Are you interested in learning to fish? Maybe you’ve tried fishing once or twice, but never had a successful day and left the jetty wondering why people call the sport fishing, and not ‘waiting’.

Don’t give up yet! We’ve got five fishing tips for you that will not only improve your chances of catching something, but help you look the part too. It all starts with the right equipment, or fishing tackle.

Five Fishing Tackle Tips that will land you a fish…

1: Choose the right fishing rod and reel. Have a think about, or ask a local what kind of fish you’ll be catching at your chosen fishing spot. Most beginners head for jettys and rivers, so in Australia there’s a high chance you will be catching Bream, Flathead or Whiting. For these fish, choose a light rod with a spinner reel. You can find these almost anywhere, just choose a light one.

2: Fishing Line. Chances are your first fish won’t be in the 20kg range. It probably won’t even weigh over a kilogram. But to make things complicated, some fishing line is rated for strength in pounds. A great ‘all-rounder’ fishing line weight for beginners is a an 8lb or 4kg line. Choosing a line that’s too heavy is bad, because it makes casting difficult. Also bad, is choosing one too light, because you lose your fish! Ideally you want just enough strength to land the fish without breaking, no more.

3: Floats. Using a flat makes things easy, because you’ll be able to see (as well as feel) when a fish strikes your bait. Most popular is the ‘Slip Bobber’ style of float, which works by sliding right to the hook for casting, then allowing the hook and bait to sink to a given depth underwater. To set the depth of your bait and hook, tie a stopper to your fishing line at the chosen depth (this depends on how deep the water is). After you’ve casted, the sinkers will pull the bait and hook underwater, the float will slide up the fishing line until it hits the stop!

4: Sinkers. All a sinker has to do is keep your bait underwater right? Wrong, there’s a science to sinkers that will keep the most tech-savy of fisherman entertained for years. Our tip here is to start simple, with a bean or ball sinker slipped onto the fishing line. It will float up and down the line, keeping your bait near the bottom (or at least near the bottom of the line). If you’re using a Slip Bobber, consider using a ‘split shot’ style of sinker which is fixed to a given point on your line.

5: Hooks and Bait. Big hooks catch big fish, small hooks catch small fish. Again, have an idea on what you’re going to catch (not what you’d LIKE to catch because that’s probably very different). Choose one that you think will fit in your fishes mouth.

Bait is another one of those things that baffles most beginner fisherman. Here’s some popular choices depending on fish types, and some interesting but apparently effective choices.

Bream: Prawns, or Parmesan cheese and Chicken.
Flathead: Pretty much anything, including plastics.
Whiting: Prawns, Worms and tiny Crabs.

Follow these five tips when choosing the right fishing tackle, and we reckon you’re in for a real chance of landing your first fish.

Remember, Fishing is about Knowledge, Persistence and Opportunity.

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