One of the most favored past times of Americans is fishing. It has the power to redeem the great outdoors with a family affair and the bestowed benefit of providing excitement, tranquility and

eventually if you are lucky, nutrition for the table.

If you are a novice, before commencement there are a couple of things to keep in mind. For example, it is a good idea to check with your local authority fishing requirements. Some prerequisites are permits and licenses, and of course a knowledge of the minimum catch sizes and species permitted to be caught. An outstanding place to begin asking questions is your local sport fishing supply store. You should find the staff there knowledgeable in what you should look out for, plus they can ordinarily supply handouts from the government agencies as to

what they anticipate from anglers in their jurisdiction.

Novices need not outfit themselves with all the myriad of equipment that is available for fishing. But there is of course a bare lower

limit of bits and pieces you would want. How about a fishing line or fishing rod and reel worthy of the sort of fish that you will be hunting. What kind of bait will attract these fish is a inquiry you should ask the locals or fishing store staff.

Sinkers, hooks, decoys, nets, floats, tools such as pliers, knives, buckets.

The equipment in your fishing life can and will grow in quantity and quality the more you get into the sport. But for the novice the fundamentals are all that is necessary to get an appreciation for this wonderful recreational activity.

So where to begin? What about some practice with that shiny new rod and reel. You may be a little reticent to show off your lack of skills at this stage, so some practice casting in your back yard would help establish

assurance in your ability to execute the action. You will gain the skill of casting faster than you can imagine within just a couple of short sessions of casting that sinker at a target.

Now you know how to cast, and your confidence is high you will be keen to go to a location where the fish are. And that is the next challenge. Think of it this way. You spend time and money

studying how to fish and where the fish are inclined to bite, why then would you give that valuable data away to some wet behind the ears

newbie who will more than likely frighten the fish away or simply compete for the available stock in your preferred

spots. So if you actually wish to know where the fish are you will have to find them for yourself, and Ill bet you will keep

that information for yourself.

A clever thing to do would be to center on a certain type of fishing or target a species of fish you would wish to catch and then absorb and apply this as much as possible. Your success rate would be heightened this way.

Finally, when all is said and done the sport of fishing can be an exhilarating past time with the rush of the hunt partnered with the excitement of hooking that prey there is another component attached that some find much more

pleasing, the sensing of being at one with nature and taking the time to allow the atmosphere to permeate, see the current of air drawing patterns on the waters surface, taking heed to the auditory sensation of water, that feeling of being alive. Successful fishing.