Some people think catching a fish is easy. Fishing takes determination, skill, and at least some knowledge about your fishing spot. You must know where the best spots to fish in that area are (deep spots). By reading the following steps, you too can catch your own freshwater fish!
STEP ONE: EQUIPMENT The most basic equipment you need is live worms (preferred), rubber worms, a "kidde" fishing pole, two good fishing poles, and a bucket or two. Now here's explanation of what each item is used for... A "kiddie" fishing pole is a child's first fishing pole and is best used to catch a smaller fish, a bucket to keep the fish in, and worms to use as bait to catch the smaller fish. The good fishing poles to put the smaller fish you have caught on the hook on this fishing pole.
STEP TWO: STANCE When you are on land, you need to stand correctly, feet shoulder length apart and evenly balanced with your two feet firmly planted on the ground. You don't want to stand so close to the edge that if you get a tug that it will knock you into the water. I suggest that you should stand about a foot from the edge. You need to stand with one hand on the bottom grip with the other hand on or close to the reel. Depending on if you are right or left handed, you should use your more dominating hand on the reel and the opposite on the grip. Keep in mind that the end of the pole that is closer to you should always be at bellybutton level. Now, you feel ready to get started?
STEP THREE: PUTTING THE WORM ON THE HOOK When you think of the word “bait,” what do you think of? Worms, right? Well, no. The bait you are catching here is fish. (You need the “kiddie” fishing pole for this step.) The art of putting the worm on the hook can be tricky at first but gets easier with experience. You need to cut a tiny bit, three segments or so, of worm either a real worm or rubber worm. You need the worm the correct size so you can catch a little fish. Little fish are usually at the water line or in the shallowest part of the body of water in your fishing area. When putting the worm on the hook, you want it on the hook far enough that the fish can’t get it unhooked or itself unhooked easily, you also need to worry about having it too far on the hook that the fish notice the hook.
STEP FOUR: CATCHING THE BAIT You should be going in shallow water to catch the bait. Now, drop the line in the water and keep in mind your stance. It helps to not rest the hook with the bait on the bottom of sand, but just in mid-water. Keep still and be patient. If you move the rod slowly back and forth, every once in a while, it should attract the fish’s attention. Once you have the fish’s attention, make sure you stay perfectly still. Don’t let the line drop to the bottom. Keep focused; if you are focused enough, you might be able to feel if the fish is caught. If you don’t feel the fish on the line you aren’t focused enough. Reel the line in slowly at first, to test if you caught the fish. Got it? If not, repeat this step over. When you do, reel it in as fast as you can. Take the fish off the hook by holding one hand on the line close to the hook, and put your hand above the fish and move them down until they are on the fish’s fins, grip the fish good enough so the fish cannot escape your hands. Use the hand on the line and remove the hook. You are now able to put the fish in the bucket of water. Repeat this step as many times as you want to until you get the fish you want.
STEP FIVE: CASTING THE LINE Pick the smallest fish out of the bucket to use as live bait to catch a big fish. Now, put the fish on the hook, to do this you need to grab the fish out of the bucket, try to make sure that you grab the fish the same way you took it off the line. Put the hook on in the upper or lower lip. The fish is a water breather, so be quick to cast him off. Look at your reel. First things first, identify the parts of the reel. There should be a spool with line on it, a bail arm and a handle. These will be used the most. The bail arm is the object above the spool, it should be metal. You flick it up when you are casting the line. The handle is what I like to call, “the crank.” The “crank” is the object on the fishing pole that reels in the fish. Now, flick up the bail arm, hold the line with the hand that is usually on the reel. To cast the line, place your body in a stance that is similar to a batter’s pose in baseball. When you “swing” forward let the hand go that is on the line and keep the other hand on the handle. Close the bail arm.
STEP SIX: SIT AND WAIT
Remember your stance. Keep the same stance for this. Slowly turn the crank to test your fish’s strength when the fish pulls in resistance; this will help you know when your fish has been chomped on by a bigger fish. All you do now is sit and wait. Every once in a while, you should test to see if your original fish, by testing the strength of the tugging, is still there. When you don’t think so and the resistance is stronger, reel it in slowly at until you are about three fourths from where you casted out your fish, then quickly reel the fish in. Did you get a bigger fish than the small fish you had on the line? If not, repeat the step again. Repeat this step until you are successful.
By @Elmeria
