Minimal Tackle
I’m an engineer. I appreciate minimal and I want to understand each piece of equipment and why it’s necessary. When I resumed fishing as an adult, I decided to buy a tackle box with tackle included. If success was measured by hours spent fishing, the tackle box was a success. To this day I haven’t tried all the tackle, some tackle I learned not to use and have gone on to purchase tackle that wasn’t included.
This is the guide I wish I had had to assemble a minimal, but effective tackle for stocked lake trout and sunfish (like pumpkinseed).
- Rod and Reel I’ve always used a 6’ 6" medium rod and spin reel combo. My current favorite is a telescoping carbon fiber rod and spin reel combo from KastKing. It’s inexpensive, lightweight and compact. I did break it trying pull a rig free from a tree (carbon fiber can be more brittle than fiberglass), but liked it enough to replace.
- Main Line I’ve switched to using a 10 lb. braided main line because it’s more sensitive and won’t stretch compared to floroucarbon (what I started with). Color-wise, I favor bright yellow for visibility.
- Bobber Stop I prefer Thill knotted bobber stops because they can be used with any main line thickness (rubber bobber stops come in multiple sizes for gripping different line thicknesses)
- Slip Bobber I favor slip bobbers over fixed bobbers (think neon yellow foam or red and white plastic) so I can adjust the bait depth. If I’m casting from shore, I like to pair a 15 gram floatage a 1/4 ounce weight so I can cast a reasonable distance. You might consider downsizing by half if you’ll typically fish from a boat or dock. Conventional wisdom says to use a smaller bobber and weight for panfish, but I’ve found that hungry fish is a hungry fish and even small fish can be quite persistent.
- Bullet Weight I really like tungsten - it’s spendy compared to steel and lead, but denser (think smaller and less splash). As mentioned above, I prefer a 1/4 ounce weight when casting from shore. If you downsize the weight or slip bobber, make sure to downsize both.
- Bead A simple 8 mm red fishing bead to keep the weight from hitting the knot.
- Barrel Swivel I use the smallest swivel I can find (typically rated 20 - 30 pounds) and use a uni knot for the main line and leader line connections.
- Leader Line This is where you want floroucarbon so a fish can’t see it. I use floroucarbon coated, 8 pound rated test line.
- Hook I like a 10 size hook because it offers a nice compromise between small for power egg, but large enough for a worm (or piece of a large nightcrawler) - both trout and panfish seem to do fine with this size. I prefer a snell knot for connecting the leader line to a hook (but you can start with a uni knot here too). Octopous style hooks work well, but I’m currently testing a circle hook to see if I can decrease the number of gut hooks. I normally fish for keeps (I eat them), but gut hooks are a pain to get out and make it hard to release smaller fish.
- Case I don’t like tackle boxes because they’re hard to clean. I favor Plano or similar cases with adjustable spaces. You can find carrying bags/cases for common case sizes.
- Scissors I find scissors easier to use than a knife for cutting line and gills (more on this later). My go to is a cheap pair of 5-inch Fiskar Kids scissors.
- Bait Worms work really well as a bait. Try wacky rigging red worms or a piece of a large nightcrawler. Berkley PowerEggs also work for stocked trout - I’d suggest trying a few different colors like chartreuse, orange and pink.
- Cooler with Ice I like to kill (hit on the head) and bleed (cut the gills) what I catch and then keep it nice and fresh in a cooler. You don’t want to eat fish that sits in a bucket or on a stringer and slowly dies - especially if the water near shore is warm.
I keep two poles rigged - one with a slip bobber and one without (this is known as a Carolina Rig without the bobber). But if you’re new to fishing, I would recommend starting with a single pole. Once you become proficient with a uni knot, it’s not a big deal to add or remove the slip bobber (I keep the bobber stop on the line - it just goes unused) to fish at a fixed depth or off the bottom, respectively.
I hope you find this minimal list useful. There’s no shortage of techniques and tackle to buy and try. Here are some additional ideas to build on this list:
- Additional baits: pink worms and mouse tails
- Alternatives to baits: spinners and rooster tails
- Flies: a casting bubble and dry or wet flies