When thinking of what to get my dad for christmas, I remember during the summer him saying something to the effect of how he'd love to (or learn how to)go fishing sometime. I'd like to get him one so he can learn a new hobby (he's also retiring this year so this might give him a little something to look forward to as well).I know absolutely nothing about fishing and fishing poles. Any advice will help and links to retailers will be much appreciated. Thanks
If there is a Gander Mountain or Cabelas near you go to one and they should be able to steer you in the right direction. A lot depends on the type of fish he wants to go after and if it is fresh or salt water or lake stream river or ocean.
u sure he's your dad?
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Usually if you'd love to learn something as simple as fishing it gets done before retirement. Better start with the simple cane pole.
I would go with something with a medium action for a good all purpose rod. Medium action just means that it's middle of the road as far as how much the rod bends. As for a reel I would go with an open faced spinning reel, but that my preference. They're easier to learn than a baitcaster (I think).
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What kind of water is near you? This is absolutely key to figuring out what to get him. Vastly different gear for fishing for bass in farm ponds vs. bonefish in the Florida Keys vs. Salmon in the Northwest.
You will also have to decide if he is interested in spin fishing or fly fishing. I would probably advise if he is at the age of retirement and has never fished before that he should start with spin fishing. There is a much cheaper cost of entry if he doesn't like it. I personally prefer fly fishing for trout.
Thanks everyone for the advice so far.
He lives in VA, I live in CA, but we usually go to NC and SC every summer. He brought it up while we were in Wilmington last summer. So I guess we are looking at fishing in those 4 states but primarily in VA and NC.
Go shopping with him for the rod have lunch and catch up.....
better yet take your Dad to the nearest pond, get a couple of pieces of line. Tie a couple of bent safety pins to them and bait with a wad of compressed Wonder Bread-sit and chat with your old man for a couple of hours-repeat weekly or as often as you can.
Where in Virginia, NC, SC? If you are talking about the mountains of Virginia there is a good bit of trout fishing. There used to be good smallmouth fishing but many of our watersheds have experienced large fish kills in the last couple of years. Trout and smallmouth are available in Western NC. Don't think there are many in SC anywhere, but I'm not sure. If you are going farther east than you will be fishing more lakes, ponds, and possibly ocean. All of that can be fun, but again there are different requirements. I love going striper fishing but that requires a boat, which you don't say if he has or not.
I think it is a great gift. Fishing is a great activity to share with your Father. It is also very reasonable cost-wise to get started once you focus in on the kind of water and fish you are interested in. If you tell me where in VA I can probably give you some specific places to buy equipment.
Aside from eating my goddamn oatmeal, I'm also an avid fisherman.
You could get a great setup to start for about 100 bucks.
The medium action rod with spinning reel as mentioned is a good all purpose beginning.
as are the Loomis rods, though they can get pricey.
These names you can trust: Ugly stick, St Croix, Penn, Loomis, Shimano most of the time
Thought this might be appropriate...
A young guy from Wisconsin moves to Florida and goes to a big "everything under one roof" department store looking for a job.
The Manager says, "Do you have any sales experience?"
The kid says "Yeah. I was a salesman back in Wisconsin "
Well, the boss liked the kid and gave him the job.
"You start tomorrow. I'll come down after we close and see how you did."
His first day on the job was rough, but he got through it. After the store was locked up, the boss came down.
"How many customers bought something from you today?
The kid says "one".
The boss says "Just one? Our sales people average 20 to 30 customers a day. How much was the sale for ?"
The kid says "$101,237.65".
The boss says "$101,237.65? What the heck did you sell?"
The kid says, "First, I sold him a small fish hook. Then I sold him a medium fishhook. Then I sold him a larger fishhook. Then I sold him a new fishing rod.
Then I asked him where he was going fishing and he said down the coast, so I told him he was going to need a boat, so we went down to the boat department and I sold him a twin engine Chris Craft.
Then he said he didn't think his Honda Civic would pull it, so I took him down to the automotive department and sold him that 4x4 Expedition."
The boss said "A guy came in here to buy a fish hook and you sold him a BOAT and a TRUCK?"
The kid said "No, the guy came in here to buy Tampons for his wife, and I said, 'Dude, your weekend's shot, you should go fishing...
