Angealy

It's a 1996 Fifteen Foot Fiberglass Jon Boat and came with trailer for $250. As somebody who mainly fishes from the bank or stream it's very exciting. But before we take it out on the water i have to make sure it's all legal and fallow the rules and regulations. I don't want to get into trouble. Makes sense no?, Right so i'm now looking for some input on where i go from here and where i can take it and use it around me as i'm totally new to this boat owner stuff. I did plan on getting some kind of motor like a trolling motor for it but wasn't sure if it's powerful enough to get us around. I really don't want to have to use telescopic paddles unless i have to.

I do pretty well with some kind of senko and frogs for my bass fishing. Senkos in colors of Watermelon,Green Pumpkin,June Bug. You really can't go wrong with those colors.

As somebody who grew up using just eagle claw hooks starting out i think are just as good as any others on the market. I think they're well worth the money and you get a bunch of them perfect for new anglers starting out. This brings me to my next point, My sister caught her first rainbow trout and fish on a bait hook made by Eagle Claw. Jump to today and we have all kinds of hook made by owner,mustad,eagle claw,gamakatsu. For my trout needs, I use a Owner Mosquito Hooks in size 10/8 after my local tackle shop recommend me to use them. I've been having good luck with them and love using them. As for my sister she is happy using eagle claw hooks for just about everything go figure.

I happen to have a few 1$ spinner baits people gave me but yet to catch anything on them! The fish around here would rather eat something like a senko or a frog lol

We were lucky enough to have our own above ground pool in the back yard. I was made to wear this swimming vest all the time that zippered in the front and let me tell you I HATED THAT THING. Being so little and made to wear something that felt big and bulky did not please me one bit. I gave my mom such a hard time and used to hide it and when it was found she'd put the thing on backwards just so i couldn't get it off. Long story short, We came to an agreement if i could swim from the pool stairs to the middle of the pool and back i didn't need to wear the vest. I can still swim to this day but i'm no mile swimmer! Edit: In middle or high school i ended up joining the swim club and we used to swim in doors in a heated pool and not only was i fast at doing laps but also figured out i could hold my breath longer than others.

In North Jersey, I was told if you didn't have a trout stamp then you must. Catch & Release, Return the fish to the water unharmed and if you did that you were fine. However, In my local lake and stream they are stocked with rainbows so it makes sense to get a trout stamp. In your case, I would contact the right people and ask them and see what they say. Honestly i think it's worth paying for the stamp and it gives you peace of mind. My stamp cost about 10-11$ here.

A warm welcome from new jersey!

Welcome, Enjoy your stay!

After being told to use a scale and not having one i decided it was time to get one. I ended up going with this one below, It can hold up to 99 pounds but i don't think i'll catch anything that big and if i do then we've got bigger problems than the scale lol. Regardless, I can say it's pretty good for my needs and pretty accurate as we used it for luggage. When my mom went on her trip she told them how much it weighed and we were spot on/close enough. I have used this scale before for setting drag on a few reels but personally i like to lock my drag down on my setups.

Hey there buddy!

@NorcalBassin: That's my kind of fish right there. The rainbow trouts are such nice looking fish.

I would suggest looking for deep pockets/holes where fish are wait for food. Because you have dirty water it's hard to tell where they but ideally you'd want something that moves water and bright colors. /Chatter/Spinner/Jerk/Crank/etc. Pretty much use all kinds of lures till you figure out what works. I most use rooster tails,phoebe for rainbow trouts in my river.

I'm really glad everything went well for you on your trip and you managed to pull in some fish along the way. You went to a spot you never been to before and still managed to get fish, Awesome! I love seeing you use that chatter bait and catching them on it. You are the reason i decided to pick one up and use it. Not a single fish caught on this lure, But one day that all changed. I headed to my lake on this overcast,windy and stormy kind of day. I would cast over and over and nothing, But right before the storm picked up and got worse i hooked into a three pound bass and i quickly took a picture and released it and packed up and headed home before the storm really picked up. Perhaps i shouldn't of been out there, But i still managed to get at least one on it and that's enough to make me want to keep using it and get it in other colors. So to that, I thank you.

@everythingthatswims: That's how it's done, Good job my man.

From somebody that only uses them all the time i'll put in my two cents. We do use them and only them. Anything from the catch more fish line up to ugly stik/etc. We have rods in 4'6 to 6' in UL/L/M all spooled up and setup based on fish. With that being said, Only three people fish in my house and that's myself, sister and other sister. From my point of view, It makes much more sense to buy these cheaper combos instead. A example: If each combo is 50$ per person i would be spending 150$ in total and that's not including the line/hooks/lures/bait/sinkers/etc. B example: If each combo is 100$ per person i would be spending 300$ in total and that's not including the line/hooks/lures/bait/sinkers/etc. All things you NEED in order to catch fish. Bottom line: It would be nice to use/fish with these 100$-200$ combos but not everyone can afford to drop this amount of money just rods and reels alone.