Getting Started

[southpaw24]

Hi everyone, Im new here and just had a few questions for everyone.... My girlfriend and I just moved up to Sioux Lookout in northern Ontario and want to get into ice fishing as well as fishing when the lakes open up. Now I've always been just a hunter and the last time I went fishing was probably about 8 years ago just catching minnows in the creek near my farm.

 

I was wondering if you fine folk would be able to help me out with what would be some good gear to get started with?

 

Also I know you need a fishing liscence but do you need an out of doors card as well?

 

Thanks in advance,

 

Southpaw24

[GBW]

Welcome to the site.

When you get your license you need to get an out of doors card as well. The card is good for 3-years. I would just get your license for 3-years now before you have to pay HST on it...

What are you fishing for? This will help in the replies you will get too.

[southpaw24]

In the lakes around here there are walleye, muskie, small mouth bass, northern pike and lake trout are the dominant species... and really we dont care which one we go for I was thinking of starting off with going for Bass to start off for my girlfriend just because of the smaller size.

 

Also which fish of the ones I listed are the better tasting in your opinions?

[GBW]

Walleye and trout taste best to me but I've never had pike.

I would go to your local tackle shop and have a talk with them about the best gear for your area and budget.

I would start with a spinning rod (med. heavy) and reel to get you both going. Then move up to bigger gear as you go for bigger fish. 10 or 20 LB braided line too.

[bigfish1965]

I was thinking of starting off with going for Bass to start off for my girlfriend just because of the smaller size.

 

Also which fish of the ones I listed are the better tasting in your opinions?

 

Hmm..maybe get a bigger girlfriend so you have more fishing options

 

Start off with a simple but strong combo rod/reel from CTC or your local tackle shop. Pick up some spinner baits, a few Rapalas and some decent jigs and Power Bait grubs. Using a decent line like PowerPro will help cut down on lost fish.

[basketclam]

Welcome Southpaw,

 

I'm not as seasoned an ice fishing angler as many here, so I'll leave that up to someone else.

 

For open water, as GBW suggested, a spinning rod is probably where you want to start. Simple to operate and maintain. A medium weight rod is likely going to suffice for now. Buy a rod and reel combo, or talk to someone at a tackle shop to advise you on which rods and reels will suit each other.

 

I'd suggest that you start with targetting the the more common and easy to access species - walleye, smallmouth and pike. Early success will make your time more enjoyable and make your investment seem more worthwhile. To that end, everybody on here will have their favourite baits and lures, and I'm sure you'd find people willing to fist fight to get their opinions across. Once again, the local tackle shop can probably help you out. As with the rod and reel selection, keep it simple for now. Get some crank baits, jigs and something you can hook a worm onto. Do some internet research (you'll find great info in old posts here) on different presentations, but experiment and ... you guessed it ... keep it simple for now - cast and troll (presuming you have access to a boat) to see what works.

 

Hope this helps.

[Hud]

I go on a trip every year about half an hour from S Lookout. Like stated get a spinning rod and and some jig heads, throw on a minnow and there you go. Pike you can use spoons on a leader but for walleye and small mouth I only use a jig head and minnow. pretty easy and has never let me down

good luck and welcome to the baord

[archie_james_c]

For walleye, bass, pike and smaller lakers you can't go wrong with a 6'6" Medium Action rod and a 2500 size reel. Canadian Tire sells an excellent little Shimano rod called the Soujourn. Its green with a cork handle. Great little rod for 40$ I use one as my canoe rod. If you want to step up to a little higher end with a longer warranty you can go to a St.Croix Triumph (70$) or a higher end Shimano, but these likely won't be available at Cambodian Tire.

 

For a reel a Shimano Sedona or Daiwa Regal XiA either in 2500 or 3000 size and spool it with some Power Pro braid or even Trilene XL just to get you started.

 

Grab a couple 1/3 and 2/5 ounce Acme Little Cleo's in blue/silver and Rainbow Trout, a Rapala Xrap in Clown colour, Rapala Original Floating minnow in Gold/Orange, some White and Yellow jigheads, and an assortment of single and treble hooks, sinkers, bobbers and snap swivels.

 

This may sound like Japanese right now, but if you do a little googling you'll see what these products are .

[JohnF]

It's easy for all of us to give you advice based on our personal preferences. Some of it will even be good.

 

But I think what you really should do is find someone who lives there and who knows what they're talking about to help you figure out what to target and what equipment to buy based on your budget etc. Drag him out to the fishing store and listen to him (or her) and the shop guy and buy the best you can afford based on what they suggest. Then take yer buddy out for a few beers as a reward.

 

Don't buy too cheap. You'll regret it. You'll throw it on the shelf right away and buy better or you'll get frustrated and give up fishing. That doesn't mean you need to break the bank. I think you can get an acceptable spinning rod setup for under $100 - $125 with two full spools of line (6-8 # mono and 15 # braid) if you shop a bit. Make sure the rod has backbone and isn't rock heavy. Don't start with ultralite. You'll figure out if that's what you want later. Get a middle of the road sized reel like a 2500 series and stick to brand names like Shimano, Quantum, etc. Attach the reel to the rod in the store and try the balance - see if it feels good in your hand. As has been said 6 1/2 - 7' Med - Med Heavy rod.

 

Personally my favourite creek smallmouth rod is a 5 1/2' ML with a small Quantum Energy reel but when I lost it I went larger and longer for the versatility. My wife really liked that one for the size, weight and how easy it was to handle.

 

I'm no expert as any here who've fished with me will attest but I'm learning what I like in gear.

 

Have fun.

 

JF

[Blue Lk]

You have just moved to an area with some of the best walleye fishing available anywhere,good trout area as well,talk to the locals,most northerners are avid fishermen.I know I live in the north as well.

You are close to Lac Seul & there are countless other lakes in the area.

Before too long you will be posting pics to make most people green with envy.Good luck & enjoy.

[southpaw24]

Thanks guys for all the help, Like I said I'm just really getting into fishing and since theres not much for baseball up here I'm going to have a lot of time on my hands. Im trying to learn as much as I can so I dont really come off as a goof when I go into a store or am talking to other people. I dont know if its against the forum rules but if you guys have any other helpful sites that might help me out a bit, I'd be extremely thankful.

 

I am happy I found this site thought, so much knowledge and fun on here

[limeyangler]

Hey Southpaw,

 

Welcome to the site and welcome to NWO.

 

I moved to Dryden 3 years ago....i moved because of fishing....lol. Its truly awesome up here. For winter....get a power auger.....a fishfinder....a walmart combo and some jigs and minnows......you can literally catch all the fish species available with that set up....maybe changing jig colour and size and minnow size depending on what fish species you are going for and how you see the fish react to your bait on the fishfinder.

 

For summer....pretty much the same minus the auger and change up to a 6'6" spin combo from walmart or wherever. Do you have a boat? If so i recomend a Lowrance X67c as a starter fishfinder as you can use it on the ice and on your boat.....even if you dont have a boat i recomend it for the winter on the ice.

 

You are in fishing heaven up there on Lac Seul.....should take you all of 1 day to land a pig walleye.

 

I'm sure he would not mind..but give OFC member benbeattie a PM for more advice....he's based up in your area and sure he would not mind helping you out with more info on how and where to get started....he has helped me lots and even taken me out fishing.

 

As for other websites.......for summer fishing this is the place to be....its even the place to be for winter too.....HOWEVER.....i do also like a website dedicated to ice fishing.....i've sent you a PM with the web address.

 

Anyway...welcome to your new addiction! Feel free to PM me anytime....and given you are on Lac Seul i will accept your invitation in advance to come up and fish there with you...it takes me just over an hour to get there....lol.......

 

 

All the best

 

Simon.