
Spoons: Red with white stripe
spinners
Spinner baits (used for bass) in chartreuse, chartreuse/white, and white.
Jig heads: 1/16 oz, 1/4 oz
Jig bodies (grubs) in 2 inch and 3 inch. I you get the smaller jig heads like 1/32 oz then you will need the 1 inch grubs
size 1/0 offset worm hooks
berkley power worms or similar type bait


These are all basic ones then you can get into the more detailed baits. As my wife puts it "she only likes the pretty ones" . I know it is wierd but she catches fish.

With other baits like the crank baits and spinners try to match the colors of fish in your area. Such as perch, trout, shad etc...

Tools: get a pair of needle nose pliers to help with the removal of hooks, I would look for the stainless steel ones. They also help to cut line. Hemostats for the removal of small flies and other small hooks. Also if you plan on keeping fish you might want a stringer. I prefer the metal ones with the metal clips.

Some people have the scales but not a necessary item. Bass proshops [url "http://www.basspro.com/"]www.basspro.com[/url] has a gripmaster II lip grippers that can help hold a fish if you like. They run about $10 (cheapest price I have found). Goto the basspro and [url "http://www.cabelas.com/"]www.cabelas.com[/url] websites and request their master fishing catalogs. These will have descriptions of every bait, rod, and reel out there almost as well as other accessories like tackle boxes etc... If you find that you want to do some float tubing there is a forum here just for that. We can help you out with gearing up for that when you are ready.

I know there is a lot out there and can be confusing but with time and patience you will get what you need. Like I said, I wish you were close by so that I could help you out more on a personal basis. I am in UT and travel to Colorado weekly for work.

Once outfitted we will then start working on how to rig all this stuff up so you can catch a few fish.[cool]

Hope all this helps!!!!
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Welcome to BigfishTackle,

congradulations on taking up one of our greatest past times.

I empithise with you on the staff thingy, I get that a lot in my town too in just about every store I go in to. It is hard to keep skilled labor at the lower end of the pay scale.

that being said, I will toss you a bone fish.

you dont need to spend big bucks.

and for a beginner I will make a few suggestions that will get you on the right track.

If you saw a [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]closed faced zebco 404 or 808 combo[/size][/#000000][/font] that is a good place to start. They are on the cheeper end of the scale, but they are not junk. they are actualy better than some of the open faced reels you are going to see in the same price range. The 404 and 808 will handle every fish you mentioned and then some. Zebco makes a 202 wich is smaller, I have landed 15 pound carp with it on a regular baises. This is realy the best beginner peice of equipment to get for the money.

When you get them, the first thing you need to do is strip all the line off of it or them. and replace or have it replaced at the store with [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]Silver Thread N40 8 pound test[/size][/#000000][/font]. Those reels are rated for bigger test line, but for what you are targeting you dont need any heaver line. The line that comes on the reel is junk and that is why it needs to be replaced right away.... This will be the same with any combo you buy, they always put the cheepest line on the reel they can get thier hands on.

Next thing you will need are [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]Swivel Snaps[/size][/#000000][/font] size between small and medium. We use swivel snaps because it is a great way to place leader lines on with out having to wory about line twist and knotting of the line you will get with out using one. You can even put most of your crank baits "lures" directly on the snap.

You wil want a lighter peice of line so when you pick up the new line, pick up the smallest spool you can find of [font "Comic Sans MS"][#000000][size 4]4 and 6 pound test. the same brand N40[/size][/#000000][/font] will do fine. This leader line is what you will tie your hook to, it will be a lenth of any where from 6 inches to 5 foot depending on what you are fishing for.

Shopping List

[ol][li]Zebco rod and reel combo 404 or 808[/li][li]Swivel Snaps medium small[/li][li]Bobbers.[/li][li]a good sized package of different size of split shot sinkers.[/li][li]Hooks, "the smaller the number size on the hook the bigger the hook is"[/li]
[ul][li]for gills and perch you will want size 8 [/li][li]for crappie you wil want size 6 or 4[/li][li]Bass, any size will do, but most people I know like to use large hooks 0/0, the trick is with bass you want a hook to fit the bait your using.[/li][li]for cats, at least a 4 or bigger,. you can use trebble hooks for them, "I do"[/li][/ul][li]a stringer[/li][li]a cheep net[/li][li]a fillet knife with a good case[/li][li]a box to put it all in.[/li][/ol]Extras,
ya dont realy need but are fun to fish with that do produce fish.

[ol][li]Mr. Twiser [/li][li]Mepps spinners[/li][li]Repallas[/li][li]Jitter bugs[/li][li]Soft plastics "rubber worms"[/li][li]Soft Plastics "Curly Tails'[/li][/ol]I do fish with live bait also, so the first shopping list is what you need for fishing with live bait. but in addition to that list you may want to add these things depending on the live bait you like to use.


[ul][li]worms, primarily for hot days a worm box is nice to keep your worms live and fresh. "gills perch bass crappie cat"[/li][li]minows, a clean pail, any clean plastic pail with a lid will work or you can buy a minnow bucket. "gills perch bass crappie cat"[/li][li]crickets, a large coffie can metal or plastic with holes in the lid. "gills"[/li][li]Leaches, nothing "bass, walleye"[/li][li]There are others but these are the main ones but you will get the best out of these. but if you do get in to it that far we will be happy to help you when you get that far along.[/li][/ul]
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Thank you very much AT and Dave! This is exactly the kind of help I was looking for. Now with the information you gave me I know where to begin. With the weekend coming up I can go do some shopping based on your suggestions. Shopping that I actually dont mind doing.

I also ordered some free catalogs from both Cabelas and Bass Pro Shops, just so I can have a handy reference to see what all is out there.

I know it must be strange for some people who are fully outfitted to hear of someone not having a lick of gear, but you gotta start somewhere.
Thanks guys

I'll post back about how things go.
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i loved my zebco 404 the cast so well [angelic]
o and don't for get the lawn chairs [sly]
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Glad I could help. Let me know if there is any other questions you need answering. Since I have over 28 fishing rods and 7 tackle boxes I probably have the gear you need questions answered on.[cool] I have set several people up with their gear over the years from rods to tackle boxes.
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Dave,

This is good stuff! Thanks for taking the time. I didn't know about the cheap line on the reels--I'll replace that right away. Question...why is the leader line necessary? Also, you mentioned using various lengths--what lengths would you use for catfish, bass and crappie?
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A crawler harness would be a sort of a leader, It is concidered a lure.

there are single hooked, double hooked and tripple hooked harnesses.

the reason behind the leader is that you want the leader to break before you stretch and destroy the main line on your reel. That is easily done by hooking in to a large fish or a log or rock below water or a tree or even a power line above.

I use 3 inch to 3 foot leaders for bass depending where I am fishing. If I am in a river or trolling I use weight to hold my depth and the leader to get the hook away from my sinker so it can act more naturaly, But if I am casting, I will use shorter leaders/harness and depending how well I am casting no added sinkers.

for crappie, I like a 1 foot leader away from my snap and sinker, I place the split shot just below the snap on the leader with one foot of line below that, Using a number 4 or smaller arberdeen hook and a live minnow, the minnow will swim around and not be able to move the sinker or bobber. This is true with during ice fishing season as well. When fishing for crappie, it is important to allow the bobber to go all the way under the water. Crappie need time to run and swallow your minnow.

For cats, it depends on the speed of the river as to the lenth of leader I will use. If the river is slow, only about a one foot leader is all they need to hook them selves, if the river is fast, I like longer leaders. if fishing off a peir or ancored boat, you will grow to love long leaders hanging behind a slip sinker.

A slip sinker is your best buddy when fishing for bottom fish, it is shapped like an egg with a hole though the center, "be sure to debur both sides so it dosnt cut the line". The line is then threaded though the sinker to the swivel snap. What is great about the slip sinker is the fish hit the bait and the rod feels the hit before the sinker moves.
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if your talking about metal leader it's because cat fish twist and snap the line and if your talking line leader it's so you can chang out hooks fast
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When I put leader on a line it is mainly for bubble and a fly set up. I use 8 lb test on my reel then take 6 lb test for the leader. I hold the line in one hand and the spool in the other then spread my arms wide. This gives me about 6 feet of leader. I then tie a fly to it and attach it to a snap swivel. Behind the swivel (a size 7 swivel) is a clear bubble filled with water. This gives me the weight I need to cast my woolly bugger out to the trout. So set up is as follows: bubble, #7 swivel, leader, woolly bugger. Works great! Also used same set up with needle fish spoons.
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