Basic, entry-level fishing kit

[ButchS1066]

Last month, a guy not far from here landed a 20 pound channel cat on his grandaughter's Barbie rod and reel. Link

[Frankingun]

Definitely don't by a junk rod & reel. If you don't have any fishing equipment, get a decent rod & reel, minimum $50, like what Erik is recommending. Fishing stuff should go on sale soon, if not now. If you want to catch fish this year and can't spend more than about $50, get a decent rod; reel and line in medium action, then see if you have enough change between the cushions to get a little box with an assortment of hooks, sinkers and bobbers, and use live bait.

[Lokidude]

Ah, yes, the Dupont Spinner!

We always called that the #4 Tube Jig.

I've got a rack of fishing rods, by my go-to rod is a Shakespeare Quantum with an Abu Garcia Cardinal reel on it. I'm into it less than $75. I've got a Berkley Cherrywood that I picked up on clearance for under $50 that works like a charm, too.

Understanding that you want general-purpose, knowing what you'll be chasing most of the time makes a difference. That go-to rod I mentioned? Great for bass and crappie. Good for trout, perch, walleye, etc. Pretty much useless for catfish, pike, muskie, etc.

[Dub_James]

Thanks for the info, guys. Need to delve into this some more.

Keep the comments coming if you remember something else useful...

[MarkD]

Butch,
The thing about the guy who reeled in the monster with the Barbie rig, it's still a good quality set-up (despite being painted pink and sized for the small-fry).

A while back (when I was a teenager) a couple guys were fishing for mackeral near Staten Island, from a small boat. Mackeral are small fish, so they were using light tackle. Suddenly the mackeral started jumping out of the water (including the one they had on the hook), then they saw a mouth the size of a bucket take their mackeral. When all was said and done they'd reeled in a 56 pound striped bass. Not the way I'd choose to land a fish that size, but....

[HTRN]

Mark, it may be "good gear" but that poor bastard is never going to live it down.

56 pounds is a big striper - I think less than 10 of 'em over 50 lbs were caught in the NY/NJ area all last season.


HTRN

[Frankingun]

For trout, panfish, & crappie, you'll probably want a light or ultralight rig. I've been thinking of upgrading my ultralights to light action...

Bass & walleye will require a medium action setup.

For larger fish, like catfish, northern pike, striped bass, you'll want a minimum of a medium heavy action, or heavy action depending on how big they get in your area.

Definitely start looking for clearance sales. Before Galyan's sold out to Dickheads, they would put a lot of their fishing stuff on sale every September. Save loads in outfitting the wife's tackle box.

[Rich Jordan]

You will laugh, deservedly. When my brother was in college he used a Popiel's pocket fisherman for several years. It worked, he sometimes caught his limit, and it fit in the tiny space he had available in his dorm room.

[Mud_Dog]

Check this out: http://www.basspro.com/webapp/wcs/store ... id=PP_P0_2

Never used one before, but looks like it should do the trick. Looks like it even has storage for hooks and bait.

IMHO, all you really need are bobbers and hooks, the bait you can usually scrounge up by over turning rocks. If you really want to go the artificial route, "Beetle Spins" work great on most fish. You need to pick several different colors though since water clarity and weather conditions make one color better than another.

I watched an Iraqi Policeman fish one night, they used a piece of wood and line connected to a hook(kinda like a kite's controls). I'm not sure what they used for bait but he caught a large carp-like fish from a canal. Granted this was in the poor Kurdish area, but all you need is the simplest tools to get by.

[Erik]

Basically, it comes down to why you want to go fishing. All you really need is a piece of line, and a hook, and you can go fishing.
It's a bit like shooting, you can buy a fairly cheap used gun, and that will fire bullets just like any other, but it's probably not going to be a gun you will enjoy taking to the range once a week. If you want something that you will enjoy shooting a lot, you will probably need to spend a little more. And if you want to do different types of shooting, you will probably need different types of guns too.

I have a huge fishing gear equipment myself. It includes custom built rods specially designed for a certain species of fish in a certain kind of water, as well as gear that will work for most freshwater fishing in the world, and some saltwater fishing too.
Do I need all that gear? No, I dont *need* it. But fishing's been a big interest for me, and since I spent so much time doing it, I enjoyed getting the great equipment for it, it make the experience more enjoyable, even those time when I blank.

So if you want a fishing set that you will really enjoy using, you should buy quality. It doesn't have to be top of the line, or really expensive, but it needs to be quality. You'll notice the difference when you're at the water.
However, if all you want to do is throw a hook in the water once in a while, and maybe catch a fish to eat, more or less anything will do, even a handline.