How to fish for beginners

Whether you want to pick up a new hobby, or have just started fishing, you’ve come to the right place! This is a simple guide to help beginners feel comfortable enough to head out to the waters and reel in their first catch.

It’s early in the morning or a cool evening, you’ve finally worked up the excitement to try and catch your first fish. You mosey on over to your local fishing spot with your rod and reel and cast your bait into the water. Five seconds later, you hook a fish! So easy, right?

Not quite.

There are a few steps that should be taken in between, and we’ll walk you through them. Below are some basics to get you started fishing.

1. Get your fishing license.

This is the first step you should take to prepare for your upcoming fishing adventure, as it is illegal to fish without a fishing license and can result in a fine. Buying a fishing license generates money that goes towards educational fishing programs, water and species conservation efforts, reporting on fish mortality and numbers and so much more. Luckily, it is something that can easily be bought online from the state’s conservation agency, at most bait and tackle shops, and sometimes even gas stations. Its validity kicks into action the minute it is purchased and ends a year after the issued date.

This page from our friends at Take Me Fishing will help you purchase the correct license for your state:Get a Fishing License

2. Picking the right rod and reel.

The most effective way to make your first catch is with a rod and reel. There are thousands of rods and reels available, and each has a slightly different use. To make getting started easier, we recommend purchasing a rod and reel combo to ensure they'll work together properly. The best beginner combos generally include a rod that is 6-7 feet and a spinning reel. You can always ask someone at your local tackle shop for help selecting a combo, but we do have some great beginner combos available for purchase in the Fishbrain Shop as well.

Spinning Combos

Spinning Rods

3. Picking your line, float, and weight.

The best line for beginner anglers is a 6-10lb monofilament line. It is super affordable and works extremely well, ensuring that you get a bang for your buck. It is the perfect line to hook anything from a largemouth bass to bluegill. As for floats and weights, just about any will do. The function of your weight is to help cast your bait and help it sink lower into the water column. Your float will indicate when a fish has taken the bait.

Fishing Tackle Kit

4. Choosing your bait.

Live bait is almost always your best bet for hooking and landing a fish. Some readily available live bait options are nightcrawlers, minnows, crickets, crawfish and many more. You can either go outside and catch any that you find, or purchase them from your local bait and tackle shop.

Artificial baits also work well. They come in a variety of shapes, colors, and sizes to imitate different kinds of bait from worms and minnows to crawfish and frogs. While you tend to lose your live bait every time you catch a fish, artificials can be used for more than one catch, and there is a wide variety to choose from. One major advantage to using artificial bait is that fish almost never swallow them, making it much easier to unhook your fish.

And remember, when buying hooks for your bait, smaller hooks tend to catch more fish.

Fishing Hooks

Monofilament Lines

5. Find a fishing spot.

You might have a few fishing spots in mind that you want to try, or you might have no idea where to start. Luckily, Fishbrain’s water pages will guide you to the right place. Simply type in your city then let us do all the work at finding your perfect spot. The best part is, you will be able to see reviews for waters near you, and get an idea of what fish you might be able to catch.

Fishbrain Map

6. Cast and wait.

And of course, we’ve saved the best part for last - catching your fish! For beginners, it’s best to fish on a dock or in deep waters. This is when reading water comes into play. Panfish usually stay close to docks and boats - making it easier to catch them since they usually swim in a pack. You might even see them swimming around beneath you. In that case, you should open your bail (the semicircular, metal arm on your spinning reel that will pick up the line after a cast) and let your bait fall in the water.

Once your bait is in the water, your bobber should be partially submerged. If it is fully submerged, your bobber is either too small or your weight too heavy. If your bobber starts to move from side to side or up and down, wait a few seconds, raise your rod tip to set the hook, and then begin to reel your line in. If you’re catching a smaller fish, it might not be so obvious that it bit the bait, this is why it’s important to wait a few seconds before reeling it in.

7. Catch and release.

So, you’ve reeled in your catch. What now? Catching (and releasing) a fish while never taking it out of the water is generally the best for the fish, but you can also reel it in, place it in your hand with its stomach in your palm to hold it securely, and unhook it efficiently. Now that you’ve safely handled your catch, feel free to take a picture and log it into your Fishbrain account to share it with others in the Fishbrain community.

When you’re done taking photos, it is time to release your catch. The best way to do this is by placing it back into your palm and slowly sliding it back into the water. If the fish appears stressed, hold it in the water and gently move it back and forth to get water into its gills.