The right equipment depends largely on what you intend to do with it. The right gear for catching small bluegill in a local pond won’t be right for fishing large sturgeon. If you know exactly the kind of fishing you want to do, then getting the right gear is a relatively simple matter:

1. Find a local tackle shop you like.
2. Go in and tell them what you want to fish and where.
3. Buy their recommendation.

As an alternative, you can ask your fishing buddies what they they recommend. Or if you will be traveling somewhere to fish, you can call up an outfitter/or tackle shop in that area and ask them what a good setup would be.

What if you don’t know exactly what kind fish you will go after?

What if all you know is that you want to start fishing, and you want some good gear that will handle almost any freshwater situation? What do get then?

What you need is a good all-around outfit to get you started. This outfit should be fun to catch small fish with, yet have enough backbone to reel in the bigger ones as well. It won’t be perfect, but it will be pretty close.

Your First Fishing Outfit

1. 6-foot to 7-foot, medium to medium-light action, 2-piece graphite rod.
2. Medium to medium-light spinning reel filled with quality 8 pound test monofilament line (get a reel that comes with a spare spool).
3. Line in 4#, and 6# test (fill the spare spool with the 6# test).
4. Quality hooks in assorted sizes.
5. Assorted ball-bearing swivels & snaps.
6. Split Shot and a couple of egg sinkers.
7. Pencil floats in assorted sizes.
8. 3 spinners.
9. Polarized sunglasses
10. A tackle box or fishing vest.

If you’ve never put line on a reel before, let the clerk at the tackle shop do it for you. Trust me, about the spare spool. Sometimes, you’ll want to change out your line while on the water, and that spare spool makes it easy. A two piece rod will be more convenient to handle and transport than a one piece. The polarized sunglasses help you see through the glare of the water to spot fish and also protects your eyes from sharp hooks.

The Importance of A Balanced Outfit

It is very important that your outfit be balanced (the rod and reel are “matched” to hold the same size line.) A balanced outfit will allow all the individual parts to work to the maximum of their effectiveness and efficiency.

How will you know if you are a buying a balanced outfit?

If you buy a “combo” (rod and reel sold together as a package deal) from a reputable online outfitter or from a local tackle shop, you can be reasonably assured that the outfit is balanced. Combos are a good way to get a better price, compared to purchasing the rod and reel individually. But, if you buy your rod and reel separately you will need to read the specifications yourself to ensure that they are matched well.

How to Read Your Rod & Reel Specs

If you look at the butt end of the rod, near the handle, you will see some specifications printed on the rod. These printed specifications usually tell you the length of the rod, the rod’s action, and the range of line and lure size they are designed to cast. For the 8lb outfit I am recommending you’ll want a rod that ranges from 4 to 10 pounds or 6 to 12 pounds.

It will look something like this:

As you can see, the rod above is 6 feet long, medium action, and rated for 6-12lb test. Some rods have more or less information. For instance the rod below also shows recommended lure weight size:

Look for the specifications on the reel, as well. They will be printed on the box and sometimes on the reel. The reel should handle 8lbs in its midrange. This reel for example, is ideal :












As you can see, the line capacity is printed right on the reel. It says the reel can hold 200 yards of 6lb test, 140 yards of 8lb test, and 120 yards of 10lb test. This is a great match to the rods shown above.

With an outfit like this, you should be able to handle a wide range of freshwater fishing situations, and a wide variety of fish.

Congratulations on your new fishing outfit!

Fishing with lures has many advantages:

• Lures are less messy than bait.
• Lures gut hook fewer fish (gut hooking is when the fish takes the hook deeply, or even completely swallows the hook).
• Lures allow you to cover more water, even from shore or a pier.
• You can target the species you are after more efficiently with lures.
• Lures are easy to change out.

As far as disadvantages go, they are mostly related to cost:

• Lures can be expensive compared to bait.
• Lures can be snagged on underwater obstacles or in trees, and the price of them makes it especially painful to lose.

There are 7 main types of lures: jigs, spinners, spoons, soft plastic baits, plugs, spinerbaits, and flies. When you finish reading this, you will be able to recognize each of these lures on sight and have an idea of how to fish them (in fishing lingo this is called “Presentation.”)

Jigs









Of all lures, I would say that jigs are the most versatile. A jig can catch about every game fish there is, and are inexpensive to boot. They have a weighted lead head and come in every size and color and can be “dressed” (think of it like a tail or skirt) in feathers, hair, a soft plastic grub, or with the bait of your choice.

Presentation

Jig fishing takes a lot of concentration, unlike spinners, all the “action” (how a lure moves in the water) comes from you. If you don’t do anything the jig just sinks. The classic way to fish a jig is to cast it out, wait until it hits the bottom (you will know it has hit bottom when your line goes slack), then retrieve it in a series of hops. You make it hop by lifting the rod tip, lowering it, and retrieving your line. Try different speeds, big lifts, little hops, twitching until you find what works. Pay attention, though. Detecting the strike is the hardest thing about jigging.

Spinners









Spinners are a great beginner lure because they are so easy to use. They are essentially a metal shaft with spinning blade. The hook can be bare or dressed. Dragging a spinner through water causes the blade to spin. The spinning motion of the blade creates sound and vibration that can be picked up by fish through their lateral line (you’ll learn more about this in the fish section.) This makes spinners an excellent choice for stained or murky water.

Presentation

Simple as can be. Cast and retrieve, that’s it. As long as the blade is spinning, its working. You can try speeding up or slowing down your retrieve for variety.

Spoons










Spoons are curved metal lures. The first spoons were just that, spoons with the handle broken off. Today, spoons can be had (like all other lures) in any color and size. There is a spoon for every fishing situation. The shape of this lure gives it its distinctive action. Spoons move through water with a side-to-side wobble that simulates an injured baitfish, and game fish just love injured baitfish.

Presentation

Some spoons are made to be cast, others to be trolled, and some even to be jigged. As a beginner you will most likely be using the most common type; the casting spoon. Casting spoons are easy to use. Like spinners, just cast and retrieve. You can vary your speed as long as it’s wobbling. If the spoon begins to spin, slow down your retrieve. Add a split ring to the eye of the lure for better action.

Soft Plastic Baits









Soft plastic baits encompass a variety of different lures, mostly used for bass fishing. The classic soft plastic bait is the worm. These type of baits are created by pouring liquid plastic into a mould and adding dyes, metallic flakes, or even scent. They can resemble the natural forage of fish, like worms, crawfish, lizards or frogs, but some plastic baits don’t resemble anything you might find in or out of the water; these are referred to as creature baits or “critters.” The soft plastic bodies of these lures, encourage fish to hold on to them a little longer before they spit them out, giving the angler a better chance to set the hook.

Presentation

Presentation for soft plastic baits depends on the type of bait. For the classic worm, the most popular technique is the Texas Rig. To rig your worm this way, you use a bullet weight (read the section on sinkers in theterminal tackle post if you don’t know what a bullet weight is). Thread the bullet weight on the the line above your hook, and then insert the hook through the top of the worm’s head, then bury the barb into the body of the worm to make it “weedless” (meaning it will not get hung up on underwater foliage.) Now cast it into a likely fish holding area and let it fall to the bottom. Twitch your rod tip a few times. If you still don’t have a bite, hop it back to you in short twitchy hops.

Plugs










Plugs are constructed from hollow plastic or wood to resemble baitfish, frogs or other prey. They usually sport two or three treble hooks. These hard bodied lures can be fished at almost any depth, as some are made to float or dive or both. Depending on the design, a plug will wobble, rattle or gurgle. They come in all sizes, and most of them have some sort of plastic lip that allows them to dive when you pull them through the water. Different kind of plugs include: crankbaits, jerkbaits, surface plugs, floating/diving plugs, and poppers,

Presentation

One of the most effective (and one of the first plugs you should add to your tackle box) is the long, narrow minnow imitation in three to four inch length, the original is made by Rapala. It floats when its not moving and dives shallowly when it’s retrieved. Add a split ring to the eye if it doesn’t have one. Cast it out and wait until the rings on the surface of the water dissipate, then retrieve it slowly or fast, stopping suddenly and maybe throwing in an occasional twitch.

Spinnerbaits/Buzzbaits










Spinnerbaits and buzzbaits are awkward looking looking lures, consisting of a safety-pin like wire attached to a lead head body. The body usually is dressed with a rubber skirt and the arm with one or two metallic blades like those seen on spinners.

Presentation

The most common way to fish a spinnerbait is what is called “Chuck-N-Wind,” simply cast it out and retrieve it at a moderate speed, keeping the lure at a depth between the surface and five feet. It is a popular technique because it is effective.

Flies












Flies are traditionally used with fly fishing equipment, but with the addition of a clear bubble float, spinning gear will cast flies too. Flies are very light lures that imitate insects in various stages of their life cycle, or other natural prey such as baitfish, leeches, hoppers or even mice and frogs. They are usually constructed of fur and and feathers, though some patterns make use of new materials like foam and rubber.

Presentation

Dry flies are intended to float on the surface of the water, to this end they are dressed with some kind of floatant to aid in their buoyancy. Wet flies, like nymphs and streamers are designed to be fished below the surface of the water. Fly fishing is a difficult but rewarding area of the fishing universe.

Now that you know the basic lures and how they are used, you should have an easier time starting your own collection. Buy only a few at a time, and take the time to learn to fish them. If you know anyone that fishes the same water you do, ask them what kind of lures they like to use and what they recommend.

The next important part of your fishing outfit is your reel. There are two categories of reels; spinning reels and fly reels. Fly reels are for fly fishing, and fly fishing is a different animal altogether. For now, lets stick to spinning reels.

There are 3 types of reels:

Spincast: This type of reel has a closed face. All the important parts are kept inside, under the nose cone. The line comes out of a little hole in the cover. You see a lot outfits designed for children sporting this type of reel, because it is the easiest to use. To use a spincast reel, you press the button on the back of the reel during your forward cast. The line peels out, and you let go of the button the line stops. Its very easy to get the hang of this reel, but you sacrifice some accuracy and distance.

Spinning: This is the most popular reel, it has an open faced design, it is easier to use than a baitcasting reel and more accurate than a spincast. It’s versatile. It has great line capacity (can put a good amount of line on it) and you can usually buy one with an extra spool, making it easy to change out your line while your on the water. Though it doesn’t perform as well when heavier line (20 pounds +) is required.






























​There is one more term you are going to run into around reels that you absolutely need to understand, and that is:

Drag: This is the mechanism that allows you to set how much resistance a fish feels when it pulls on the line. The tighter you set the drag, the more resistance the fish feels. You want to set the resistance tight enough that it tires out your fish, but not so tight that the line gets over stressed or breaks.

If you want to get started fishing, but don’t know anything about rods, reels, line or terminal tackle. You don’t know what terminal tackle is, you say? Not to worry. I’m going to break it all down for you. I’m going to explain basic tackle to you: what it’s called and what it does.

Let’s start with the basic fishing rod:






































There are different kinds of fishing rods on the market; different sizes, made of different materials for different purposes. But the terms you see above are common to all fishing rods.

*By the way: its called a fishing rod not a fishing pole. Fishing rods have guides and a way to attach a reel to it. An old fashioned fishing pole is made of cane, has no guides and the line is attached to the tip (it has no reel).

The basic parts of a rod:

Butt Cap: This is at the bottom of the handle: sometimes made of rubber, sometimes of cork. This is the end you might press into your stomach if you’re fighting a good fish.

Handle: Referred to as a Grip, as well. This is where you hold the rod; can be made of foam or cork.

Reel Seat: This is where your reel gets attached to the rod. There are different mechanisms available to attach the reel. Some rods will have rings that go over the reel foot (see the reel diagram below to see a reel foot). Most rods have some sort of hood mechanism that screws either up or down on the foot of the reel to keep it in place. 

Hook Keeper:Also called a Keeper Ring. This little ring is a big convenience, as it gives you a place to hook your hook so you wont impale yourself when your on the move.

Butt: This is the thick part of your rod that closest to the handle.

Ferrule: If you have a rod that breaks down into 2 pieces or more, the ferrule is the joint where sections of the rod fit together. 

Butt Guide:This is the guide closest to the handle end of your rod. Its located on the thickest part of the rod (butt), that’s why the call it the butt guide.

Guides: These are the rings you see going all the way down the rod, they "guide" the line down the length of rod to the tip. The number, spacing, and size of the guides depend on the kind of rod you are using. But, generally speaking, the more guides the better. A higher quality rod will have at least one guide for every foot of its length (i.e. 6 foot rod should have at least 6 guides).

Wrapping: Those wrapping/windings are how the guides get and stay attached to the rod. It’s basically string that gets wound around the foot of the guide, and is then painted over with a kind of glossy enamel to protect it. 

Tip:This is the uppermost part of the rod, the thinnest and most flexible, nearest the tip top.

Tip Top: This is the guide at the very tip of your fishing rod, its also the smallest, and probably the most important. This is the guide you are most likely to break off. When you are not watching, it likes to get caught in car doors and the like. 

Learning new terminology can be a bit of a pain. But, learning this stuff is important: knowing the names and purpose of tackle will help you compare equipment when you’re ready to buy your first fishing outfit, and make it easier to get your questions answered when you need help (because people will know what you’re talking about).

Before moving on, there is one more term you may hear about when trying to find the right rod and that term is Action.

Action: The action of a rod refers to the flexibility of the rod. The action of a rod describes how much and where a rod bends when its "loaded" (bent). There are three main actions:



Fast Action: This type of rod is generally stiff, and most of the bend happens at the tip part of the rod.



Medium/Moderate Action:This rod bends a little deeper, so it has flexibility in the tip and in the middle of the rod.



Slow Action: This rod is the most flexible, it bends well into the butt end of the rod.


The type of action you need depends on what you plan to do with it; what kind of fish you are targeting and what kind of technique you plan to use.