You're Hooked on Fishing

When you go outing with your family and you catch yourself packing a fishing pole and bait that is a sure sign that you are hooked on fishing. The good news is that there are no 12 step programs for this addiction only one step program, acceptance. After you reach this step there are many helpful tools out there to make your outings more worthy of bragging to your support group (Fellow fishing addicts). Many of these tools are free. It is a rather cheap addiction.
Let’s start first by discussing the ever important pole that you will need to pick out. An ultra light rod is great for trout or the ever abundant brim. However I would not hit the rivers in search of catfish with this rod. If you do, you will find yourself going home with broken dreams and a broken rod. For this kind of the river I would go with a medium heavy duty to a heavy duty rod. They are more substantial and able to withstand the pull of the current and the fight of a heavy and well muscled fish on the end of it. If small mouths are what gets your motor running then you will want a medium pole. They give a good fight and this pole will make it lots of fun to reel them in without missing the bite all together like you would on a larger pole. You also want to think about the type of water you will be in. The stronger the current the longer the rod is a good rule of thumb.
Live bait is great; however you should be careful since some live bait can harm your favorite fishing spot if it is not native to the water source you are fishing. Also live bait does not do well in your tackle box in the trunk for weeks. So I would find an alternative to keep in your tackle box long term. Lures and rubber worms do well so does stink bait. Do not give up on the live bait though. It is a great thing to have in your arsenal for a well planned fishing trip; however, your more durable baits that stay in your tackle box are great for the unexpected fishing fixes on the fly.
On a side note … you may be content to fish from shore during these “addiction attacks”, but for those who really need to get out on the water, there’s always the handy dandy inflatable fishing boat that can be easily stored in your car trunk and inflates via foot pump in less than ten minutes or the “porta-bote” that is easy to assemble within a few minutes.