Pontoon Boat & Deck Boat Forum

I'm honestly embarrassed putting this out here, but I'm sure the advice from many will help us out and thus make the embarrassment well worth it .

My wife and I (in our early 60's) have never fished so everything is new to us. The pontoon boat is our first ever boat last year and this is going good so far. Here is some info that may help you guide us to get a good start. We will be fishing on the Richelieu River here in Richelieu, Quebec, (Canada). AFAIK there are bass and perch for sure. My wife is only interested in fishing from a 21-foot fishing pontoon boat we got last year. She's not interested in trolling, just sitting on the boat and fishing from it. Fine by me!

Now, to some questions:

(1) what type of rod, reel and line-test do we need;
(2) what fishing accessories do we need (rigs, hooks, leaders, weights, etc.)
(3) what else should we have with us (knife, pliers, net, etc.)
(4) what about bait (worms, minnows, etc). What should we use?
(5) fishing knots. Are there a few basic ones we need to know? I'm sure there are.
(6) we plan on NOT keeping anything we catch. It's just for the fun of it.

There may be a lot more we need to know and get, but just to get us ready for a minimum basic start would be good.

Thanks for any help/suggestions you have for us.

Garry

First off Kudo's to you and the Mrs for taking on a new way to enjoy your boat.
I am so far from you geographically I know you will get better info from someone more local but I will say keep it simple and for me and my wife we enjoy being out there and catching is secondary-
Personally I have spent an obscene amout of money for gear, electronics, etc and there are still some days that I get skunked-try not to get discouraged.
One thing that will shorten the learning curve tremendously is to hire a guide that has a toon and targets the fish you are interested in.
This accomplishes two things-
First off you will catch fish and see the possibilities of the fishing on the waters you are interested in-
Second with most guides the amout of correct information you can get in a one day trip can SAVE you money in the long run by not making poor buying choices.
Let us know how it goes, I know I always like to see fishing reports.
Good luck!

I forgot to add that most guides offer an "instructional trip" That would be a good investment.

steveiam wrote:I forgot to add that most guides offer an "instructional trip"
That would be a good inveatmen.

This is the best advice a person could give. I totally agree! I fished walleye for 10 years on my chain with minimal success. I hired a guide one day and literally after that, my catch count (and fun) increased 10 fold!

It's well worth the investment. The key is to find a guide that comes with a proven track record.

The most important aspect of a guide in cases like this is teaching you how to fish rather than where they are. He or she can get you dialed in on the correct equip as well.

The only suggestions I would have, in most cases for people of retirement age, you want to rig a little heavier than maybe, say, an 18 year old would. In other words, instead of getting a light action rod for bass fishing, maybe you would want to skew medium action. (As well as going a little heavier on the line) Again, this is something you could get help with. Good luck!

As already said invest in a guide to go with you in your boat (not theirs) and let them teach you the local techniques.

Remember 20% of anglers catch 80% of the fish...

...because, they know...

...80% of the fish live in 20% of the water.

I'm convinced that if you can find where the fish are holding you can catch them a dozen different ways.

Ron Burgundy wrote:As already said invest in a guide to go with you in your boat (not theirs) and let them teach you the local techniques.

Remember 20% of anglers catch 80% of the fish...

...because, they know...

...80% of the fish live in 20% of the water.

I'm convinced that if you can find where the fish are holding you can catch them a dozen different ways.

Excellent advise Ron---
If you do get the guide to take you in your boat, he can help you understand the your own fishfinder better also.
We have an excellent catfish guide here in Dallas area that guides an instructional trip at a discount in your boat, that way you will learn in similar conditions that you will be in when you go on your own.
This works good for some.

Thank you all for for the good advice thus far. The fishing guide is a good idea, and as a matter-of-fact my auto mechanic, who I've been going to for a very long time, is on the same river not too far from my marina (that he referred me to) and he is an avid fisherman who fishes from, you guessed it, a pontoon!!! I bet ya he'd gladly come out to fish with me and my wife if we use my pontoon.

Just have to get some equipment now!

Again, thanks to all.

Garry

Gotta love this place!

curtiscapk wrote:Gotta love this place!

+1

Having been in exactly your shoes two years ago, we can empathize with your question.

The first thing I learned which was a big revelation: You use different tackle, bait etc for different kinds of fish. I had assumed you just put your hook in the water and found out what you were fishing for when something got hooked. Hah!

Everyone else's advice to hire a guide is excellent. We're been out with a catfish guy here locally and learned a lot. We also hired a guide on another lake who specializes in stripers. Be sure and tell them at the outset that you don't know anything and you're going out to learn as much to catch.

As a word of encouragement, our fishing success has vastly improved during the past year after reading, going with guides and picking the brains of the other folks at our marina. Also, "In-fisherman" has good printed material, dvd's and a program on cable which are more instructive than most fishing shows. Too many of the shows are very disheartening as they make it appear that they catch huge fish at will.

Keep after it.

Oh, yes. One other piece of advice, sell all your valuables and establish a good line of credit as there is an endless supply of stuff you can buy and you will find you desperately need as time goes by. Then pray that your heirs don't sell it off for what you told them you paid for it.

A word of warning:

You have embarked on a journey that will change your very personality. This will become your mantra:

"I fish, therefore I lie."

BobG wrote:A word of warning:

You have embarked on a journey that will change your very personality. This will become your mantra:

"I fish, therefore I lie."

Well said by a true fisherman.

Ask around your marina for a good guide that will offer instructional fishing trips. Having your buddy go with you to learn the basics of casting, how to hold a rod, and most importantly, what to do when a fish bites, will be a big help when you go on your guide trip.
Even the pros get skunked once in a while. That's why they call it "Fishing" and not "Catching"!
Good luck and tell us some lies.......

BobG wrote:A word of warning:

You have embarked on a journey that will change your very personality. This will become your mantra:

"I fish, therefore I lie."

LOL, hahaha.