Fishing Forum

Hey everyone! I am very new here and this is my first post. I am from NC, work as a Paramedic, and have just picked up fishing. I know alot of you are thinking "you're from NC and you don't know how to fish?!?". I went fishing with some guys from work the other day and fell in love with it! Today I went out and bought a Shimano Zuraca pole and reel. It is an open reel. I bought some bullet weights and 12lbs Sufix Hi Visibility line. I also bought a pack of basic bobbers? I have been going to some local lakes here and trying to fish for just basically anything using worms. With my new pole I bought today, I have no clue how to string it or put the line on with the hook and weights etc. Any help would be so much appreciated! Advice as well!
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Welcome to BFT and the sport. Need a little more info to get started with:

1. Is the line on your reel already
2. What species of fish are in the lakes you are fishing
3. Is the water stained (muddy) or clear
4. What part of NC are you in, I fished around Raleigh/Durham area back in 2003, the water I saw there was very brown.


This will help us to start figuring out where to start.

If your line is not on the spool of your reel yet then to tie it on you will need to use a turl knot. Here is another post talking about line twist with a link to a you tube video showing how to put line on your reel.

http://www.bigfishtackle.com/forum/gforu...ead#unread
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Thank you so much for replying! I'm fishing about 20 minutes from Raleigh Durham, in a place called Mebane. The water is very brown at the two lakes I have been fishing at. Somewhat rocky as well from what I was seeing today. The reel is already on the rod but no line on it yet or spooled yet. I bought 12lbs line from a sporting goods store nearby, along with some bullet weights. Some of the things I know for fact are in the 2 lakes I have been fishing at are crappie, carp, bass, and catfish. When I lived in GA we had tons of brim, so their might be that as well here also but I'm not sure. As you can tell I'm not quite knowledgeable with this lol.
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You have come to the perfect place for help. I am guessing you got your stuff at dicks sporting goods? They should have a counter or whichever place you got it at where they can load the reel for you. That's the easy way to load a reel. Now for the fishing part. There are so many ways to catch bass, crappie, bluegill, catfish etc....

An easy setup would be tie the hook onto your line. The sinkers if using split shot about 1 foot above that then place a bobber a over that to match your depth. This is an easy bait rig.
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Thank you so much! We do have a Dick's Sporting Goods here but I bought my stuff from a local place that sells guns, fishing and hunting equipment. It is called Mace Sports. So places like that will actually load my reel for me? Is it much of a cost do you know?

What size hook would you recommend for crappie etc? Will worms work well also or would you try a different bait? Also, I tie the bobber on first, then the weights then hook? I'm sorry for so many questions! You are a huge help!
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Yes all general sporting goods places such as what was mentioned will put the line on for you. Cost depends upon the store but usually isn't more than a couple of bucks if that. Try a size 4 or 6 hook to start. I always start with the hook, then sinker, then bobber. With your stained water try a dark jig tipped with a worm. A worm on a bare hook should work as well. I fish mostly clear water here in the west so stained water is not my specialty. There are other baits good for crappie, bream, bass and cats. Cats like stinky baits such as pieces of other fish, shrimp, worms etc... Crappie and bream will take jigs, worms, and bugs. Bass like other fish and baits that look like fish. There are some out there that have rattles in them. I think they will be your best bet for the bass. They are known as crank baits. Also pick up some clips (similar to swivels but are one piece) these will help to change baits a little faster. Your local tackle shops can help you, especially dicks. If a bass pro is close by or cabelas try visitin them and they will be happy to show you a few tricks as well. Another great bass bait are buzz baits and spinnerbaits. They make lots of noise that attract bass.

I am happy to help out where I can.
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Thank you so much for helping me out! Tomorrow is sunny with a High of 70 so I will take a trip to Dick's first thing in the morning and I will let you know how fishing turns up tomorrow! Thank you again!
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You're welcome. I first found out about dicks when I was back there in February of 2003 for work. We now have them out here and I know they will have some info for you. I will be waiting to hear how you do.[cool]
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Hello Medic welcome! The braided line could be tricky especially since the cheaper line comes only in150 yards,on most reels it wont fill up the entire spool preventing you from optimal casting performance[]

What we do is fill the spool with some mono in equal or stronger lb test,then connect the lines or[#005000] you can wrap tape around the spool which will take up some space so you could then fill the spool with your new Sufix![/#005000]
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[/#005000][#000000]My buddy does this for Bass fishing since he says he doesn't need so much line anyway,puts on about 50 yards or less.
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Sometimes I devide my braid in half or maybe even threee ways,this way you could have 150 yards devided up with two or three rods!

Here's a video of me nightfishing using 4lb Sufix Braid

[#0066cc]3:56[/#0066cc]
[ul][li][url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WCARtJ0s8Q"][/url][/li][li][url "http://www.youtube.com/edit?ns=1&video_id=_WCARtJ0s8Q"][/url][/li][li][#0066cc][/#0066cc][/url][/li][/ul]
[#004080]4lb Sufix[/#004080][url "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WCARtJ0s8Q"] (Live Bait Rig) night fishing!![/url]
Some footage from last year....
High vis orange florescent,
I also used the 6lb and 17lb..

And a 4lb Bass on hollow body frog 4lb suffix check it out! [url "http://youtu.be/WDu9r_1t9xQ"]http://youtu.be/WDu9r_1t9xQ[/url] []


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Go back to Mace Sports as well. Most bait shops will bend over backwards to help you set up. Your a new customer they want back. They should know the waters and the fish. Ask questions, none are the wrong ones to ask.
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Ok I'm curious, did the local shops help you out any?
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Sorry for the late reply! Thank you all again for all of the great help. I took my reel to Mace Sports and they spooled it for free with a machine. I bought a $60 closed reed and graphite rod combo to try out as well.

I know this sounds very dumb but I am a complete fishing noob so here it goes. I wasn't able to catch anything today but some guys near me were pulling in catfish like crazy with the same worms I was using. When I cast my line it's almost like I don't have alot of tension in it so I keep having to constantly reel it in so get somewhat tension whereas when I see other people, they can leave their rod sitting there with plenty of tension and just wait for the bite. Any tips?

On both rods I also have almost like a switch or little roller on it but I dont know what it is for. On my closed reel its marked with a - and + sign. What is this used for and should I even use it? Also with my open reel I am having trouble casting it, any tips on how to do a decent cast or even use it right?

Again I am sorry for so many questions, I am just completely new to the world of fishing, but I absolutely love it! Thanks again everyone!!!
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The plus and minus is your drag. The - is looser the + is tighter. You don't want it too loose or too tight. Now for your casting, I need pics of your reels, this will give me a visual to go off of. Also how did you have your line rigged? Were the people next to you fishing off the bottom? Different types of rigs take different ways of presentations. Also some people don't think of his but did you stop and put gas in your car? Gas smell on your hands can turn off fish as well.
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Im at work right now so I'll post some pics of the reels as soon as I get home tomorrow. I had my hook and a weight about 4 inches from my hook and my bobber about 6 inches above that. I was using a worm as bait. The other guys were using similar setups another with worms and one with crickets. I didn't get any gas that day but that is very neat to know.
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Hi medic,
Was reading this post and just wanted to jump in here.

You said "I had my hook and a weight about 4 inches from my hook and my bobber about 6 inches above that. "

Myself I usually fish on bottom for catfish but a bobber works too if your bait is near bottom. I would not expect to catch any fish with my worm just 6" to 10" below the surface the way you are rigged. It may be that the guys you saw fishing beside you were using slip bobbers and it only looked like the worm was a few inches below the bobber.

A slip bobber lets the line slip down through the bobber to the depth of a stopper you place on your line. It could be any depth. ( look up "slip bobber set up" online) They may have been fishing 6 feet deep or more where you were fishing 6 inches deep. It makes quite a difference.

Most fish cruse the bottom of the lake or river to find food. You want your bait either on the bottom or within about 2 to 3 feet of the bottom so the fish will see it.

My suggestion is to determine the depth of the water you are fishing in and slide your bobber up your line so you are fishing deeper. If it's too deep to get your bait near the bottom, learn to use a slip bobber. Your third option is to fish directly on the bottom with no bobber. Try casting out with no bobber, only split shot weights and a hook with a worm and let it set on bottom. Lightly tighten you line but don't drag you bait across the bottom. Keep your finger on the line so you can feel if anything pulls it. When it does, jerk back and pull in your fish.

Good luck.
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Thank you very much I will look into that type of bobber. When I cast I always have slack in my line that won't tighten up so its hard for me to feel if I have a bite. Is this what the drag is used for? Any suggestions on how to fix that? I had it spooled at a tackle shop.
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Medic
The drag is important. It is designed to keep your line from breaking if a large fish pulls too hard for your line weight.

In order to set it correctly you need to tighten it (turn to the + side) until it limits stress on your line to about 2/3 the line weight. To test it pull the line out of your reel with your hand. Do not press the button release or open the bail. The line should pull out of the reel.

Start with the drag set loose. The line will easily pull out. tighten the drag + and it will be harder to pull out. If you tighten it too much the line will break when you pull it, if it is too loose it will pull out too easily.

The lighter weight line you use #4 or #6 the drag should be set fairly loose. If you use heavy line #10-#20 it will be much harder to pull out.

When you think you have it set correctly you can test it by hooking or tying your line to something solid (line should be strung through the pole as if you are fishing). Back up a few feet and pull back on your pole so it bends. The line should come out of the reel but not break. If can break the line without it pulling out of the reel then the drag is set too tight. If it comes out very easily it is not tight enough.

I'm not sure what you mean by your line is very loose when you fish. If you use a bobber it will never be stretched tight. It will lay on top of the water and you will occasionally need to wind in the slack line. Your bobber is the indicator of a fish biting on your bait. watch for it to start pulling under. Don't jerk back if it is just wiggling on top of the water.

If you fish on the bottom you can fish with your line loose or tight. I prefer fishing with a loose line in a lake where there is no current. You can watch your line and see when it starts to move out indicating a bite. You can use a very light amount of fishing weight or none at all which will not alert a fish.

If you want to fish with a tight line you need to add enough weight to hold you line on bottom. In this case it is best to use a setup with a slip sinker so the fish are not pulling against the weight of the lead you are using.

See my website for more info on how to setup your catfish rig.
http://catfishbait-carpbait-recipes.com/...atfishrig/
Rick
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Thank you so much! This really helped tons!
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Don't hesitate chatting with other anglers when you are fishing. You will run into a few that won't help you but most would be happy to help you learn how to catch fish.
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Me and you sound a lot alike! I am one state below you and I am trying to get my EMT! I came here for help as well!
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