New to fishing - what should i get

[BringDaRukus]

Hey everyone,

I've been interested in getting into urban fishing for a little while now. I've been able to save some cash to start gearing up. However looking at certain guides online I feel abit overwhelmed and unsure as to what to get.
As someone who will solely be fishing on the shores at the moment (no access to a boat) what would you suggest I look into for rods/reels and lures?
I'm obviously not looking to get some top of the line equipment but something decent to get me started before the end of the summer.

PS: sorry if I didn't post this in the right section of the forum, I was unsure as to where to ask my question

[TheMaverick]

Welcome to the forum!
Not sure where you’re located, but a great place to start with a knowledgeable staff, would be Paddletales in Winchester.

I’m guessing you’re looking for 1 or 2 multipurpose rods/reels that would cover most techniques and species?
Do you prefer spinning or casting rods?

What are you looking to spend?

[BringDaRukus]

Thanks for the reply! Sorry should've specified I live in Ottawa.
Spinning vs. baitcasting is one of the questions I've been wondering about myself. Considering i'll be only fishing off shores in the Ottawa region, would one be more suitable than the other? Unfortunately I don't have any acquaintances that practice the sport and can advise me or let me try out their gear, so the simpler the better as i'll be learning everything by myself + internet.

As for the budget, I'm a little limited money wise so I'm hoping to get as basic but versatile of a setup as possible so I can get a feel for the sport and add on around the end of the year (Birthday + Xmas will be helpful ). Lets say that for the moment I'd have a hard time spending much more than 400-500$ for my entire setup.

[Fishing Rod]

I would stick with a medium action spinning rod and leave the baitcasting for later as it can be tricky to master.
The larger fishing stores here in the GTA have everything you could possible need, and a fishing fanatic that works there and would love to help you spend your money.
Are there not places in Ottawa that can set you up?

[ShawnD]

Head to Paddletales in Winchester if you have access to a car.

Sail in the train yard shopping center is another good place and Lebaron.

get a Medium Heavy Spinning rod with a reel, reel size : 2500 or 3000.

Buy braided line, 20 pound Power Pro works great, I've been using it for years with no issues.
If you can find the yellow braid, go for it, I find it easier to see if something is on the line.

First things first, you need to learn some knots and they're hundreds!!
Basic two that I've shown a lot of people and are "basic"

- Palomar Knot
-Double Uni knot

use Youtube to help you tie them.

Palomar knot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rxj55MXLg0w

Double uni knot:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tzpVkakRyAI


Here's a tip:
- Reuse your old fishing line and practice tying knots with it at home, practice makes perfect and you'll save time on the water.

Good luck!

Shawn.D

[curls]

I'd say go for a Medium power spinning rod, with a 2500 size spinning reel. If you're going to cap it at $400, I'd do something along these lines:

$80 - rod
$100 - reel (reels really are a "get what you pay for" product, IMO)
$20 - 15# test braided line
$25 - tackle bag
$25 - 2-3 Plano boxes to fit the bag
$15 - hooks (Go with 2/0, and 4/0 EWG hooks - I prefer Gamakatsu)
$10 - sinkers (a mix of crimp-on split-shot, as well as "worm" sinkers that are cone-shaped with a hole to thread the line through (point "up") before tying on your hook)
$100 - various lures/baits
-- Yum Dinger/senko/stick-baits in greens, browns, and sometimes gawdy bright colours like pink/orange. Get 4" or 5" ones for largemouth and small mouth bass - both sizes work). For these, use a 4/0 hook, with or without weight, and cast out, reel back SLOW, and raise/lower the rod tip every so often.
-- Tubes or craw imitations. YUM/Gambler/Mizmo/every other line - all will work. Go with greens, browns, and black or black/blue in craws especially. For these, use a 4/0 hook (craw) or 2/0 hook (3.5" tube), with a weight, and cast out, reel back SLOW, and raise/lower the rod tip every so often.
-- Top-water popper. Something about 2.5-3" long at most, with a 'cupped' mouth and two treble hooks (the hooks with 3 points). This one, you just cast out and 'pop' it with the twitch of the rod tip. Hold on tight, as this one can get addicting and fun!
-- Spinner baits. Get a few as they're cheap, versatile, and work on most species. Go with a 1/4 and a 3/8 oz size. For color, I like white with chartreuse (yellow), with willow-leaf blades (long and skinny). You can also go with a brown/gold with orange, as that resembles a perch, which many game fish love to eat. Simply tie it on, fire it out, and reel back -- slow or fast! Surprisingly weedless, too.

[lape0019]

Curls info is spot on for the most part IMO. I would spend a little more on the rod but keep the reel in the $100 ish price range. For spinning, I would stick with Shimano. This is personal preference, but Shimano makes reels of very good quality in that price range.

I wouldn't concern yourself with a Bait cast setup just yet. They are more temperamental than spinning reels but do provide better accuracy. Having said that, with practice you can get a lot of accuracy out of a spinning reel.

I too recommend a trip out to Paddletales. Ed is a wealth of knowledge and can help you find the best setup within your price range that will work for you. And if you do venture out there, take a look at the bargain bin as there is a lot of good stuff in there.

Now, depending on what you are fishing for, I would also recommend the Medium fast rod. This is what was recommended to me and worked well until I could afford another combo. This will alos work well for most of the plastics Curls mentioned. It will not be the best for say a spinnerbait or topwater, but will work for the time being.

Are you able to use a 1 piece rod or is a two piece a necessity? I prefer 1 piece rods but understand they are a hassle to transport. and what about length? Since you are shore fishing, I would assume a longer rod would be better to launch baits as far as you can. My personal preference is 7 foot to 7'6.

Good luck and welcome to fishing!

[curls]

Curls info is spot on for the most part IMO. I would spend a little more on the rod but keep the reel in the $100 ish price range. For spinning, I would stick with Shimano. This is personal preference, but Shimano makes reels of very good quality in that price range.

I like Shimano reels, especially baitcasters, but my Pflueger spinning reel is just damn smooth. I'd recommend either brand @ this pricepoint.

I wouldn't concern yourself with a Bait cast setup just yet. They are more temperamental than spinning reels but do provide better accuracy. Having said that, with practice you can get a lot of accuracy out of a spinning reel.

I too recommend a trip out to Paddletales. Ed is a wealth of knowledge and can help you find the best setup within your price range that will work for you. And if you do venture out there, take a look at the bargain bin as there is a lot of good stuff in there.

Now, depending on what you are fishing for, I would also recommend the Medium fast rod. This is what was recommended to me and worked well until I could afford another combo. This will alos work well for most of the plastics Curls mentioned. It will not be the best for say a spinnerbait or topwater, but will work for the time being.

Medium power, fast action. IMO the most versatile multi-species available, and Shimano is true to their ratings. For launching lighter baits from shore, this will be perfect!

Are you able to use a 1 piece rod or is a two piece a necessity? I prefer 1 piece rods but understand they are a hassle to transport. and what about length? Since you are shore fishing, I would assume a longer rod would be better to launch baits as far as you can. My personal preference is 7 foot to 7'6.

Good luck and welcome to fishing!

I'd recommend 7' MAX. Why? Because if you're in an area with shrubs or trees, a longer rod makes casting just that much more difficult, and can eliminate a potential shore-fishing spot. However, a slightly shorter rod (6'9" - 7") can still cast a good distance, as well as give you more control, and less chance of snapping a tip in brush/trees. Trust me, been there done that LOL.

[curls]

For ideas on a suitable rod, here are a few, as well as local estimated pricing:

Shimano "Convergence" CVSC70M2B. 7'0", Medium, Fast. Line: 6-12#, Lure: 3/16oz-5/8oz. 2 piece for easier transport. Approx $85 + tax.
You can get the same rod in 6'6" for $10 less or so.

Abu Garcia "Veritas" VRTS702-5. 7'0", Medium, Fast. Line: 6-12#, Lure: 3/16oz-5/8oz. 2 piece for easier transport. Approx $90 + tax.


Reels:

Shimano "Sahara FE" SH-2500FE. Approx $100.
Pflueger "Purist" in 35-size... Approx $85.
Pflueger "Supreme" in 35-size... Approx $110. <-- I really like this reel at this price point!

[Supernova224]

Tons of great advice in this thread. This is exactly where I was last year, and picked up a fairly similar set-up to what's being recommended here and it's worked great. 6'6" Medium Fast, paired with a Shimano Sedona 2500. Someone else recommended the Sahara, which is one model up. I love mine for the price point, and haven't had a single problem with it, so I'm sure the Sahara is a great buy at that price too.
I haven't been out to Paddletales yet, but from what everyone says on here its the place to go! I can't wait for my maiden trip there. If you can't get out to Winchester though, try to talk to Rick in the fishing department at Sail. He's helped me out a few times, seems to be really knowledgeable, and will set you up AT YOUR PRICE POINT. He's awesome to deal with.

Good luck!

[Oneeleven]

Lots of better-equipt advice in here, but I will give my two cents on the baitcaster vs spinning reel because I am a newb to fishin, and also I do a lot of urban shorefishing.

I only held my first baitcaster (with 50 lb braid) last August. After trying another FH'ers for one 4 hour outing I was hooked (scuse the pun.. and I actually didn't hook a thing that first night! ) . I went out and bought a BC combo for that upcoming weekend.

Braid w/ a bait caster for shore fishing, unless you're pannie fishing, is second to none. I love the added ease of the casting accuracy that the BC provides, and the braid is SO much better for the extra-weedy conditions (and other odd things you may hook into) that shore fishing offers up. Also to add - visibility of the braid isn't too much of an issue in urban water as most are very stained.

There is a bit of a learning curve with a bc, but it's not hard at all and with braid, it's even easier than fixing the inevitable birds nests that come with it!

Now that I've had more practice in fishing overall - I've gone back to having a spinning setup with flouro in my arsenol, but I'm so grateful to have been introduced to the BC as I found it much easier to get better at hooking into fish.

[Mick]

400 - 500 bucks is a lot of money to spend on something to possibly find out that you do not enjoy it.

I see a lot of recommendations here on spinning combos that will run you 200 bucks tax in. Everything being recommended is solid equipment, no doubt about that. I go to CT a few times a month to pick up one thing or another and I always cruise by the fishing section when I am there. They have a ton of decent spinning combos in there from Shimano, Rapala, Quantum, Abu and so on. And usually they have one of these combos on sale for a pretty decent price. Are they as good as what is being recommended? No. But for someone starting out, something like this will work just fine for you. Tuck the extra 100 away that you will save, if you like fishing, go next summer and get the 200 buck combo setups that folks are recommending and then you have two set ups and don`t have to re-tie as often to switch techniques.

Fishing is an incurable disease if you are unfortunate enough to catch it. The primary symptom is the hole it burns in your wallet. Start slow. Make sure you enjoy it without breaking the bank to figure that out. And then slowly build your arsenal of technique based equipment at the higher end stores. I fished a tournament this weekend and between my partner and I we had 16 different set ups in the boat. And I am pretty sure if we weren`t both married with kids that would be 26 setups. You can never have enough!!! But you can successfully get in to the sport for less than 500 rather easily IMO.

[BringDaRukus]

Wow. Alot of great advice to go through here. Thanks everyone!
I do have access to a car, i'll most likely make a trip to paddletales this weekend to check it out, i'll most likely check sail one night this week and ill make sure to compare it with some stuff from CT as well. Would hooks, baits and what-not be cheaper in place such as CT or the prices are pretty much the same throughout all stores?

400-500$ is what i'm willing to cap my spending at for the moment, figured if it was necessary i'm ok going that route. However id be more than happy to get something cheaper that allows me to get a decent feel for the sport, it would allow me to add the saved money towards further purchases when i have a better idea what I like.
Gonna try to get a good look at the shops mentionned by the end of the weekend in order to be able to try out my new gear next week. Looking forward to it

[toobinator]

BringDaRukus: I'm going to be away from the store Saturday and probably Sunday fishing tournaments. My wife however will be at the store. We are open late on Thursday nights if you want to make the trek out then.

Ed

[zippyfx]

Going contrary to what most people are saying in this thread. I would go out and get a beginner rod and reel combo (pre-spooled with mono) for $40-$60 dollars (medium rod 6 to 7ft). Use it for a season and learn what is important to you and what you need for the fish you target in the areas you fish. Get advice and then go get something of higher quality.

Get a handful of lures, bobbers, hooks, tackle bag or box.

$400-$500 sounds prohibitive and may be a barrier to entry to many people trying to get into fishing. I think we forget how many fish you can catch with a Shakespear, Zebco, or Ugly Stick.

One of my most used rods is a MH 6'6" Berkeley rod and reel that I found on sale at CT for $40 bucks (I did upgrade to powerpro though) that loads just right for casting weight for cats or heavy lures for pike and musky.

Its amazing how may rods I have been able to find used at great prices that people over spent on getting into fishing and going out only twice. I was perfectly happy with the basic kit for a quite a while. To maximize my fishing budget I by used or on special to upgrade my rods/reels. The most I have paid for a rod was $60 and the most I have paid for a reel was $60.00; I know have good gear that covers UL/L/M/MH/H with rods ranging in length for 5ft to 9 1/2 ft different presentations and situations.

The most expensive gear I used was $1000 dollar drop shot rig on a guided trip from a competitive bass fisherman. Man, I could feel that rig lightly tap a rock in 30ft of water. But he also pointed out that he doesn't pay for the stuff its free from his sponsors.