r/FishingForBeginners

So today I took a kayak for the first time on local lake to try and access deeper water to fish and I caught this huge bass. I was using a soft plastic grub I got from Walmart.

Only dilemma I faced here was that I had trouble unhooking him after he was in my kayak. While I was trying to get the hook out of his mouth, he kept flipping and I guess my knot wasn’t strong enough because it either snapped or unfurled and I lost the fish, lure and swivel at the same time.

I’m 90% sure the hook is still stuck in his mouth but I tried catching him again and had no luck. Will the bass die or will the hook eventually fall out of his mouth? I hate to see my biggest fish yet die because I was too scared to lip grab him.

Just never leave your pole unattended. It’s not worth it. If you gotta leave or do something just reel that bitch in. Today marks the first time I’ve ever lost a pole to a fish after 25+ years of fishing. Never ever ever EVER thought I’d lose a pole in this manner. Went fishing yesterday and pretty much skunked, caught a bunch of small grunts. Don’t count em. Well the thing that made me leave yesterday was those fish kept pulling me into snags and one eventually got me good. Had to tighten the drag to get my line out. It was hot as fuck and I was already exhausted so I just packed up and left. Figured I’d try it again the next day. Today rolls around and head out there. Got everything setup then put a line in the water with a small mojarra. Completely forgot to loosen my drag. I never forget, but today I did. I set the pole down because I figured I’d catch more mojarras or greenback while they were still there. Start getting my net ready and right when I’m getting ready to throw the net I look over at my pole and that shit just pops up and takes off. In that instant. I was in absolute disbelief. The pole was visible in the water for about 2 seconds before I saw it just zip downward. Maybe like 25’ water. Devastated. Hindsight I should’ve yeeted my net over it in a last ditch effort but I was insanely shocked and it was on the perimeter of how far I could probably throw the net anyway. Grabbed another one of my poles after like two minutes of just mentally berating myself, tied on a heavy weight, a treble, and tried to scrape the area. No tug in sight. I was just too slow with everything because of how shocked I was but I think if I acted quick I could’ve possibly saved it. Idk. Devastating fishing day. Lost my oldest pole that held lots of memories.

Hello,

I have not fished in many years and even then was a beginner haha. I will soon be fishing (lakes and ponds) with primarily different species of trout. Is this a common setup? Can I use powerbait with it? Looking for a relatively easy setup but still want to give myself the best shot of catching something lol.

Thanks in advance!

Hey everyone!

I picked up this old rod off market place, but all the markings seemed to have rub off. I’ve don’t some digging but haven’t been able to identify it. Could anyone tell me what rod this is?

Thanks!

I have gone fishing earlier in my life, but just a handful of times without any serious interest. This summer was my first summer having actually invested myself into fishing. I’ve decided that I like ultralight. I’m starting to learn what fish are looking for in different spots around me. Throwing a lot of neds and micro topwater presentations.

Got these lures from my grandpas tackle box, he hasn’t fished since the early 90s so I’m guessing some of these are pre-1990 just looking for some help and what’s what and how to use. Thx

Threw a random jig head with a half piece of a senko on it. Biggest fish in a long time after just picking it back up with my son.

I bought my first rod early august, a Majorcraft firstcast FCS-962M, rated for 15-42g lures. I set it up normally and a week after i bought it i went fishing. Woke up at 3.30am to catch the sunrise fish, got to the pier (salt fishing) set up the rod properly (no line wrapping around the rod) and started casting. I used a 15g wobbler and around my eight cast the top part of the rod broke in half right after i released the line (the lure travelled around 2 meters before the rod snapped and followed it). I dont know how to proceed, should i go back to the store and ask for a refund? I have the receipt, but how could i prove that i didnt break it? Any tips are welcome. It was a normal overhead cast.

Photos of the rod and places it snapped.

Edit: the rode snapped under 10 casts not over, typo in the title

This is long, but I'd be very grateful for some advice on what to do if anyone has the time.

My son has been very insistent for awhile that he really wants to fish. He tried it briefly last year at a camp with my husband's friends and his interest has continued. My husband is thoroughly a city boy so camping/fishing hasn't really been much of a thing for us at a family although I did a decent amount as a kid.

We're heading out on a camping trip next week and the campground has two small lakes. I've dragged the fishing stuff I've had/inherited since my trips as a child but it's been sitting in various storage rooms for 2+ decades at this point. I don't have a good handle on what exactly I'm even looking at as far as quality goes or what's most appropriate to have him begin with. Two of the rods are a bit shorter and I know they were what my sister and I used, but we were younger than he is now when we would have started with those so I don't know that he necessarily needs to be on something "kid sized".

He's autistic and has ADHD so either he's going to be permanently obsessed with fishing after this trip or never speak of it again (his current stance is this is the only thing he's doing every day of the trip until he catches at least 5 fish. There were also some strange ideas about keeping a couple as pets which I've made clear is not a thing....). Basically, I don't want to spend a lot of money augmenting the gear that's here already until I know which way he lands on this.

I know I'll need to replace the line itself, but I'm not sure which rod/reel is best to start him with. He's also left-handed and I'm not sure if I should just teach him how I was taught to cast or if I need to actually hunt down a left handed reel and get him to mirror me?

One of the lakes is stocked with rainbow trout and the other smallmouth bass. From what I've read so far I've suggested we start with the small mouth bass lake and if we're doing well with that try for the rainbow trout if he's willing to get up early before they're hiding deep in the lake. There are canoes we can rent, but I think that's beyond what I'll be comfortable safely teaching him simultaneously. My intention is that we'll be sticking to fishing from the shore.

Other than replacing the lines, is there a specific combo of rod/reel I should go with?

There are two identical of the smaller sets (only put one in the picture) and then two more larger reels, but one is missing the handle and I have no idea if that's worth trying to replace? There are five different types of rods.

As for tackle/lures... Mostly what's there is a bunch of fake worm-adjacent gummy plastic things that I'm assuming I can probably use as bait for the smallmouth bass? There are a bunch of other little loops and weight type things and a few extra hooks. I've also got the two larger guys with multiple hooks that look like little fish. The last picture is something one of my husband's friends gave us, but I'm not sure if those aren't more for fly fishing? They're not like anything I ever used. I think I need spoons for the trout?

Any advice that helps me keep this fun, manageable, and affordable would be super appreciated. Thanks!