Contents
Fishing Basics
Essential Fishing Gear
Tackle Box Essentials
Fishing Clothes
How to Tie Fishing Knots
How to Cast
How to Fish with Bait
How to Catch and Release Fish
Fishing Etiquette
Popular Freshwater Game Fish
Largemouth Bass
Smallmouth Bass
Walleye
Trout
Northern Pike
Muskellunge
Catfish
Carp
Panfish
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Essential Fishing Gear
Once you have a general idea of the local waters and what type of fish they might hold, it’s time to select the right gear. There are many different types of rods and reels, but all share the same basic components.
The Fishing Rod
Most modern fishing rods are made out of graphite, fiberglass, or a composite, though you will also find rods made of plastic or bamboo. All fishing rods consist of five basic components: the grip, reel seat, fighting butt, guides, and tip.
Grip
The grip is the section at the lower, thicker end of the rod where you hold the rod when casting. It’s usually made of cork, foam, or spongy plastic.
Reel Seat
The reel seat is a slot, located in the middle of or just above the grip, where you attach the base of the reel to the rod. A typical rod has clamps that you screw down to tighten and hold the reel in place.
Fighting Butt
The fighting butt is the thickest part of the rod, located at the base of the grip, closest to the body. When you hook a fish, you’ll have to battle to reel it in. The fighting butt absorbs most of the resistance and allows you to place pressure on a fish to tire it out so you can land it—hence the name “fighting butt.”
Guides
The guides are circular eyelets that start small at the rod tip and grow bigger as they approach the reel. As their name suggests, they guide the line from the reel through the tip of the rod. Guides are made of metal and contain a ceramic or plastic ringed insert that helps the line flow through them smoothly and without snags.
Rod Tip
The rod tip is the thinnest and most flexible part of the rod and helps the rod bend to load when casting. When you throw the rod over your shoulder to cast, the momentum of the lure causes the rod to bend at the tip and “load.” That flexibility allows the tip to act as a shock absorber and give a little when a fish strikes, which helps keep the line from breaking. It also allows the rod to bend while you fight a fish, transferring the resistance of the fish to the fighting butt.
The Fishing Reel
Most reels are made out of a combination of metal, carbon composite, and plastic. There are three types of reels—the spinner, the bait caster, and the spin caster—which use different mechanisms to accomplish the same thing. All three types have a base, spool, crank handle, and drag, though the spinning reel also has an extra component called a bail.
Reel Foot
The reel foot is the part that attaches to your rod’s reel seat. It typically fits under the rod’s screw clamps and attaches the spool to the rod with a long, thin stem. A bait casting or spin casting reel is mounted on top of the rod. A spinning reel attaches underneath the rod.
Spool
The spool is the part of the reel that holds the fishing line. It is barrel-shaped and rotates to allow the line to flow as it spins. On bait casting and spin casting reels, you press a button to let the spool spin freely and let out line. On spinning reels, you open the bail (see below). With spinning reels, it’s the bail, not the spool itself, that spins.
Bail
The bail is the metal bar that sits atop the spool. When you click it to the “open” position, line can flow freely from the spool. When you click it closed, it changes the direction of the spin so that you can reel in line.
Crank Handle
The crank handle is a lever with a knob that allows you to reel in line. On a spinning rod, turning the crank handle will automatically close the bail. On most bait casting and spin casting reels, turning the crank handle disengages the pushbutton so you can reel line back onto the spool.
Drag
The drag is a mechanism inside the reel that applies pressure to the spool when a fish is trying to pull line off it. Even with the bail closed, a strong fish will peel line off the reel, fighting against the pressure of the drag. You can set the drag to determine how much pressure the fish feels as it pulls against the line. The heavier the drag, the harder it is for the fish to pull. But too much drag can cause the fish to break the line.
On a spinning reel, you set the drag by twisting a knob at the top of the spool. On bait casting and spin casting reels, the drag is typically set by adjusting a circular mechanism at the base of the crank handle.
The Fishing Line
What type of line should you choose for your reel? The most important factor to consider is the line’s breaking strength, or test. Test is simply the amount of pressure the line can withstand before it breaks. So a six-pound test line can hold up to six pounds of pressure when fighting a fish. The rod you buy will indicate the range of line test it works best with, inscribed just above the grip.
Moreover, there are three different types of fishing line to consider, and each has its strengths and weaknesses:
- Monofilament line: The most common fishing line. It’s probably the best choice for beginners, as it’s easy to tie into knots. It has the most stretch, which helps it act as a shock absorber when a fish strikes. Monofilament is more visible to a fish than fluorocarbon and is also more buoyant and slower to sink.
- Fluorocarbon line: The type of monofilament line that’s the most invisible underwater. However, fluoro is relatively stiff and has a lot of memory, meaning that the line tends to retain the coils from sitting on the reel. This makes the line tangle easily and makes it harder to knot. Fluoro is also more susceptible to nicks and abrasions that can cause it to break or fray.
- Braided line: The toughest line to break. It also has the most sensitivity, which allows you to detect the slightest nibble from a fish when using it. But braided line is the most visible to a fish. And because the line has no give, it’s more likely that you’ll accidentally pull the hook out of a fish’s mouth when one strikes.
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