Fishing Euipment Help

[tuffy]

I need some help from those experienced fishers out there.

Let me start by saying that I hate fishing. I was given a tackle box and some lures, bait, etc, 12+ years ago for my birthday and recently opened it up for the first time since I received it. The lures are still in the packages and the bait is still soft and useable. I do have a fishing license because it's part of the combo hunting license I get every year. I'm not grossed out by any part of fishing, I just don't enjoy it.

So why am I interested in fishing gear if I hate it so much you may be asking. Well, I recently bought a 30' trailer to take my family out camping. The best campgrounds are always near lakes and during a recent family reunion at a lake, I found out my three daughters LOVE fishing. Fortunately for them, my family had plenty of poles and equipment for them to fish with. The problem now, is that during our recent camping trip, we didn't have anything for them to fish with. It was sad because I know they really enjoy fishing, but I didn't have anything that would allow them to fish.

We are going out camping again in the near future to the same lake where they fished during our family reunion. I have decided I will rent a pontoon boat for at least two days so I can take them back out. Here is where my problem starts. I need almost EVERYTHING. During our trip, we will be trolling the lake and may also do some shore/stream fishing. I have some of the very basic stuff like the tackle box, a chain, the red thing to remove the hook from a fishes mouth, some hooks, line, and some lures.

What do I need and where is the best place to get it? I know my trolling poles/reels will need to be different from my regular poles/reels. We used dipsy divers to troll on our last trip with some rainbow pop gear (I think that's what is was?) with a worm and marshmallow looking thing on the end. I prefer to purchase online and love good deals. I'm not looking for the best stuff out there but don't want to be buying a Snoopy starter set.

The one thing I did enjoy was smoking a cigar while driving the boat while my daughters fished. I was enjoying a CAO Soprano Associate during our family reunion when two of my daughters caught a fish at the same time. I tried saving the cigar but had to ditch it in order to help them get the fish in.

 

[diesel]

There is different everything depending on the type of fishing you want to do. I would suggest some light to medium rods depending on the size of fish you expect to catch. When I am fishing a lake I use ultra light rods. When I fish the river I use medium.
If you are not planning to make it a main hobby and you don't want to go buck wild spending I would suggest the shakespear brand rod and reel combos prefferably the "ugly stick". Awesome rod for the price. The reels that come with them usually arent terrible. I always use spinning reels (personal preference). The line you use also depends the fish you are targeting. If you are fishing a lake I would suggest a "name brand" 6lb. test. I use berkley or stren. *The thicker line hinders casting and it takes up more space usually making a mess. Thats why you don't slap on 20lb. test all the time. Plus underwater visibility can be an issue with some fish.

Please keep in mind that I have no idea of where you are fishing and what you are fishing for. Plus I am tired while posting this reply. This is what I would do based on what I have read above. Bait wise I always ask the locals what the fish are hitting on and hope they divulge some priceless info. This usually saves a good bit of time and aggravation.

I am not sure where you should buy online. Try Cabellas.com or bass pro.com . I have always found good deals at any sporting good stores. The one closest to me would be dickssportinggoods.com .

But like every thing tool/instrument/electronic/sporting good wise that I have purchased, you get what you pay for. If you are gonna hit a sale or see a questionable price on a product do some research. There is almost always product reviews and other info out there. Feel free to Pm me if you have more questions about a product or anything else.

 

[Ratbert]

If you're really not sure how much fishing you'll be doing in the future, I would stick with inexpensive spin-cast combos, where you buy a beginner-type spin-cast reel that's already matched to the rod and has the line pre-spooled. Like these at Cabela's.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/product/standard-item.jsp?id=0029841191157a&navCount=3&podId=0029841&parentId=cat400024&masterpathid=&navAction=jump&cmCat=MainCatcat20166-cat400024_TGP&catalogCode=IJ&rid=&parentType=index&indexId=cat400024&hasJS=true

I'd recommend spin-cast rather than spinning reels for beginners.

For trolling, maybe some silver spoons, (weedless to keep from snagging) as those should attract most species. Another good all-purpose lure is a Rapala floating minnow, the ones that are black on top with a white or gold belly. These will attract a large number of game fish. They'll float, then dive as you reel them in.

Rooster tail spinners in some different patterns will also catch trout and panfish.

You can buy online at Cabela's, Bass Pro Shop, etc.

No matter what type of equipment you have, going fishing with the family is a blast! :blob: :blob: :blob:

 

[JRL]

I want to go fishing. Ugh. You could go over to my house and take all of my fishing gear that I have no use for here in the god forsaken dry ass place I am currently living in.

Go to Sportman's warehouse or down to Cabels. They will give you everything you need and have a range of prices. There are a lot of options my friend. It also does all depend on where you are going to be fishing and what for. At Fish Lake the fish tend to be a little bigger at times. Just let them know where you will be the most, how old your kids are and what type of fishing you will be doing the most and they will help you out.

PS. Throw away the red thing and get some needle nose pliers from your garage. LOL
Call me if you have any questions.

 

[jwintosh]

do a little homework and find out what type of fish are in the lake you're going to. what lake are you going to?

i agree with cabelas and bass pro for your shopping needs. ebay has some great deals once you know what you want.

if your line is old, get new line. it's not that expensive and it really sucks to have your line break when you hook up. i also agree that shakespeare is a decent rod for the price.

for the bank fishing, i'd go with the spin cast for the younger kids. as for trolling, a heavier spinner will work.

LMK what other info you need, as there are numerous baits that are available!

 

[dpricenator]

PS. Throw away the red thing and get some needle nose pliers from your garage. LOL
.

That was the first thing I was going to say.


I'm not sure if you have time to order online, so as far a places you can go and shop for stuff. Wal-Mart and Target both carry inexpensive functional rods and reels, the shakspear brand will work just fine. You local sprting goods store might be able to offer more product info than either of my original choices.

 

[tuffy]

I want to go fishing. Ugh. You could go over to my house and take all of my fishing gear that I have no use for here in the god forsaken dry ass place I am currently living in.

Go to Sportman's warehouse or down to Cabels. They will give you everything you need and have a range of prices. There are a lot of options my friend. It also does all depend on where you are going to be fishing and what for. At Fish Lake the fish tend to be a little bigger at times. Just let them know where you will be the most, how old your kids are and what type of fishing you will be doing the most and they will help you out.

PS. Throw away the red thing and get some needle nose pliers from your garage. LOL
Call me if you have any questions.

If you still lived up here I would have you go with me to Sportsmans or Cabelas to purchase everything. Are you just coming up for the weekend on August 8th or will you be here longer?

We will be fishing for trout. A couple of the lakes we will be going to are known for having some monsters. The lake we will be going to again soon is called Fish Lake. Last time we were there my girls both reeled in 16.5" rainbows at the exact same time.