# Learning to fish



## angus 1 (Jan 14, 2007)

Just learning to fish. My daughter who is 16 bought a boat from an elderly gentleman last fall. She said I work to much and gave it to me as a gift. I'm truely scared of water but I'm trying. I live only 4 miles from lake Darling. My youngest daughter (12) and I have been over there twice now and have caught nothing. I know nothing about fishing, nothing! Where do I start? I have a few old poles that my grandpa once used and a few other odds and ends. I really want to do this , the times we have been over there have been pretty fun but would really help if we caught something, even a small one. Any suggestions or tips would be greatly appreciated. :-?


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

There are a lot of walleye articles in the walleye section:

http://www.nodakoutdoors.com/walleye-fishing/

I can't say I have Lake Darling experience but with a drop in the Sakakawea forage base there will be a lot of hungry walleyes this spring/summer/fall. Look into the articles on using jigs and live bait rigs. Get some 1/2 oz. to 1 oz. bottom bouncers and some "Lindy live bait rigs" in at least 4 feet if you don't want to learn to tie your own. You'll want one-hook rigs for minnows and 2 hook rigs for worms. I prefer using ball bearing swivels when using crawler rigs so the crawler will spin. If you get down to fishing the Van Hook Arm of Lake Sakakawea it should be good all year. To eliminate the learning curve try fishing where other boats are to get a feel for the depths people are fishing.

I'm sure someone will chime up with Lake Darling tips.

Good luck.


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## angus 1 (Jan 14, 2007)

Thanks for the sight. I've read quite a bit of it. It's all new to me , just as if it were a different language , I'll certainly keep trying and asking questions. I don't even know the difference between some of these fish but i'm sure that will come in time also. I sure wish I would have learned how to do this sometime ago so I could have shown the kids how to do it but it may be fun to learn with them . I hope they don't get to discouraged with me. Sure beats the heck out of working all the time


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## nodakoutdoors.com (Feb 27, 2002)

Typically walleyes can be the most challenging fish, so patience and trial and error are part of the game. If you want to get the kids involved, tie up some spinnerbaits and hit up a good pike lake. That can be a real treat. I haven't had time to hit up some of the good pike lakes but I'm sure someone could PM you if they have some ideas.


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

Are you only interested in Walleye?


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## angus 1 (Jan 14, 2007)

I just want to catch a fish, I couldn't tell ya the difference between a northern or a walleye. I'd settle for a tiny sick look'n one as long as I caught something. I live on the Des Lacs River and we threw a minnow trap in and caught a few minnow's and got excited over that. I'm very serious I have NO clue when it comes to fishing. When my daughter spent here own $$ and bought me a boat it was time to start taking life serious. I cut my work load by half if not more. I took an inventory of my life and found work, money, the farm , my cattle didn't rank in the top 5 so why was I putting all of it 1st? I now spend a lot of time with my girls , who love to hunt and are trying to learn how to fish with me. I believe that if I don't take the time and spend it with my kids , when I get old they may not take the time for me . Any way sorry this got long, just wanted ya to know where I'm coming from .


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## Leo Porcello (Jul 10, 2003)

I know exactly where you are coming from. I sent you a PM!


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## njsimonson (Sep 24, 2002)

If you just want to catch fish, find a lake full of bluegills or bullheads, I guarantee you'll catch fish there! That's how I got started, Detroit Lakes for bluegills and the Sheyenne for bullheads as a kid.

You'll never get tired of it...ok maybe you will, someday, but for right now, it'd keep you entertained and get you introduced to fishing and help with the learning curve! All you really need is (I know I'm not saying this :lol: ) a red-and-white bobber, some splitshot and a hook with a nightcrawler. Hours of fun.


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## boondocks (Jan 27, 2006)

The best advice I can give you is to take some that knows how to catch fish with you. IMO you can read all the articles and watch all the videos you want and it will never compare to taking someone that knows what they are doing out on the water with you for a day. It will save you a ton of head ache. There are just to many little tricks a good fisherman can teach you that are never mentioned in an article. Knot tying, how to set your drag properly, what rod, what reel, what pound test line to be using just to name a few. These are things an article will over look.

Taking an experienced fisherman with you for a day is priceless. It really is. Think about it. You can learn his little tricks in one day that may have took him 30 years or better to figure out.

I remember when I first started coyote hunting. I hunted for a three months without even seeing a coyote until I took a good friend with that was an expereinced caller. After that I was seeing and shooting coyotes nearly every time I went out. It was the best thing I could have done. That one day with a good caller made that much of difference.


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## angus 1 (Jan 14, 2007)

Well just an up date for those who care. As the orginal post said we are learning to fish. What an experiance. My youngest daughter and I had a really good time fishing this summer. My wife and other two daughters even came out a few times, and even the neighbor's kid . Remember we had never done this before , none of us can swim and we are all scared of the water so there were a lot of good laughs going around . We only caught one northern all summer and some people say their is nothing wrong with that. We really got into the walleye's I didn't realize how good they are to eat!! There were many evenings I needed to be haying or checking cows but I'd come home from my job and find the daughter had already made sandwiches and had the cooler packed with soda's so we went fishing. It only takes 8 minutes to get from the garage to having the boat in the water!

Like I said there were many evenings I should have been doing other things. BUT I'm no further ahead or behind by taking time out and spending it with the kids. Thanks to all those on this site who helped make our first fishing season a success.


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## Tracker21 (Jul 9, 2007)

Hey man thats asome, thats what its realy all about! Having fun spending your time in a boat with the family.


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## Jmoses1 (Jul 30, 2007)

Sounds great bud! I have gotten my younger brother and a neighborhood kid into fishing for pike and muskie with me within the last year. Though it's not too fun to chase the monsters all day, so we started out with smallies. After that I took them to catch walleye. At first I was the one landing them, and then they caught a few of their own. But once I landed the first muskie they had ever seen during mid summer, (only 32 inches) they were all about the big fish. Now we head down to the local river where I've done very well on pike! Just glad to get the kids interested.


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## rowdie (Jan 19, 2005)

Warning.....fishing is ADDICTIVE!!!


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