purty new to fishing

[TroyBoy1989]

Hi, my name is Troy. I'm 23 yrs old and really haven't ever been fishing. I've been out the last couple weeks and now that's all I wanna do haha. Anyways, just posting saying I'm a newb from tri cities WA
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[albinotrout]

Welcome to BFT Troy, glad that you have found the love of fishing. Here is a link to the Washiington State board. What fish do you like to fish for so far?

[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/cgi-bin/gforum/gforum.cgi?category=58"]http://www.bigfishtackle.com/...orum.cgi?category=58[/url]

And the the freshwater fishing boards


[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/...orum.cgi?category=70"]http://www.bigfishtackle.com/...orum.cgi?category=70[/url]

We also have a beginners board as well

[url "http://www.bigfishtackle.com/forum/gforum.cgi?forum=328"]http://www.bigfishtackle.com/...gforum.cgi?forum=328[/url]

These will help you get started here on BFT.
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[TroyBoy1989]

Bass so far is what I've been doing. The guy I've been going with has me using a texas rigged worm on a cheap rod/reel. I've been doin research on different rods but man, I'm getting haha. Id like to keep doin plastic worm but, I'm not really sure what would be the "best" as of what type lure/bait to use. From what I've read, I need a rod for each type of lure style I'm using which seems like its gonna get spendy haha. I guess what I'm getting to is, what would be a good rod and a good reel that would be under $300 for worm and jig? I like cast style reels from what I've used so far. Also, what would be another good style lure/bate form me to use?
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[albinotrout]

You have a very good question here. I would recommend a medium 6-7 foot spinning rod with 8-12 lb test line. The lighter the bait or jig the lighter the line. 8 lb test is a good over all strength that can be used for many baits.

The plastic worm is a great bait for slow presentations. A faster bait would be a spinner bait or crank bait (really good for bass).

For casting rods and reels, a medium heavy rod with 12 lb test mono is a great place to start. This style of rod will handle the heavier baits available as well. I own several of each of these rods. Most of my bass fishing is done with the bait cast rods.

There are many brands out there to choose from. I recommend going to your local tackle shop and playing with the different rods and find the one that feels the best. Also they can help you choose the correct reel and line to go with it as well.

I am going to move this thread to the beginners board so as to get others to chime in on this to help you.
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[TroyBoy1989]

Thanks for the help so far. I would go to a local shop but, all there is is sportsmans warehouse. Good place if you already know what you're looking for. The guys didn't seem to know much of anything. There may be a local shop (ran and owened by fishers) I just haven't found one.
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[albinotrout]

Interesting that sportsmans didn't know anything. Around where I am they are somewhat knowledgeable.

Online stores that are good to start at are cabelas.com and basspro.com, these have ready made combos that one can start with and then work their way up.
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[TroyBoy1989]

Yea I thought it was alittle odd. The 2 guys I asked didn't know much. Every question I asked was answered with "I'm not sure" and "I don't know". Not very helpful for a newb like me. We do have 2 cabelas within a 2 hour trip. I'm going to do my best to locate some people local to give me alittle advice on spinners, cranks, worms ect... That work good around here. My thing is, I don't want to spend $100+ on a rod/reel setup and it not be right for the lures I'm wanting to use ex: too stiff, too short, too soft ect...
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[albinotrout]

Totally understand you there. I remember my first baitcast rod. It was a $40 combo I got at the local dept store. When I started using it I was a mess but my friend noticed I got better with in a couple days of using it. I grew to love it and now own 5. Two that are shorter and stiffer than normal cause they broke. The others are graphite and wonderful to use.

Let us know how it turns out for you.
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[TroyBoy1989]

Question; if I cast with my right hand and reel with my left hand with a baitcast reel, what handed reel would I buy?
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[albinotrout]

Right handed because you cast with your right.
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[TroyBoy1989]

This is where I am . I went to sportsmans today and looked at reels. With casters, the reel sits upwards right? Opposit of spinning. So when I was playing with the reels, the ones that felt right said they were left handed. Casting with my right, retrieving with my left. So according to that, the reels say I need a left handed one...
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[albinotrout]

I am left handed, I cast with my left reel with my right. When you choose a reel tell them you want a left hand retrieve because you cast with your right.
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[TroyBoy1989]

I did. I picked up a st. Croix mojo rod and a left hand lews reel. $229 for the 2 at sportsmans. I thought that was a decent price.
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[albinotrout]

Good job! Let us know your opinion of the rod and reel.
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[TroyBoy1989]

So I went out the other day with my new rod/reel. Didn't catch anything. The water is still really cold and very muddy. We have 2 or 3 rivers that come into the columbia river (I live in tri cities wa). I did get a lot of practice with my lews caster reel. Out of 100+ casts, I only backlashed 6 times. They weren't that bad either, just lightened the drag and pulled the nest out and then reeled it back up. Id say that was very good for a complete newb with 4 different weight lures and learning their tension. So far, id definatly recomend the reel for ease of use if you are new to baitcasters. Haven't had a fish on so I can't give you a review on the rod/reel yet. I am heading to pot hole resivor this weekend to do some bass and crappie fishing. Picked up a new daiwa rod and pfluegar mini reel. Hopefuly I can catch some fish.
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[albinotrout]

For a newbie on a baitcaster you did great. Picked up a light rod as well for the smaller fish? I think you're hooked now.[cool]
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[TroyBoy1989]

Yes. I decided on a 7'6" light rod and a mini pflueger reel with 4lbs line. I picked up aload of different jig heads, small grubs, small tube bodies, and a few road runners. I've done alittle crappie fishing about 6 years ago and it was a lot of fun from what I can remember.
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[albinotrout]

Perfect set up for crappie and other panfish. You'll have fun.[]
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[albinotrout]

Now that you have had a week to play with your new rods, how goes the fishing?
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[TroyBoy1989]

Well, we have had 25mph+ on anydays I could go out so not so well haha.
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