Fishing Basics

In my position I have taught a variety of fishing classes and workshops.  Those classes have ranged from introductory levels for folks who barely know which end of the rod to hold, to hard-core anglers who have spent literally thousands of hours on the water.  One of the things I love about fishing is the learning process.  It is never-ending, you can always learn more about the fish and how to catch them.  That is a huge reason I never tire of it, I wish I was fishing right now!

The volumes of fishing knowledge, books, articles, videos, pod-casts, classes, and yes, even blogs can be overwhelming to those getting started.  Many of us had dads, uncles, and granddads as mentors, believe me, that is the best way to get started, but not everyone has that luxury.

I would tell anyone to immerse yourself in as much fishing information as possible, read it all, listen and watch it all.  I do not care if it pertains to the exact fishing you do, you can still learn something from it.

But, where do you go to get started?  I have looked at The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Fishing Basics and Fishing for Dummies.  I hate the titles, but they can be useful introductory texts, and I have used them in basic fishing classes.  Unfortunately, those 300-some page books are good, but again a little too much, a little overwhelming.

So, I am writing this blog because I now know of something better!

Our Aquatic Education Program staff here at the Nebraska Game & Parks Commission has developed our own basic fishing handbook, Going Fishing.

Follow the links, take some time to page through the booklet.  It is thorough, but not overwhelming.  Here is an example of a couple of pages:

Of course the booklet just covers the basics.  There is more, so much more, but the contents are enough to give anyone a good start, a basis, fundamentals, that they can build upon.  Once you get started, who knows how far you might go?!

If you have questions, just ask!