| Etiquette Good fishing practice is to be polite to other fishermen and the environment. Loud noises such as splashing, stone throwing, noisy paddling, etc. can scare fish away from other anglers and be generally disturbing to others. Try to be quiet and minimize disturbances to both the water and to nearby ears. Litter Do not leave behind litter. Discarded bait containers, food wrappers, or even items considered to be biodegradable should be carried out with you and discarded appropriately. Safety Be aware of others, and have a mind for safety. Fishing is not a contact sport. It requires considerable individual space, free of people traffic. Fishing means casting baits and lures which means very sharp, sometimes large, hooks and weights being flung from the end of a long fishing rod. Again, be aware of what is around you, particularly who is around you. ALWAYS check all directions around your casting area before you case. It is also good practice to verbally announce that you are about to cast, before you cast, to let others know to look out. This doesn't mean you have to sit 50 yards from your fishing buddy, just be very aware of what's around you when you cast. Licensing All states require some sort of fishing license. Different types of licensing is available depending on the type of fishing you intend to do. Generally you need at least a freshwater fishing license for recreational inland fishing. Some states have license-free days during which you may fish without a license, while others require one at all times. Check with your state Department of Natural Resources, local sporting goods store, or bait shop to get a license for your state and to find out more about local fishing regulations. Obey catch limits! Regardless of whether or not you have a valid fishing license, in most states and locations there are limits on how many and what type of fish you can fish for. There are also regulations on how many fish you may keep. Familiarize yourself with these regulations before fishing in your state. |
| What will I need? Essentials - fishing rod and reel - fishing line - floats or sinkers - hooks, bait, lures - tackle box Recommended - needle nose pliers - gloves - folding chair - cooler - hand-wipes |
| The slingFish Gear Guide covers most aspects of what you need in order to fish. Here we cover the slingFish recommended items. |
| Needle-nose pliers Have a good pair of needle-nose pliers with you at all times. It is much easier and safer to remove a hook from a fish's mouth with a pair of pliers than to use fingers. Keep a pair in your tackle box, you won't regret it. |
| Fishing gloves Normally used in saltwater fishing, fishing gloves can be a good option for freshwater anglers as well. Most provide additional grip when handling a slippery fish and offer some protection against getting poked with a hook or fish spine. Gloves are NOT the best option if you intend to practice catch and release. Please see our Catch & Release section for more info. |
| Folding chair A light-weight folding chair can be a fishermen's friend. Fishing is a sport of patience most of the time and you can expect to be in one location for extended periods of time if fishing from the shore. A chair is much more comfortable than standing at length or sitting on a log or rock. |
| Cooler Depending on your fishing adventure, you may want to bring along a cooler and some ice. If you are going to be out for a while, you can store a few beverages and snacks inside cool keep them cool. Certain live or perishable baits also store easily in a cooler and will stay fresher for longer. |
| Hand-wipes Finally, hand-wipes. Fingers and hands can get quite sticky, dirty, and smelly when fishing because of all the bait and fish handling. Keeping a small container of hand-wipes with your fishing gear is a great idea. Just remember to discard used hand-wipes properly by packing them out with you. |
| Gear ready, hook baited, now what? Casting Once you've found a spot you think will yield some fish, it's time to cast. Again, always be aware of what,and who is around you before you cast. Gently raise the fishing rod over one shoulder, being careful not to catch the line or hook on brush, objects, or yourself! Then, with a smooth forward arcing motion, move the tip of the rod in the direction you wish to cast. If using a push button reel type, you will need to release the button as the tip of the rod reaches the foremost point in the arc. If you are using an open-faced reel type, you simply release the line from your finger. After your bait hits the water, turn the reel handle forward until you hear a click. This resets the line catch and prevents line from coming off the spool freely. Now you need to "take in the slack". When using sinkers, this means to gently reel in enough of the slack line in order to create positive tension between you, the rod, and the end of the line. Just enough tension to keep the line taught, not enough to move the bait on the bottom. When using a bobber, reel in just enough to take up extra amounts of line, but not enough to pull the bobber toward you. Don't be frustrated if your first few cast do not go smoothly. Just reel in and try again, you'll get the hang of it. |
| What about catching a fish now? Patience and observance If you are fishing with a bobber you should watch the bobber as it floats on the surface. A sharp up and down motion, or a bobber that completely submerges may mean you have a fish. If using sinkers, you should watch for the tip of the rod to sharply jerk downward. If you are holding the rod, you can usually feel a sharp tug on the rod. In either case, when this happens you should pull firmly upward on the rod in one smooth motion in order to "set the hook". Slowly reel the fish in, allowing it to fight some. Many fish are lost while trying to bring a fish in too quickly. After the fish is "landed" you can remove the hook while it is in the water if you are fishing catch and release. If keeping the fish, you can pick the fish up gently by pinching it's lower lip between your thumb and index finger and remove the hook then. In either case it is best to use your needle-nose pliers to grip the hook while removing from the fish's mouth. |
| Note - fish DO thrash to get away from you so be cautious while removing hooks! |
| How do I keep a fish? If you are not practicing catch and release, you can keep fish fresh by putting them on a stringer. Stringers are metal or synthetic lines or hooks that allow you to add fish to them and keep them alive in water. One end of a stringer usually has a lashing site or stake for the purpose of securing it near the waters edge. Another option is to store your catch temporarily in a live-well, usually found on fishing boats. You can also store your fish in a cooler with some ice to keep them fresh. Good luck and happy fishing! |
| How do I get my gear ready? Spooling the reel Once you have your fishing pole, reel, and fishing line, you need to spool your reel. Spooling your reel is done simply by tying a loop of new fishing line around your reel spool and then reeling in an appropriate amount of line for the size of the spool. This is best done with the reel attached to the rod, and with the line threaded through the first (usually the largest) eye on the fishing rod. A small amount of tension should be placed on the line, as you reel, by gripping the rod with one hand and lightly pinching the incoming line with your fingers on the same hand. Reel with the other hand. Most tackle shops and sporting goods outfits can do this for you and often do not mind showing you how. |
| Tying on a rig Once you have line on your reel, you can attach your rig of choice. The simplest way is to simply tie a hook onto the end of your line with one of two basic knot types, the clinch knot, or the "palomar" knot. A great resource for illustrations on knot tying is available at NetKnots.com. They offer quick views and full illustrations of some very useful fishing knots. You may also use one of these knots to tie on a swivel which allows quick release and attachment of hooks and lures. |
| Bobbers & sinkers If you are using natural bait you will want to tie on a bobber or sinker. Bobbers are used to float the bait near the surface of the water to attract top feeding fish, while a sinker is used for bottom feeding fish. Split-shot sinkers are the simplest to use. They are a round metal weight that is partially split through the middle. Using a pair of needle nose pliers they are crimped onto the fishing line, several inches to a foot or more above the bait. These help when casting, bay adding weight, and also hold your bait in place against water currents. Bobbers are usually a plastic sphere with a spring actuated hooked pin running through its center. Fishishing line is hooked first at one end of the bobber, then at the other end in order to keep the bobber from moving up or down the fishing line. As with sinkers, bobbers are placed a few to several inches from the bait end of the line. |
| Baits See our Gear Guide section for more discussion on bait types. For the beginner, here we recommend something simple to use such as night-crawlers or crickets. Many of the common fish types found in our Species Guide are attracted to them and they are easy to handle. Whole night-crawlers can be used, leaving wriggly ends hanging off of the hook in order to attract aggressive species such as bass. Or, pieces of them can be used by threading a section onto your hook much like a sleeve. Crickets are best hooked directly through the midsection, close to the head. See Bait Types for more. |
