Fishing with friends or families sounds like a great way to spend some time. It is one of the best hobbies to unwind and get some fresh air in your favorite fishing spot or even on your boat—away from the busy and noisy life in the city for a while. For long-time fishermen, nothing is more satisfying than catching a fish to put on the dinner table. After cleaning it of course!
When it comes to survival, fishing is one of many that can fill an empty stomach. At first, fishing may seem complicated, especially for starters, and shopping for its equipment and essentials can be intimidating. There are tons of fishing rods, reels, tackles and other accessories that you can find in your local fishing stores. Moreover, what you will be needing depends entirely on the kind of fish you will be fishing for.
Here we built an introductory guide of the thing you should know to get you started fishing ASAP. The goal is to get you on the road to being able to fish for survival.
Fishing Rod, Reel, and Line
Even if you’re completely new to fishing, you probably know that the first pieces of equipment you need to catch a fish are fishing rod, reel and line.
And for starters, we recommend you buy these three in an all-in-one product. The choices are dizzying for each of these components, so it’s best to go with a combination that a reputable manufacturer recommends. This makes it perfect for starters, especially if you don’t have much background yet about fishing gear
Fishing Tackle or Fishing Bait
Now that you have your rod, reel and line, you will tie your hook to your line and get some bait. We usually go to the bait & tackle store and pick up a tub of nightcrawlers (worms). If you are not comfortable dealing with worms, you can get a set of fishing tackle instead—different types of tackle imitate fishes’ natural prey. This includes the forms of lifelike soft bait, spinning bait and more. It’s up to you, but we really think that nothing beats good old worms for fish bait.
Multi-Tool
This is one of the necessities to bring when you hit the lake for fishing or get into a SHTF situation. This tool is used to cut your fishing line, bending your hooks, and about a million other uses.
Extra Lines
You never know when your line will break due to snags on some old boot or simple repetition. So bringing some extras will never hurt and will keep you fishing.
Hooks
It depends on the kind of fish you’re fishing for, and you REALLY don’t want a big one to get off the hook, so you should bring with you some extra hooks in some different sizes. Remember to use a hook that’s appropriate for the type of fish you’re after. The sizes is ranging from the smallest at 32 and the largest at 19/0.
Bobbers
Bobbers or floaters will help you to determine whether a fish is taking a bite at your hook. As soon as the fish bites, bobber will move and sink. And the instant that happens, you need to be ready to reel that fish in.
There are two types of bobbers, round and slip. Round bobbers are what most fishermen are familiar with and it is easy to use. Basically, to attach them, you just have to clip the bobber to the fishing line. Although, there’s a limitation to how far you can cast a line when you are using these bobbers.
Slip bobbers slide up and down your fishing line and require more time to attach. Some prefer this over round bobbers for the reason they can end up getting their hook deeper into the water.
If you’re using fishing lures instead of bait, then it’s just casting and reeling- no bobbers needed. It’s tougher to catch fish that way, though, at least in our experience.
Sinkers
In order for you to catch a fish, you need your hook to get a good distance beneath the water’s surface.
The hook and worm alone don’t sink enough to get to the good fish, so you will need a weight to get the sinking done. That’s where our sinkers come in.
Traditionally, it is made of lead but there other options for sinker materials such as brass, tungsten and steel. You should also bring extra sinkers with you, since they can fall off a fishing line and sink to the bottom of wherever you’re fishing.
And That's Only The Beginning
Everything varies upon the type of fish you are planning to reel in. You just have to make sure that your bring the right equipment for it, and always keep in mind to bring some extra gear with you.
You should start practicing fishing in your nearby lakes or other fishing spots. You will come across experienced fishermen in the same fishing spot and you can ask them for some pointers.
Eventually, you will learn new skills and tricks to help you improve your fishing. Once you start bringing home fish for dinner, then you can get serious about storing the fish long term and fishing for sustenance and survival.