Most of today's fishing items are made in China and are total junk.
I would recommend buy Reels and Rods made in USA or Europe.
I use Mitchell Reels which were made in France and for being old function great.
Most early Rods are great, even ones made in Asia.
Trouble with China made reels, if they break you can not get parts or have them repaired.
I have been restoring old Mitchell for a while and parts are available for them.

I call them the Sig of Reels.
However, its like buying a gun, If it feels good to you, that is what counts.

Where are the Abu Garcia rods made at? Are they Chinese made?

Will post a pic later, but with about 45 mins of effort caught a nice size catfish from the dock this past weekend.

Plenty of good advice here. The only thing I didn't really see mentioned is that while your Zebco 33 is perfectly fine, you can get longer casts with a spinning reel, and they are easy to use as well. If you don't have any issues it just doesn't matter, but if you're trying to reach an area and can't quite do it, look for a spinning reel set up.

I also like the idea of the ultralight equipment-always more fun to catch fish with equipment on the lighter side of what's necessary.

Lastly, consider fly-fishing. It makes catching even tiny fish fun and exciting. But it is a little more work.

quote:

Originally posted by honestlou:
Plenty of good advice here. The only thing I didn't really see mentioned is that while your Zebco 33 is perfectly fine, you can get longer casts with a spinning reel, and they are easy to use as well. If you don't have any issues it just doesn't matter, but if you're trying to reach an area and can't quite do it, look for a spinning reel set up.

I also like the idea of the ultralight equipment-always more fun to catch fish with equipment on the lighter side of what's necessary.

Lastly, consider fly-fishing. It makes catching even tiny fish fun and exciting. But it is a little more work.

I actually went fly fishing for the first time a few years ago, with a friend of the wife's and his family.

It was a great time, but THAT is a whole other can of worms with buying gear!!! (not that I'm opposed to it, but I'm on a budget here.)

I'm gonna go back to the store and get some new lures, lines, and other stuff.

I found that I was using way too light of a leader line (since I broke one on another fish before I could reel it in) and realized it was only 5lb leaders I tied.

Also, I lost a lure or two because I didn't tie very good knots.

So, anyone have any good resources for knot tying for fishing? Something very slow, step by step for idiots?

The wife and I had a good time, and would have been out much longer, except for our neighbor taking us out on the boat.

Kevin

Also, can someone explain what the "Drag" setting is on a reel?

That catfish I caught seemed to fight hard enough that even though I was reeling it in, it wasn't coming in.

Again, talk to me like i'm an idiot.

Kevin

Kevin I can't help you much on fishing, but fishing out in the Lake of the Ozarks sounds like a great time. I have not fished much but it was fun.

quote:

Originally posted by hberttmank:
Kevin I can't help you much on fishing, but fishing out in the Lake of the Ozarks sounds like a great time. I have not fished much but it was fun.

It was a good time, and fun getting into it after all these years.

My brother, and my cousins, all used to fish a lot as kids down at KY Lake when we went there on family trips. When I caught this one last weekend I remembered how it felt then as I got the thrill of my pole bending as the fish took the bait! Brought back some memories.

Since the wife also likes to, and grew up fishing, it is fun to do it together.

Kevin

quote:

Originally posted by KevinCW:

quote:

Originally posted by honestlou:
Plenty of good advice here. The only thing I didn't really see mentioned is that while your Zebco 33 is perfectly fine, you can get longer casts with a spinning reel, and they are easy to use as well. If you don't have any issues it just doesn't matter, but if you're trying to reach an area and can't quite do it, look for a spinning reel set up.

I also like the idea of the ultralight equipment-always more fun to catch fish with equipment on the lighter side of what's necessary.

Lastly, consider fly-fishing. It makes catching even tiny fish fun and exciting. But it is a little more work.

I actually went fly fishing for the first time a few years ago, with a friend of the wife's and his family.

It was a great time, but THAT is a whole other can of worms with buying gear!!! (not that I'm opposed to it, but I'm on a budget here.)

I'm gonna go back to the store and get some new lures, lines, and other stuff.

I found that I was using way too light of a leader line (since I broke one on another fish before I could reel it in) and realized it was only 5lb leaders I tied.

Also, I lost a lure or two because I didn't tie very good knots.

So, anyone have any good resources for knot tying for fishing? Something very slow, step by step for idiots?

The wife and I had a good time, and would have been out much longer, except for our neighbor taking us out on the boat.

Kevin

Yep. Fly fishing is more work and more studying for sure. It is well worth the time. A simple Cabelas basic flyrod and reel can be had for around $100. summer time wet wading is a great time and eliminates the expense for waders and boots.

quote:

Originally posted by KevinCW:
So, anyone have any good resources for knot tying for fishing? Something very slow, step by step for idiots?

I use a Trilene knot (aka double clinch knot) for monofilament. There are several good videos on youtube. Here's one...

quote:

Originally posted by KevinCW:
Also, can someone explain what the "Drag" setting is on a reel?

That catfish I caught seemed to fight hard enough that even though I was reeling it in, it wasn't coming in.

Again, talk to me like i'm an idiot.

Kevin

Catfish put up a good fight.

In a nutshell, the drag should be set so the line pulls out of the reel without breaking the line. Really the weakest part of your rig. For example if you are using 10lb line and 4lb leader, the weakest part of your rig is going to be the knot tied to the hook which will be about 80% of the 4lb leader.

Drag can be set lighter as a fishing technique. For example, with live bait on circle hooks, setting the drag really light allows the fish to take the bait allowing the hook to set. If the drag is set too heavy, the fish feels the resistance and spits the bait out before the hook is set. Once the fish is on, you can tighten the drag and reel it in. There's actually special reels that have two switchable drag settings specifically for this purpose. You can pretty much ignore this for what you are doing and stick with the nutshell version.

There's technique involved in reeling a fish in. Small fish you keep the rod tip up and reel them in. Big fish, you pull the rod up, then let the rod down while reeling in and repeat. You only reel in while lowering the rod. For example, if you have a 30lb snook and you just try to reel it in without using the technique I mentioned, you'll strip your gears in no time. You probably won't have to worry about fish that size either on Lake of the Ozarks unless you are using ultralight gear and you hook a 10lb fish.


knots - Animated Knots

I like the Palomar for hooks and swivels. The Uni is easy. the double Uni for line to leader. You'll need a loop knot for some lures. I haven't decided which one I like, yet.

If you get really bored, these guys have a lot of articles and videos you don't have to be a member for: Salt Strong They're geared towards salt water fishing, but a lot of the basics are the same for freshwater.

I didn't read the replies so my apologies if I'm duplicating what's been said.

My brother is a big fisherman. Whenever he goes to a new area he hires a guide. The guide will tell you what works in your area. Consider fishing with a guide for a 1/2 day. They will likely have all the gear you need for that period and will have specific suggestions on what you'll want to buy.

I have been using Shimano spinners and rods for quite a while now. I fish both salt (Gulf Coast reds and specs) and freshwater largemouth.

Don't get spend a bunch of money on the super expensive lines. The bad thing about them is they're hard to break when you get hung up on something. I've fished for years in Texas freshwater lakes with standard green monofilament line and never lost a fish.

For bass, I have the best luck fishing from the shallow to the deep. In other words, troll down a bayou off the lake throwing up against the bank and pulling out to the deeper water. I that is ineffective, the largemouth here love purple worms on a weedless hook. Throw into grass or lily pads and let it drop through. Also throwing under boat docks and wharves is usually effective. Bass are uber-aggressive and are ambush hunters. Other than purple worms, the bass here like the off white colored medium sized Whopper Ploppers.

The main thing is patience. Just watch where people are going and see who is catching and where. Hiring a guide once or twice might show you some tried and true spots.

Also - if you're not good at it, learn to use the drag. It won't matter much for crappie, but a big largemouth will hit hard and you can let them strip a little line to avoid breaks.

+

Guys, he’s fishing off his dock. What’s a guide going to tell him? Here’s the left side and this over here is the right?

From the first post:

"just sitting on a dock having some fun.”