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Fishing for Beginners: Your First Day, From License to First Fish
Fishing for beginners in one day: the kit, the license, where bluegill bite, the bobber rig, the first cast and fish, and a box on taking a child.
fishing.info
Fishing, explained properly.
Find the fish, choose what to throw and know your gear. Every page is researched from the sources and written for the angler who has to use it on the water.
Free card: what 26 species do at your water temperature
Plus one email a week on what's biting now. No sales pitches. Privacy.
Species
Which fish do you want to catch?
Every fish worth chasing: how to identify it, where it lives, when it bites.
Techniques
How do you fish for it?
Rigs, knots, casting, and the disciplines from fly to ice to surf.
Lures
What do you throw?
Crankbaits to soft plastics: how each one works and when to throw it.
Bait
What bait do you use?
Live, cut and prepared bait, how to rig it and how to keep it.
Start with Best Catfish Bait.
Gear
What gear do you need?
Rods, reels, line, hooks and electronics, compared on the numbers.
States
What are the rules where you fish?
Licenses, seasons and the best water, state by state.
Four guides that answer the big questions
Where the bass are, what the water temperature says, which lures to buy first, and what the words mean.
species
How to Fish for Bass: A Beginner's Season-by-Season Guide
How to fish for bass from the first cast: one rod and reel, five lures, where bass are at each water temperature, and a numbered method for a day on the water.
techniques
Ideal Water Temperature for Fish: The Chart for 26 Freshwater Species
The best water temperature for fishing is 65–75 °F for most freshwater fish; trout want 50–65 °F, catfish 75–85 °F. One chart for 26 species.
lures
Best Fishing Lures: The Ten to Buy First, by What Each One Does
The best fishing lures for a first box: ten that cover every season and depth, with what the pros threw in 2025, a season table, a species table and colors.
techniques
Fishing Terms: 690+ Words, Slang and Acronyms Anglers Use
Fishing terms and slang, A to Z: 690+ words in plain English, from bail and drag to hawg, dink and honey hole, plus 32 acronyms anglers use.
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gear
Fishing Pole: Pole or Rod, the Six Kinds, and What a First One Costs
A fishing pole and a fishing rod are the same thing. The six kinds, from a bamboo cane pole to a fly outfit, who each one suits, and what a first one costs.
species
Brown Trout: Identification, History, Habits and Records
Brown trout from the agency data: how to tell one from a rainbow or brook, the 1883 import, night feeding, the fall spawn and the 44 lb record.
techniques
Fish Finder Rig: How to Tie It, Sinker Weights and Leader Length
How to tie a fish finder rig for the surf in seven steps, a size for every part, sinker weight by surf, leader length, and when a circle hook is the law.
species
Bass Bait: The Best Live Bait and Lures, Matched to What Bass Eat
The best bass bait is whatever your bass already eat: shiners, crawfish, shad or bluegill, live or as a lure. What works, what size, and where it's legal.
species
Black Bass: What the Name Means, and All 19 Species
Black bass are the genus Micropterus: 19 species, from largemouth to Bartram's bass. What the name means in science, law and the record book.
species
Brook Trout: The Char That Marks America's Coldest Water
The brook trout is a char, not a trout: how to tell it apart, where it still lives, why it lost 28% of its range, and the 1915 record.
species
Crappie: Black or White, Where They Bite, How Big They Get
Crappie are two fish, black and white: the spine count that tells them apart, where each lives, when they spawn, how big they get and the limits.
gear
Types of Hooks: The Ten Fishing Hook Styles and What Each One Is For
The types of fishing hooks explained: bait, circle, octopus, Aberdeen, Kahle, siwash, worm, jig, drop-shot and treble, and how to read each shape.
How fishing.info works
- One answer per question. Every page is written to be the best answer to the question in its title: where the fish are, what to throw, which rod, what the rules say.
- Researched, then written for you. Every article starts with the people who know: state fish and wildlife agencies, record keepers, the makers' own numbers and the anglers who fish for a living. The sources sit at the bottom of every page; the explanation of what it means for you is ours.
- Honest about how it is made. Research-driven, drafted with AI assistance, reviewed before it goes live, and edited by an angler who has fished since he was a boy. We never claim tests we have not done. About this site and its author.