Is This Good Gear For A Beginner?

[gar732]

Hello all, new to the site and new to fishing. I've been trying to do some research and pick up some inexpensive gear to get me started. To be honest all I've managed to to do is reinforce that fact that I don't have a clue. I'm kind of tired of reading about it and I want to get on the water which seems to be the best way to figure out what I'm doing.

I've picked up an abu Garcia silver max reel, a berkley lightning rod shock 6'6" MH rod, and some spider wire 30lb braided line. I'll be fishing from shore and bought a few different types of baits and I figured I'll go out and try them all and see how I like to fish. I can return the rod and line if you guys think I'd be better off with something else that might work better with the reel I have. Right now I'm just looking for a decent all around set up to get started. Please let me know what you think, thanks!

[QUAKEnSHAKE]

Your gear should work fine. I would say the first/second time you go out dont even worry about catching fish instead practice practice practice. Get a good 1/2 plug sinker or compact lure like 1/2oz lipless crank to toss and work on your thumb/spool control.

[new2BC4bass]

Welcome!

 

You have picked a good low cost set-up for your first outfit.  Get out there and have some fun.  I would suggest first practicing enough with the rod to get the bait in the desired general area.  As you've already read, baitcasters have a steeper learning curve than spinning or spincast reels.  Spend some time getting good enough with it to avoid the majority of backlashes once on the water.  You don't want to spend all your fishing time picking out backlashes.  That can get frustrating in a hurry.

[aquaholic]

Are you a complete begginner and have never fished before? If so id suggest a spinning reel setup. baitcasting could get really discouraging for some. Plus fishing from the shore you might encounter a lot of weeds, where you are going to want to fish a weedless worm. spinning will be much much easier to cast those.

[gar732]

Thanks guys, I'll definitely get out there and start practicing. I figure I'll either get good at casting or I'll get good at working out those backlashes, but either way I'll learn something, lol. There were just too many options, I was stand in the isle with the medium in one hand and the medium heavy in the other for about 20min and the then there was the 6'6" and the 7' and I still left wondering if I got the right rod.

[gar732]

Aquaholic, I've fished with a spinning reel before but never with much success and its been years. I just though that going for bass, the baitcaster was the way to go. I've still got my old spining reel setup, I guess I'll take that along too.

[new2BC4bass]

I personally like longer rods, but there will be places when fishing from shore where a 6'6" rod will be too long.  Spinning is easier to learn.  I grew up with nothing but spinning gear.  However, I find baitcast reels give me more pleasure.  Purely a personal thing.  If I could only fish with one rod, it would be a MH Fast.

 

Two rods is all I can carry when fishing from shore.  One of each kind could come in handy.

 

Welcome back to the sport.  I gave up fishing for 23 years because of the area I moved to when the company I worked for closed down.  Might have given up a second time if it weren't for all the baitcasting gear I've purchased over the last 4 years.  I enjoy baitcast reels that much, and naturally I am still learning which helps keep interest up even tho most of the time I go fishless.

[deep]

Maybe you can consider returning the line and getting some 50-60 lb braid or some 12-14 lb mono instead.

 

What do you mean when you say **Aquaholic, I've fished with a spinning reel before but never with much success and its been years.**?

[gar732]

Just out of curiosity why the heavier line, is it because its thicker?

When I was younger I used to go fishing with a spinning reel but never really knew what I was doing so I never caught anything. It's been years since the last time I've gone out.

[deep]

Yes, thicker line would tend to dig in less in your casting reel.

[loudcherokee]

I think you got a fine setup for starting out. The lightning rod in particular. I absolutely love mine, and would rate it as an excellent rod. Now I've never fished with one of the 100$ plus rods to compare it to, so YMMV.

As far as the line goes, I've never used spider wire braid, but I've sworn off the spider wire mono forever. Too many tangles, snaps, memory problems, and unexplained breaks.

As mentioned before, with the baitcaster, practice practice practice. Watch bassresource videos on how to setup your baitcaster. They were especially helpful for me as before I was just turning the knobs until I didn't have backlash, which resulted in over-braking and shortening my casting distance. Now that I have it properly setup, I can cast a country mile without slinging the crap out of it or backlashing.

Start off with heavier lures and then work your way down to the lighter stuff. Throw some spinnerbaits, 1/4 ounce Texas rigs, jigs, etc.

Try not to get frustrated with it as a beginner because you WILL get backlashes. Just remember what everyone else has said and keep casting away and you'll get the hang of it.

LC

[pbizzle]

In my opinion you picked the best all around gear ratio, rod length, and action. 

[pbizzle]

Maybe you can consider returning the line and getting some 50-60 lb braid or some 12-14 lb mono instead.

 

What do you mean when you say **Aquaholic, I've fished with a spinning reel before but never with much success and its been years.**?

This is exactly what I was thinking, but I didn't want to say anything. I figured I expressed how overrated braid is by now.

[gar732]

Thanks for everyone's input. I finally got out there and spent a couple hours at a small lake near by. I was throwing a 1/2oz lipless crank bait around and finally got it jammed into something and had to leave it at the lake when I couldn't get it free. I'll try the weedless worm next time since there seemed to be a ton of weeds everywhere. I got a few birds nests and had a few decent casts , all in all it wasn't as bad as I though it would be but I do need to get out there and practice more because I just wasn't getting the distance I should be and my accuracy was all that great either. I'm pretty confident it's my technique and not my gear. I did switch to 50lb braided and next time I'll try some mono so see the difference. Even after the difficulties and losing the lure I still had a good time, I can't wait till I hook a fish.

[jason41987]

my brother just started learning how to fish.. kind of funny to watch him cast really hard, then scan the horizon to see where his line falls and have it drop two feet in front of him in the mud.. couldnt imagine learning proper casts AND how to properly manage a baitcaster.. ive used spinning reels for 15 years (im 28 now) and just switched to baitcasting.. i have a round baitcaster though.. i like the simplicity and durability of them, just a reel you can ALWAYS rely on which i like but ive been considering trying some low profiles as well, my only concern is my large hands (i can "palm" a round baitcaster)