Fishing equip. advice.

lokii_37

lokii_37

New member
I know we have some fishermen here so hopfully you can help me out. We are going fake camping this week end and there will be a stocked fishing lake. the only fishing equipment I own is fishing line because I know it safe to use in a fish tank. i am looking to buy a pole for my son, who is 5 and has been dying to go fishing, as well as my self.

I dont even know what to look for, I know what a rod and reel look like at least. I am probably just going to go to Big 5 and get something there. I am not looks to spend a lot. Is there anything I should be aware of? I wouldnt mind being able to use the set up again in the future but I dont need anything super fancy. Will I be ok to just pick one off the shelf?
 
lokii_37 said:
I know we have some fishermen here so hopfully you can help me out. We are going fake camping this week end and there will be a stocked fishing lake. the only fishing equipment I own is fishing line because I know it safe to use in a fish tank. i am looking to buy a pole for my son, who is 5 and has been dying to go fishing, as well as my self.

I dont even know what to look for, I know what a rod and reel look like at least. I am probably just going to go to Big 5 and get something there. I am not looks to spend a lot. Is there anything I should be aware of? I wouldnt mind being able to use the set up again in the future but I dont need anything super fancy. Will I be ok to just pick one off the shelf?
Click to expand...

I used to be big into fishing for stripper, sturgeon when I lived in Benicia. Then came up here for college and began doing salmon and Large mouth bass. Since college I rarely go fishing. Id honestly go to walmart. A push button rod and reel for your son in my opinion is the way to go.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Kids-Shakespeare-Spiderman-Complete-Fishing-Bundle/21899619

My daughter was 4 when I got her a push button princess rod and reel. She caught 2 trouts in a stock lake. At the same time there's a practice weight that they can use outside to practice casting. Just make sure there's a practice weight in the set. If your thinking using it again in the next 3-4 years maybe spiderman or any character maybe not the way to go LOL. But a that age I recommend a push button reel.
 
Where's this stocked lake? :)

Maybe a 4'6" pole/rod for your son and a 6' for yourself with a spinning reel with a handle on the left. Since he's so young you will be doing all the hard work and teaching casting like a golf instructor teaching a swing. The kiddy rods and push buttons sound great for someone that age and memorable but just wonder how it will handle a fish or just more for fun. You will most likely catch the fish and have your son reel in. :) I have shimano spin reels but did not see on the Walmart site. Maybe daiwas. $20 for the pole and $20 for the reel plus 6 lb test, sinkers/lead, and hooks. Jar of powerbait rainbow glitter, salmon eggs and some worms for bait. Forgot to check the price on the kids set up. Oh, lures like panther martins, rooster tails, super dupers, cast masters if your looking for active fishing.

Hope that helps. And don't forget to get your fishing license. Big fines without. Unlimited yearly freshwater is running 46ish, 15 for a day and 23 for two days.

*** Since its so close to the date, can you borrow equipment... Instead of rushing to get?
 
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Thanks guys that is exactly the kind of info I was looking for.

@AMAYEU I clarified with my friend the "stocked lake" is more like a pond but it is at the cloverdale KOA, hence "fake camping" anything with a pool and a hot tub is not camping in my book :)
I will be makeing a few calls on borrowing what I need but I wouldnt mind having my own gear. And i have wednesday off to go look around at some stuff.
 
Amayeu's advice is sound. "Spin cast" / "Push button" / "Zebco" rod and reel combos for first time fishermen and spinning rods after that. Remember spinning rods are wound with your left hand for right handed people. Should either of you get more interested in fishing than soaking worms or powerbait, then you can learn how to pick backlashes from baitcasting setups, I mean, how to cast with baitcasting reels. They're called baitcasters but they're for tossing whatever, not just bait. Ironically, in windy conditions, spinning tackle is a lot easier to use (fewer backlashes), as the lure pulls the line off the spool, versus baitcasters which have a rotating spool with its own momentum and inertia (hello backlashes).

When I was a board member of the Redwood Empire Bass Club, I assisted with hosting an annual fishing derby at Roberts Lake in RP. That lake was stocked.

My oldest caught a foot long skinny crappie in the pond at Luchessi Park here in Ptown.

The Petaluma River offers abundant smaller striped bass.
 
I didn't know you guys like to fish too? Walmart have good prices on rod and reel combo big5 also have great prices ... the ugly stick is prety nice. I prefered ocean fishing but love to learn how to catch bigmouth bass and trout.

Ken, Stripe bass in the bay and Petaluma looks great and is fun to catch but I am not sure I will eat it. That muddy water is fill with weir dirty stuff. Do you do catch and release?
 
I got a private pond I can go to that is stocked with large mouth bass. And it is about 5 minutes from my house
 
northbay-reefer said:
Stripe bass in the bay and Petaluma looks great and is fun to catch but I am not sure I will eat it. That muddy water is fill with weir dirty stuff. Do you do catch and release?
Click to expand...

I completely agree. I would not eat a fish from the Petaluma River or the Delta (high mercury levels). But I will catch them and throw them back all day long! Night time too!

Night fishing for bass using blacklights and fluorescent lines is a gas. I caught my heaviest largemouth during a club night tournament at Clear Lake. My partner and I won that one. Getting paid to fish (tournament winnings) is awesome :)

Here's me at the weighin that morning with the 9.22 tournament winning big fish. After the pic I released it back into the lake to grow even larger. When I caught it, it was 1:30am and I was pitching a 10" powerworm on braided line (super sensitive no stretch) in about 3 feet of water. It thumped my worm hard. I set the hook and had a large fish going nuts on a short line.



BTW, our former president Mike Reynolds has done some fishing with the REBC.

Back to the fish consumption issue, I have encountered DFG personnel collecting fish from various lakes to gather tissue samples for testing for toxins. They said the fish in Lake Sonoma show the least accumulation of nasty stuff in their flesh.

In general, lakes with a history of mining nearby (mercury contamination) or older lakes with long heavy human use tend to have the most contaminated fish.
 
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Thanks. 7s are nice fish. I've caught a couple of those. Here's my largest from Sonoma, 8.3lbs. First fish I caught on my boat. 1995. Pulled a large spinnerbait through the just visible top of a flooded tree in 30 feet. This beauty crushed it.
 
Here's my largest Delta bass, 7.5lbs, on a Senko, 2003. The other is 5.5 on a buzzbait. Won that tournament too. :)
 
So just got some good bait options for you lokii for cloverdale koa. 4 inch rubber worm Texas rigged colors black and purple mixed or watermelon with red, purple, or gold flakes. Also medium size shallow running crank baits my favorites are kvd 1 series or 2 series white and blue, chrome and blue, and you can never go wrong with a blue gill pattern and running about 0 to about 2.5 feet deep and you should slam them up there. Or there live worms and a bobber for the kiddo either way you should catch something
 
That's a nice looking fish Ken.

My grandfather in law has taken me fishing for bass on lake Sonoma and clear lake. He usually just sets everything up and I go with it.

Baitcaster I knew there was a name for that type of reel. I didn't want to describe it as "the one that doesn't stop unless you put your thumb on it". I've used one of those but I think the spinning reel is more my speed at this time.

One of these days I will go ocean fishing. There is a guy at my work who goes out. I just haven't gone out with him.
 
And you could also try a jitter bug color black and yellow if you want a great show when the bass hits it love to see a bass smash a top water bait
 
1kwksvt said:
So just got some good bait options for you lokii for cloverdale koa. 4 inch rubber worm Texas rigged colors black and purple mixed or watermelon with red, purple, or gold flakes. Also medium size shallow running crank baits my favorites are kvd 1 series or 2 series white and blue, chrome and blue, and you can never go wrong with a blue gill pattern and running about 0 to about 2.5 feet deep and you should slam them up there. Or there live worms and a bobber for the kiddo either way you should catch something
Click to expand...

Ill have to check out those bait options. Any help helps.

It's supposed to be 101F on Saturday so I hope the fish are biting. I guess it will be early morning or late evening fishing for us.
 
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