How to Fish - A Guide for Beginners

By C D Smith

Finding good resources online about 'how to fish' from a shoreline is very difficult. It seems like anyone who is serious enough about fishing to write about their fishing tips and secrets all have boats, fish detectors and large arsenals of rods, reels and fishing tackle. As a beginner angler, I had none of those things and felt intimidated and embarrassed to go fishing in fear that my rig, casting and technique were going to be judged. I also worried that I would actually catch something and that I would end up butchering my catch just to remove the hook.

To help ease your mind and get you started on the right foot on how to fish, you will need to know some basic information and some common terms.

Set the hook means to fix your hook firmly into a fish's jaw when you feel the bite. There are two types of hooking: shallow and deep. Shallow hooking is when the hook has penetrated an area with the fish's mouth. Deep hooking occurs when the fish has time to get the bait and hook deep into the throat or body by the time you set the hook. This type of hook penetration is very difficult to remove with long neck pliers and often time will kill the fish during or after removal.

Lures are made to look like an injured, dying or fast moving fish. They come in different shapes and styles and each have unique swim patterns. Lures are used with rod and reel and are to be retrieved immediately after casting out. Common types of lures are jigs, spoons, crankbait, spinnerbait and swimbait.

Leader Line is usually made from heavier pound test monofilament line and is the transition between your main line and your bait. The leader will vary in length and test based on the conditions you are fishing in and type of fish you are going after and fishing technique.

Fishing Rod consists of line guides and reel for line storage. Rods come in different makes, lengths and actions.

Action is the responsiveness of the rod to bending force and the speed of which the rod returns to its natural position. Actions may be slow, medium, fast or a combination of two (slow ,medium, medium fast)

Reels come in three different types. Spin cast reel have a pushbutton line release for casting and an enclosed nosecone. This kind is mounted on top of the rod. Typically, the spin cast reel are used by casual anglers as they are good for catching small to medium size fish and they are inexpensive. 

Spinning reels are the most used type of reel as it is excellent for casting light lures and bait. The line 

capacity is much higher than a spin cast reel so fishing for salmon or trout is possible. These reels have a smooth drag. Spinning reels are more difficult to use than Spin cast reels and comes in a wider variety of sizes. Spinning reels attach to the bottom of a rod. Bait casting reels are the most difficult to use. These reels are designed for heavy lines, heavy lures and big fish and fishing in heavy cover. Bait Casting reels come in the widest variety of sizes and can take a beating day after day. Bait Casting reels mount to the top of a bait rod.

To be able to head out to the local pond or lake and learn how to fish, you will need the following items aside from local regulation requirements such as a fishing license.

The Fishing Rod

Don't go out and buy the most expensive fishing pole and reel you can find. There are some great fishing rod packages you can pick up for $20 or less which include sinkers, hooks, and floats. I started off with a Shakespeare medium action fishing rod that still does a good job. In time, you may want to change out the reel to something more reliable and smooth but the spinning reel that comes with these packages will work fine.

Tackle

Most starter combo kits come with a small amount of tackle that is usually enough. The pieces of tackle you should have within your arsenal are:

- Split shot weights: have some raisin size and some BB size split shot weight

- Bullet or Barrel sinkers: I would recommend having some of each

- 2‐way and 3‐way small swivels

- Size 4 and 8 hooks - I have caught channel catfish and a variety of trout species including cutthroats with these sizes.

- Floats: get a package of the round or slim bodied floats that come in different sizes. A package of water bobbers won't go to waste either and is my preferred type of bobber.

- Purchase long  needle nose hook removal pliers in addition to having the standard needle nose pliers available. I do not recommend using the standard needle nose pliers as your primary means of removing hooks, especially from smaller fish. The standard pliers are beneficial when removing hooks from catfish or from other tough jawed type fish.

- Additional test: I recommend replacing the line that comes with the rod & reel combo as it is usually not the best type of line. There is nothing worse than hooking your first fish and the line breaks. I recommend purchasing some 6lb or 8lb monofilament line to start off with.

Bait

Over time, your bait inventory will increase as you explore more methods to attract fish to your hook. I would recommend starting off with live bait such as Night crawlers as they can be easily purchased and most fish will go after a tasty, slithering worm. I would include some type of PowerBait that you can play around with. Most come in a variety of colors and smells for specific fish species.

Go prepared

Make your time around the lake enjoyable. Bring a folding chair, snacks, paper towels and the openness to learn and to try different things out. Practice reeling at different speeds, casting out and trying different rigs. Although catching a fish is the purpose of being out there, make learning and getting used to your fishing equipment a primary focus.

Learn more about how to fish and improve your bite rate. Visit Fish'n Life at http://www.sharewhat.ws and learn more methods and techniques about how to fish and much more. Fish'n Life is based on outdoor fishing and hiking adventures in the Uinta Mountain range in Utah.

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