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The Purple Guide to Learning Fishing in 10 Days
A no-nonsense 10-day plan to get you from never-held-a-rod to catching (or at least hooking) your first fish — and knowing if this hobby is for you.
by Alumigogo Books
Chapter 1: First Day
Welcome to day one. Let's be honest about what this is and what it isn't is not. This is not the day you catch a fish. It's not even the day you go to the water. Today is the day you pick up a fishing rod for the first time, get a feel for what it weighs in your hands, and make a few clumsy attempts at something called casting. That might sound underwhelming, but it's the most important day of the whole ten-day plan. If you get comfortable with the tool before you add the complexity of water and fish, everything else gets easier.
When I say "fishing rod," I mean the basic setup you'll be using all week: a spinning rod and reel. This is the kind your grandpa probably used, and it's also the kind you see in every beginner guide, because it's the easiest to learn on. The rod is the long, flexible stick. It's typically around six to seven feet long. The reel is the spool of line that hangs underneath it, closer to the handle. There's a small metal loop called the bail that flips up and down, and a trigger-like piece called the line roller. You don't need to memorize these names yet. You just need to know that the line comes off the spool, goes through a series of small rings along the length of the rod, and comes out the tip. That's your whole delivery system.
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