Liberty Blog: Fishing Tips from Larry the Liberty Lake Fishing Guy

There's nothing like catching a fish on your FIRST DAY OF CAMP!

Greetings From the Fishing Dock!

Fishing at LLDC 2012 was a great success and will always be a cherished time in my life. I saw kids who knew nothing about fishing grow to the point that they baited their own hooks, could identify the fish they caught, and became able to remove the hook safely to put the fish back for another day. As we adjust to our post-camp schedule in my home, my son and I spend some great moments together reflecting on the great times we had at LLDC this past summer. Those moments will remain as wonderful memories, and the friends that we made will last a lifetime!

In the 10 weeks of Camp this Summer, Liberty Lake Campers caught a record number of fish: 1,542.

In these numbers we had over 200 fish that weighed 3 lbs. or greater, including a 3 ½ lb. Large Mouth Bass and a 7 ½ lb. Brown Bullhead Catfish. Check out all the pictures in your CampMinder Photo Album, and on the Facebook Fanpage!

I know that some parents have fished before, but many have not. Fishing is an affordable activity and is a great way to spend time with the kids and see what they learned at Liberty Lake. I have put together some tips below for those parents that would also like to learn the art of fishing.

Even 6 year olds can have lots of success when fishing!

Fishing Made Easy

The very first thing you need to freshwater fish is the proper equipment. A rod & reel, hooks, sinkers and floats will give you a great beginning. You also may want to get a tackle box to place your items in. These items can be found at your local sporting goods store or even Wal-Mart, however I have used the BassPro site for showing you examples of the items I use at camp. There are some additional items that I will also recommend for your tackle box.

Rod & Reel- There are a variety of rods and reels available. The best way to begin is to get a simple “Spin Casting” combo set. I recommend the Spin Casting reel as it is the simplest to learn with. Here are some great beginner combo sets. You can get a set that comes with some tackle but the tackle that I will recommend will be slightly different and easier to use.
Hooks- As with all fishing equipment, there is always a wide variety of everything. The hooks I recommend are easy to use and also easy to remove. They are also good to use to catch any type of freshwater fish. The “Bait Holder” type hook is very easy to use and a “size 6” is good for both large and small fish.
Sinkers- I like to use sinkers that can be re-used very easily, help me with casting and keep by bobber steady in the water. I use a “Split Shot #5”. It can be attached or taken off with the use of a pair of needle nose pliers and they last a long time.
Bobbers/Floats- Once again, a number of choices and again I go with simple. I use the Weighted Round Foam Floats as they last a little longer than plastic and the colors are real easy to see. I have chosen the 1 ¼ “ as it works for all type of fishing and weather.
Tackle Box- I have a tackle box the size of a small trunk. However, I have collected a great number of fishing items over the years. When starting out, you want some room to collect but not too big. Here is a box that will allow you to grow and last a long time.

The following are some extra items that I have in my tackle box to make fishing easy.

Boys, Girls, Athletes, Non-Athletes- All love Fishing!

Pliers- These are good to have for cutting line, use with sinkers as well as removing hooks.
Fish Holder- Catfish have three spines (one on each side and one on the top) that are very sharp. They are not hard to hold but I like to use this tool.
Old Rags or rubber gloves- For those who are not quite comfortable holding fish or worms, these are good to have. I have shop towels and these gloves that I bought at Home Depot. I keep my towels washed so that they can be re-used and are clean. Good Gloves, and Towels-

Now, how do we use all these items? Once again, easy is better! Here are some sites that will guide you along your way.

Tying Hooks- I use a very simple knot at camp. It is called a “Clinch Knot”. Here are the instructions.
Here is a great site that will help you with tying a wide variety of different hooks. The site is animated so you can watch and learn. The knot I recommend learning here is the “Snell Knot”.
Fun to Fish- What a great site. Just about everything you want to know is here.
Teaching Kids to Fish- This site is great for kids and adults to learn all the basics.