Basic Fishing: A Beginner's Guide

by Wade Bourne

A great beginner’s guide for new fishermen and those who want to learn to fish for fun, with advice on tackle, bait, boats, accessories, and more.New to fishing and have no idea how to start? With Basic Fishing, you’ll be an accomplished angler in no time at all. Expert angler and award-winning outdoor writer Wade Bourne was taught to fish by his father. In turn, Bourne taught his children how to fish. Now he brings his expertise to Basic Fishing, a step-by-step guide that masterfully breaks down the art of fishing with diagrams, vivid photographs, and lessons. You'll learn all to catch fish—guaranteed!Different types of fishing equipmentHow to select bait, lures, and tackleWhere and how to find good fishing spotsBoats, boat accessories, and motors Methods for cooking and cleaning fishIncreasing your fishing skillsFishing safetyAnd more!This book is great for families looking to bond in the great outdoors, and it proves that the joy of fishing can last a lifetime and beyond as it is passed down from generation to generation.Skyhorse Publishing is proud to publish a broad range of books for fishermen. Our books for anglers include titles that focus on fly fishing, bait fishing, fly-casting, spin casting, deep sea fishing, and surf fishing. Our books offer both practical advice on tackle, techniques, knots, and more, as well as lyrical prose on fishing for bass, trout, salmon, crappie, baitfish, catfish, and more.

Genres: Sports, Outdoors, Nature, Ebooks

161 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 25, 2011

Reviews

[Max Wolffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never learned to fish as a kid, of the several beginning fishing books I picked up, this was far and away the best. Extremely approachable, starts with understanding the fish, then expands to basic rigs and the bare minimum you need to catch fish on the water. Highly recommend for folks new to fishing as an adult.

[Brian Simpson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly for the beginner's

a good book that covers all aspects needed to start fishing correctly. I only wish it covered more on how to set-up rod/reels and the attaching of different lures.

[Trent Adams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I chose five stars because this is the best fishing book i have read out of 3. If you like fishing, you should definetly read this book. There is something to learn in here on every page. Every thing from how to rig baits, how to cast nets, how to spool a reel, and even where to fish. I loved this book. One of my favorite parts of this book was when it tells about crankbaits. It tells how they work, how to cast them, and how to catch fish on them.

[Phillip E Maynard · Rating 5 out of 5]

A lot of great info.

I've been fishing for years, but I thought I would read this book to gain some pointers on teaching my kids some different fishing techniques. Well, not only did this book provide that, but I learned a lot of new stuff myself. I was surprised at how much great info is covered. I would recommend this to any angler, whether they're a beginner or an experienced one.

[Tububa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's always a little depressing when you hit a part of the book that the editor didn't make it to, judging by the pile-up of typos and unfinished sentences with missing punctuation marks. This starts happening about three chapters from the end in this book.

It was a fine, opinionated review of basic fishing, mostly freshwater. I enjoyed the opinionated part. At some point, after reviewing various fishing rods and types of reels, the author goes back and forth on how complex it all is and how everything has a place, and I started losing heart. But then he actually comes out with a clear recommendation: get a 6' spincast reel, then get a spinning one. He also says some things several times so they really sink in, like "look for structure".

But parts of the book are not well organized, and I had to flip back and forth due to how the information was presented. Some things were mentioned before they were explained, and other things didn't become important until many chapters later. For example, I don't think the kinds-of-fish chapter needed to happen that early in the book. But I can see how, when introducing a complex area where there is lots of specialized knowledge and lore to convey, it would be difficult to know how to arrange the information more usefully.

What I wish the book had done is cross-reference chapters more explicitly, and in particular anticipate the information that would come later. For example, it would have been nice to allude to the section toward the end of the book on how to remove fish hooks embedded in skin at the point where fish hooks are first mentioned. As in, "here's the rundown on fish hooks. And by the way, you're likely to stab yourself with one at some point, so make sure to check out chapter 9 (or whatever) on removing them."

Also, and I think this goes without saying--this being a basic book, it does not explain many things, but the point of this kind of book is not to explain everything but to make you aware of things you need to learn more about. For example, I went and watched some Youtube videos (of course!) on how to put line onto a spinning reel. The book doesn't explain how to do this, but without the book, I wouldn't have known to look for a spinning reel in the first place, so I wouldn't have known to ask that particular question.

[J. T. K. Tobin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wade was clearly an experienced fisherman. Unfortunately, that meant that some of the chapters were too advanced or verbose on certain matters. There were a couple of chapters that were really useful, but as a whole the book aims both too high and too low without ever reaching the middle or the intended audience of an angler just starting out.

To highlight the problems, the beginning of the book suggests that you are guaranteed to catch a fish after reading this book. But somewhere in the middle of the book he says there is no guarantee of catching one.

As someone interested in learning more about fishing, I was particularly interested in decoding some of the fishing language that has become ubiquitous to the experienced fisherman. I only got some of that.

All that said, it seems that Wade was an absolutely amazing person, tv host, and fisherman.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought this was a well-written, easily accessible and thorough book for beginning anglers. When I was a kid, my brother and I would ride our bikes to the nearby lake. We fished the one way we knew, and we cooked up our lunch. In a desire to return to this time as a now middle-aged woman, I picked up this book. It taught me so much more to fishing. I can't wait to get back.

[Eric Coleman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good overall. A bit basic, but well, it's right there in the name. I've been into bass fishing this summer and this didn't have a lot to add to what I already knew about bass, but it was a good overview to pique my interest in other areas. Also good pointers on approaching new bodies of water, rigging for various fish, etc. Quick read and worthwhile if you're a new angler.

[Jose Dominici · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book on basic fishing

First book I read about fishing it Covered all the basics about fishing. topics you can go back and review. Easy read it does not get technical or advanced.

[Wayne Langevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good Read

Good information . Great for someone starting out. Great suggestions on the maps.
Easy read for all ages, great for kids.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for a beginner. very basic but useful knowledge.

[Marsha Nuckels · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hopefully I will catch something this summer! Very informative book.

[Page T Shanklin Sr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good beginning angler book

Basic knowledge good book to have on hand while.fishing or just to get ready to go fishing I new areas

[Thebookiemonster · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had useful information conveyed in a friendly and relatable way. But, the organization was bad and many of the explanations of rigs were useless without diagrams.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great! Very easy to read and understand for someone who doesn’t have any prior knowledge about fishing. I’m excited to get out there and fish.

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book if your an out doors man like my self. This book covers very aspect of fishing from salt water to fresh water. It don't just cover how to fish what to fish it shows how that you should position your body so that your shadow will not be cast into to the water. It also covers what kind of fish are in the nc region mainly a few others. It covers from your rod and reel to fly fishing it's is a great book and liked reading it.it helped me a lot with my fishing good luck to you

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

quick read--solid information to get started in fishing. I'm going to have my 8 year old daughter read it to gain more confidence and understanding of fish habits and habitats for when we go fishing.

[Reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am now an expert on fishing theory. The stories and anecdotes made this an enjoyable read, and I recommend any beginner fisherman obtain a physical copy to keep in their tackle box. Highly informative.

[Lori-Jean Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative

Very informative

Chose this rating because it was clear, well written with colored pictures and clear instructions on knott tying etc.
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[T.L. Blankenburg · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Advice

The author covers all the major topics and gives the reader good detail without getting bogged down. A fun read.