Fishing for beginners, as it turns out, is a completely undisclosed topic. All articles or video guides assume that you already have some experience. As a result, a person cannot approach the topic to even understand where to start. We will take a completely different path! We will tell you step by step what you need to do to catch your first fish, and you will be guaranteed to feel the excitement of the catch - what makes a fisherman a fisherman. And already with this feeling, you will then be able to understand what kind of fishing you like the most. Fishing is easy, as inveterate luminaries would not tell you. After all, if it were difficult, would there be so many fishermen around? Choosing a rod The theater begins with a coat rack, and fishing with a rod. In the overwhelming majority of amateur fishing methods, the rod serves as the basis of the entire tackle. You can delve into all the technical subtleties of rods in the corresponding article, and for the first steps, the simplest float rod will be enough for you. As a first rod, they usually choose a telescopic pole or Bolognese rod from 4 to 6 meters long: the simplest equipment of such rods is easy even for a child, and transportation and storage will not cause problems due to the folding design. You should not buy a very expensive rod as a first rod. It will not catch fish for you, and you will not be able to appreciate all its real advantages at the first stages.

Selecting tackle

You can assemble the rig yourself, or you can buy a ready-made one. Let's consider both options. For independent rigging, you will need:

a small skein of monofilament nylon line with a diameter of 0.14 to 0.2 millimeters;

a set of pellet weights;

hooks of size 12–16;

a float up to 8 grams;

if you chose a Bolognese rod, then you will need a small inertialess reel of size 2000, 2500 or 3000. Wind the line from the spool onto the spool so that 2–3 mm remains to the edge of the flange, and pass one end through all the rings of the rod in a folded state.

The installation of a fixed float rig is extremely simple: attach the float to the line, passing it under the cambric on the keel and antenna of the float, then place several small pellets under it at a certain distance from each other in accordance with the float's lifting capacity. Tie a hook to the end of the line.

Palomar is the simplest and at the same time the most reliable knot for a hook

It should look something like this

If you have chosen a float rod, unwind the lines behind your rig according to the length of the rod and make a spacious loop at the end.

Any loop will do, the main thing is that it does not tighten. Next, we pass the loop through the ring on the tip of the rod and pull the tackle through it. If you have a Bolognese rod, tie a loop on the main line wound on the reel and attach the rig to it using the loop-to-loop method.

Loop to loop is a popular and reliable method of connection. If you have chosen a ready-made rig, then simply cut off the excess line from the free end (ready-made rigs are made on a line with a reserve of 6-8 meters), tie a loop and secure it to the rod loop to loop.

Choosing a bait and lure

For your first fishing trips, you don’t need to come up with anything super complicated — use a bait that guarantees a bite in any conditions. The fish won’t be trophy, but it will definitely be there. The simplest and most effective baits and lures:

worm — a common red worm, which is a welcome treat for any fish. Small carp and small predators like perch and goby bite well on it;

maggot — some consider it the most effective animal bait. It is very popular with roach, sabrefish, bleak and other fish that hunt in the water column;

dough — a good and universal “vegetarian” bait for peaceful fish, especially in the warm season;

corn — a bait that allows you to count on larger fish, filtering out small ones with its size.

Small jars are a convenient format for a beginner: you use everything without leaving anything, and you don’t have to store or throw away the excess. In addition to these baits, there are a huge number of others, no less catchy, but requiring some experience to use. You will get to know them better as you begin to better understand the intricacies of fishing. But for a start, the described baits and lures are quite enough: they allow you to achieve a confident bite on any body of water.

Choosing a reservoir for a beginner

For the first fishing, a reservoir with a weak current, or better yet, with stagnant water, is suitable. This can be a small city pond in a park, an oxbow lake or a backwater. Choose a place with an easy approach to the water's edge, otherwise there is a risk of swimming when you are overwhelmed by the excitement of playing fish. Try to find a place with interesting casting points:

-the border of vegetation - small schools hide in the grass and immediately see the bait at its border;

-overhanging branches - pelagic fish such as sabrefish, roach and bleak are constantly spinning under them - those that feed in the water column on insects falling from the branches;

-depth drops - without experience, they are quite difficult to determine, but if you suddenly know the relief of the bottom of the reservoir, then the dumps to the depth are very promising;

-snags - on the same principle as with grass, they are of increased interest;

-steep crumbling bank, if you manage to safely settle on it - the fish feed on insects that fall into the water along with crumbling soil.

If there is nothing like that nearby, don't worry: the fish moves around the pond all day long in search of food. Over time, it will find the bait, especially if you bait the casting spot with balls of crackers, dough or any ready-made dry bait.

Casting, biting and landing

Have you chosen a spot? Great, now you need to set the depth of the float and cast. Moving the float up and down the line and casting it to the fishing spot, make sure that the hook with the bait lies on the bottom, and the float is alert - it stands vertically in the water, submerged up to the antenna. You may have to add or subtract the sinkers-shot from the line. After that, you can bait the bait and cast. Holding the hook with the bait with your free hand, smoothly but quickly lift the rod tip up, simultaneously releasing the hook and moving the tackle forward. This cast will allow you to very accurately place the float in the specified place. Now you should wait for a bite. Usually, if nothing happens within 10-15 minutes, the bait is recast to another place. It's okay if you have to sit for some time without a bite, sooner or later it will definitely happen.

Bites can be different in nature:

gentle tugs;

drowning;

lifting the float out of the water;

sharp pronounced oscillations of the float.

The latter case most often indicates that the fish has hooked itself and is trying to get rid of the hook. It should be immediately played out after a short soft hookset. Other bites require observation and waiting for the right moment. When will it come? Only you can understand for yourself. The time to choose a hookset is one of the most exciting aspects of fishing, which makes it so exciting. You will also develop the strength and amplitude of the hookset yourself over time, this cannot be taught from a piece of paper.

And now the fish is struggling on the hook, you feel its jerks. Now you need to carefully lift the rod so that the catch is almost at the surface, bring it to the shore in this position, and then finally get it on land. Try to keep the line taut during the process of playing: if there is slack, the fish can get off the hook. Pull the hook out of the fish's mouth as delicately as possible, regardless of what you are going to do with it next - you don't want it to suffer. This can be easily done with the help of extractors. Congratulations on your first catch, now you are a real fisherman!

What to do with the catch

You can immediately release the fish. Moreover, many fishermen are guided by the principle of "catch and release", but there is nothing wrong with wanting to take the catch. The main thing here is not to be greedy. It is customary to keep the caught catch in cages until the end of the fishing, but, in a pinch, a plastic bucket of water will do.

What to do next?

You can practice float fishing or try other methods, such as spinning, feeder fishing or carp fishing. Now that you have taken the first step into the vast world of fishing, the only thing between you and your trophies is experience. So dress in suitable clothes, choose a rod to your liking, arm yourself with a theoretical base and immerse yourself in this hobby, which is now with you for life!