How To Set Up Your Fishing Pole

Y'all don't have to be a pro to enjoy angling, only you exercise need to take the correct equipment. When buying your beginning rod we recommend purchasing from a retailer that employs experienced anglers. They will be able to assist you select the all-time rod for y'all and the type of fishing yous volition be doing. If you are a little more serious virtually fishing, heading out on a lease boat is a great way to endeavour out different rods. You tin can get a improve understanding of which rod you need and how it should perform.

If you lot are but starting out in line-fishing, you can easily go very confused with the number of rods and reels that are available. What makes a balanced outfit?

Over the years there has been a bit of a misconception that a balanced outfit is one that if you concord the rod and reel on your alphabetize finger (somewhere along the length of the rod), and it lays horizontal this means that the outfit is a balanced one. This is laughably far from the truth!

Also, a lot of new and existing anglers think at that place is an 'all-circular' rod and reel outfit that will cover all types of angling. This is evident by the answers from many customers that come into the store where I piece of work casually for a couple of days a week. When I inquire them what they'll be fishing for and where, I get answers like "We are going to fish for bream, whiting, Australian salmon, snapper, kingfish and tuna off the shore and out of a gunkhole".

To me, a balanced outfit is where a rod has been matched together with a reel, plus the line and terminal tackle or lures for the type of angling that you are going to behave out.

How to Choose the Correct Fishing Rod

Firstly, decide on what blazon of angling that y'all are going to practise. Are you going to be a land-based or boat angler that fishes in the estuaries, creeks and rivers, or peradventure you lot'd prefer to fish offshore?

Are you lot going to bait or lure fish? Certain, you tin become a rod that does both. I have many that practise just that.

Don't forget that yous can always have a get at fly fishing. In that location is as well fishing off the rocks or from the beach, and don't forget about freshwater fishing. The choice is up to you!

In one case y'all have narrowed it down to where y'all are going, you lot and so need to try and narrow information technology down further to what blazon or types of fish species you lot are going to target. Over again, I will have many anglers say to me, "Whatever jumps on at the time".

As an example, if y'all are:

a country-based angler that likes to travel by motorcar or aeroplane to get to a place where you are going bush-league bashing, or
wading through rivers to get to a spot to chase bass, bream, perch, carp or trout

…yous won't want to be taking a three.6m Alvey rod with a side-cast reel, 10kg line and snapper sinkers with you. Instead, wait at a rod:

ane.8m long
3-6kg in weight
2, three or 4-piece, with
2000 to 400 threadline or a pocket-size bait pulley reel.

Angling Line Fix Up: Upkeep and Brands

Next, I would allocate a budget for how much I am willing to spend on the new outfit. Remember that you are going to have to buy line, sinkers, hooks, swivels, tackle box and much more to become with it.

An expensive outfit doesn't e'er mean it's the best. There are so many brands of rods and reels out there that it tin become very confusing trying to choose one.

Many new anglers ask me to recommend a few brands of reels they could start looking at. I would try:

Okuma
TT Line-fishing
Shimano
Wilsons
Daiwa
Alvey
Pure Angling
Penn
Shakespeare
Savage
Pryml
Gillies
Abu Garcia

So when it comes to rods, you have all the above brands plus:

Ugly Stik
Samaki
Nomad
Live Fibre
Sure Grab

My personal best GT was caught while using an Okuma Helios SX, 2.1m, iii-6kg graphite rod paired with a Epixor 30 threadline reel spooled with 15kg braid whilst using a Z-man 4-inch DieZel MinnowZ.

Fishing Line Gear up: Different Types of Rods & Reels

Line-fishing reels can be either a:

threadline - sits under the rod
baitcaster - sits on top of the rod
side-cast - turns to the side to cast
stock-still centre-pivot - sits under the rod and rotates only forward or backwards
game reel - traditionally referred to as an overhead reel, featuring remarkable line capacities and incredible turning ability for sustained battles

Angling rods come in a diversity of types:

one and multi-slice
spin
baitcasting
fly
overhead
telescopic

Mick was using a 2.1m, ii-4kg rod paired with a size 25 threadline reel spooled with 2kg braid and a 3kg leader. The Squidgy 2-inch chow did the job on a pan-sized snapper while flicking them under the boats.

Angling Line Prepare: Rod & Reel Combinations for your First or Adjacent Outfit

To accept some of the confusion out of selecting your angling outfit, I'm giving y'all 6 different outfits to consider.

With each of these outfits, I'll explain the reasons I've chosen them, including:

the suggested type of fish species
line class
whether to use it for bait or lure fishing
whether to use it onboard, onshore or both

Beginner's Fishing Outfit ane

An Okuma BN-S-1162NT:

Med/Light
11'6"
ii-6kg
2-piece
Nibble Tip rod

Mounted with:

Okuma JAW-55 threadline reel,
spooled with 12 to 15lb Platypus Super 100 monofilament line

This outfit would be great for fishing off:

beach
rocks
breakwall at the entrance to a river

...targeting bream, whiting, flathead, trevally, mullet and tailor.

Beginner's Fishing Outfit 2

An Okuma LRF Gen2 - LRF2-South-742L:

Calorie-free
7'4"
2-5kg rod

Mounted with:

Okuma Ceymar Baitfeeder - CBF-thirty threadline reel,
spooled with either 6kg Platypus Super 100 monofilament or 3kg Platypus Pulse 4X Braid

The reel spooled with the monofilament would be ideal for sensitive bites from whiting, bream and trevally. As for the reel spooled with braid on the same rod, it would exist great for lure-fishing with either soft plastics or hard-bodied lures.

Beginner's Fishing Outfit 3

The Vicious Manic Baitcaster Combo featuring a lightweight & sensitive 2-piece, 3-6kg graphite rod, matched perfectly with a 7+ane stainless steel ball-bearing reel. Ideal for casting, retrieving and trolling large soft plastics and difficult-bodied lures for:

cod
yellow belly
silver perch
Australian bass
estuary perch
bream
flathead
trevally, and even
pan-sized snapper

I would suggest that you utilise around 5-6 kg braid equally information technology would accommodate the rod capacity. You could utilise the same breaking strain in monofilament, simply information technology would reduce both the amount of line on the spool and your casting distance.

Beginner'south Fishing Outfit 4

The Penn Level Air current GT 330 Overhead reel combined with the Penn 5ft 6in, 10-15kg rod is great if you'll be dropping baits or lures to the lesser when fishing offshore on your boat. The easy free-spool activeness ways you can drop your allurement or lure down vertically faster than y'all tin with a spin reel. They are also ideal for trolling skirted, metallic and hard-bodied lures.

They usually have a greater line capacity, which is important when angling in deep water or targeting species such as marlin, tuna and other pelagic fish that can pull hundreds of metres of line from the reel.

If I am drifting whilst lesser bashing, I will simply use braided line. When I am trolling and there is some air current however, I find using monofilament line is amend. This is because the air current doesn't pick the line up and motion information technology sideways equally much as information technology does braid.

Beginner'southward Angling Outfit 5

Get your fly-angling career started with the Gillies Fly Set Wing Combos 9ft 6WT (four-piece). This is ideal for the travelling angler as information technology comes complete with everything you lot'll need, including a rod, reel and backing.

Whether y'all desire to fly fish for trout in streams and rivers, or fish the flats for species such as trevally and bonefish, this is the outfit for you. It can be a left or right-hand wind, so volition suit anybody.

Beginner'southward Angling Outfit half dozen

The Alvey C50GZ Easy Bandage Organisation side-bandage reel allows you to use it either right or left-handed. Ideal for estuaries, rivers from both onboard or onshore, and boat fishing in either salt or freshwater.

Matched with the 2.1m, Hollow Glass, 2-piece rod you tin catch bream, whiting, trevally, flathead, tommy ruffs, trout and carp. four-6 kg monofilament line would be platonic for this outfit, and it could be used for both bait and lure fishing.

Learn How to Necktie a Fishing Knot

Learning how to tie a hook and sinker is 1 of your first lessons. Y'all don't desire to bandage so see your hook and sinker wing away unattached to the line!

There's no need to larn a dozen or more than knots; these three knots are suitable for tying almost any shape & size of hook or sinker.

Pick 1 of these knots, so practice doing the same knot a dozen times, so you memorise how to do it. You tin follow the videos below for a step-past-step tutorial for each knot type.

Assure Knot

This unproblematic-to-tie simply strong property knot is suitable for securing fishing line to a lure, swivel or clip. The Improved Assure Knot is one of the well-nigh popular line-fishing knots among anglers.

Go through the eye of the claw
Wrap v-6 times around the line
Put tag finish through the loop only above the eye of the hook
Agree the tag terminate and pull on the continuing line
Pull the knot tight

Uni Knot

This is a very versatile knot, suitable for nigh whatsoever fishing situation. Information technology can be used for attaching the line to the hook or lure, likewise as attaching two fishing lines together.

Make a loop
Pass the tag stop effectually the standing line and through the loop you created iv-v times.
Moisten the knot and pull the tag finish to tighten

Claret Knot

This knot is ideal for joining two similar lines together, particularly for adding more line on the reel.

Make an X with the two lines
Pinch at the X
Turn the tag end around the standing line 4-v times
Put the tag through the X
Pinch
Plough tag end 4-5 times effectually
Put tag cease through gap the opposite way equally the other tag end
Moisten, tighten and trim excess

Choosing the Right Fishing Rig

A rig is the combination of your hook, sinker and swivel. Choosing the right rig depends on where you lot are angling (freshwater or the body of water) and the type of fish you want to catch.

Now you know how to tie a solid fishing knot, y'all're set up to work on your rig.

Three of the near pop rigs are the running sinker rig, paternoster rig and quill float & bob rig.

Running Sinker Rig

The length of the leader volition vary depending on the size of the rod that you are using. Dandy rig to apply when there is a fair bit of current running. Best used with lighter baits like peeled prawns, whitebait, pink nippers, worms and fillets of pilchards as the baits will ascension off the bottom in the electric current.

I discover the flim-flam to using this rig is to proceed the allurement types pocket-size and lightweight as information technology tends to go along the allurement away from small snapper, catfish and pickers. When the tide slows downwards, I will change to the running sinker down onto the allurement. Sometimes there volition be no sinker at all. Bream, trevally, snapper, tarwhine, mulloway, barra, mangrove jack and near any reef or estuary species will take a liking to this rig.

My personal choice when fishing off the rocks for bream and trevally is that I will always utilise at least a 3.6m rod with a size 55-60 threadline reel. The line form is normally 6-7.5kg and the rig is a running ball sinker downwards onto the bait.

Peeled Prawn, Hook & Running Sinker Rig

Completely pare the prawn leaving no beat out. Button the hook through the tail of the prawn about a centimetre from the finish and thread information technology through the trunk of the prawn, making certain that the prawn is straight and the affront and bespeak of the claw are exterior the bait. Tie 2-iii half-hitches effectually the tail of the prawn to finish it from coming off when yous cast it.

What saltwater fish species doesn't like a feed of prawns? I have fifty-fifty caught bother, trout and golden perch on prawns. When line-fishing in the estuaries or bays I volition target bream, trevally and whiting with whole peeled Hawkesbury River or local prawns. When chasing bream, drummer, luderick and snapper off the rocks I prefer to utilise larger prawns, like regal reds and blue tails.

Paternoster Rig

Great rig to apply when drifting over snaggy areas. Having 2 hooks allows you to accept 2 dissimilar baits to run into what the fish prefer. Tin can be fished with one hook. When using ii hooks you must ensure the two hooks cannot link together.

Having fished from Broome in WA, right around the bottom of Australia and up to Weipa in far north Queensland, I have found the paternoster rig tin can be used to catch leatherjackets, morwong, crimson emperor, coral trout, snapper, mulloway, barramundi, viscid sharks, snook, whiting and many more fish species.

It's non just a rig for bottom bashing. I use if off the beach chasing bream and whiting, every bit well as snapper, trevally and groper off the rocks.

Worm Rigs for Fresh H2o

Freshwater water worms come in a variety of types and sizes, and they are one of the best baits to utilise when chasing trout, Atlantic salmon, bass, golden and argent perch, Murray cod, carp, redfin, estuary perch and catfish.

They are quite simple to rig on a claw and can exist used with a number of different rigs, including the paternoster, running ball sinker down onto the claw, a running sinker downwards onto a swivel and a leader of most a metre, suspended under a bubble or stemmed float with a small spit shot or merely unweighted. Y'all can check these rigs out in Gary Chocolate-brown's Essential Bait Fishing Rigs.

When fishing with scrub worms I prefer to use only i worm and when it comes to fishing with garden, cherry or tiger worms I tend to put 3 or four on the claw as this gives more than of a wiggle gene.

Quill Bladder and Bob Rig

When you are attempting to catch fish about the water's surface rather than deep water, a float is needed to keep the line high in the water. A red & white bob float is one of the most popular types. The line is threaded through clips at the height of the bladder. The quill bladder uses plastic bands or an eyelet at the bottom to attach to the line. To ensure the hook hangs down away from the bladder, use small separate-shot sinkers. This blazon of rig is pop for freshwater fishing.

Which Sinker to Use?

Sinkers come in all shapes and sizes, but the shape is of import because it determines how the sinker behaves.

Pyramid sinkers – sink to the bottom fast and dig into the sand
Egg & diamond sinkers – designed to bounce over rocks better than near
Divide shot sinkers – quick to add together on to the line when a little more weight is required
Walking sinkers – designed to 'walk' your live bait along the flooring
Rubber core sinkers - won't damage your fishing line and are easier to swap out when not required.
Split shot sinkers - aren't reusable in one case they are fused onto the line
Sliding sinkers - designed to move along the line and are used for migrate angling and ho-hum trawling from the boat.

Effort to use the lightest possible sinker when setting up your rod. The more current there is, the heavier the sinker needs to be.

I dear my Alvey side reel matched with a Bruce Alvey iii.6m rod. I detect that I tin cast a long mode and still stay in contact with the bait to feel the bites.

Finding the Right Fishing Line Setup

Now yous have your fishing rod ready basics sorted, it's fourth dimension to chief your craft. Do your knots and rigs by changing your setup oft in search of different species of fish until you discover one that works. Talk to local fishermen to find out what'southward biting and what types of rigs work for the fish in their area.

If you need whatever assistance with gear for fishing from your boat, don't hesitate to contact the team at Boat Accessories Australia on 1300 308 161 or contact the states online. We stock everything from rod holders to swivel seats then we're sure to have what you lot need.

Source: https://www.boataccessoriesaustralia.com.au/blog/our-blog/how-to-set-up-a-fishing-rod-a-beginner-tips-for-fi/