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If you’re just getting started fishing, or you want to try a new kind of fishing, you’ll need a rod, reel and some tackle. To help you get started, we’ve put together some fishing outfits for trout, panfish (bluegill, crappie, pumpkin seed, sunfish), bass, steelhead, walleye, salmon and sturgeon.
Consider these a starting point. There are lots of other alternatives – talk to eight different anglers about what they use to catch trout and you’re likely to get eight different answers, based on their experiences and personal preferences. None of them are wrong, just different.
So here are our suggestions for getting started.
All purpose starter outfit for:
trout, bass, panfish |
Rod: 5.5 feet long, medium action
Reel: spincast
Line: 6-12 pound monofilament
Lure and tackle: #7 snap swivel, size 8 bait hook, #5 lead split shot, bobber, PowerBait
Other lures to consider: many kinds of natural and synthetic baits, spinners, jigs, poppers
Also suitable for many bass fishing situations. |
Light trout and panfish |
Rod: 5 feet long, ultra-light action
Reel: spinning
Line: 2-6 pound monofilament
Lure and tackle: 1/6 oz. Rooster Tail spinner
Other lures to consider: many kinds of natural and synthetic baits, spinners, crappie jigs, poppers |
Larger bass |
Rod: 6.5 feet long, medium action
Reel: baitcasting
Line: 6-15 pound monofilament
Lure and tackle: 3/8 oz. jig with weed guard
Other lures to consider: many kinds of natural and synthetic baits, spinnerbaits, poppers, crankbaits
Also suitable for trout and panfish. |
Trout, panfish and bass
fly-fishing |
Rod: 9 feet long, 5-weight, medium/fast action
Reel: fly reel
Line: weight forward floating
Lure and tackle: 7.5 foot, 4X leader, wooly bugger (streamer)
Other lures to consider: wet flies, nymphs, dry flies, small poppers |
All-purpose steelhead |
Rod: 8.5 feet long, medium/heavy action
Reel: baitcasting
Line: 8-12 pound monofilament
Lure and tackle: #5 spinner
Other lures to consider: plugs, steelhead jigs |
Steelhead jig fishing |
Rod: 10’ 9” feet long, light/medium action
Reel: spinning
Line: 6-10 pound monofilament
Lure and tackle: 3/8 oz. swivel weight, 1/8 oz. jig, ½ oz. West
Coast slip bobber, bobber stops
Other lures to consider: spinners |
Steelhead fly-fishing,
single-handed rod |
Rod: 9 feet long, 8-weight, medium/fast action
Reel: fly reel
Line: weight forward floating for an 8-weight rod
Lure and tackle: 9 foot, 12-pound leader, steelhead wet fly
Other lures to consider: steelhead nymphs, skating (dry) flies |
Steelhead fly-fishing,
double-handed rod (Spey) |
Rod: 14 feet long, 9-weight, fast action
Reel: fly reel large enough to accommodate spey line
Line: Skagit spey line for an 9-weight
Lure and tackle: 15 foot sinking tip, 3 foot 12-pound leader, stinger-style winter steelhead fly
Sinking tip effective for winter steelhead. Change to a floating tip
for summer fish. |
All-purpose salmon |
Rod: 9.5 feet long, medium to heavy action
Reel: level wind
Line: 15-30 pound braided
Lure and tackle: spreader bar, 5-8 oz dropper, spin ‘n glo, #2 octopus hook baited with artificial salmon eggs.
Other lures to consider: spinners, plugs, wobblers |
All-purpose sturgeon |
Rod: 7 feet long, heavy action
Reel: level wind
Line: 25-40 pound braided
Lure and tackle: barrel slider with 5-8 oz. weight, 6/0 hook
Baits: smelt, squid, anchovies, sand shrimp |
All-purpose walleye |
Rod: 8.5 feet long, heavy action
Reel: spinning
Line: 12-30 pound monofilament
Lure and tackle: bottom dragger weight system, wedding ring baited with worm.
Other Lures to consider: walleye harness |
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