While buying a pre-packaged fishing set is convenient, not all sets are suitable for your local fishing conditions. Moreover, some commercial sets have a lot of “fluff” (low-quality items), so buying individual components (“scattered”) might actually save you a lot of money. Therefore, today we will discuss how a beginner should choose their equipment based on the basic combination of “Rod, Line, Hook, Bait, and Reel.”
1. The Rod (Lure Rod)
As lure fishing evolves, there are more and more specialized rods available (such as specific rods for Horse Mouth/Zacco, Bass, or Snakehead). However, for a beginner, I suggest choosing your first rod based on versatility.
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Power (Hardness): I recommend choosing L (Light) or ML (Medium Light). These two power ratings can handle most small-to-medium freshwater fish (such as Zacco, Hemiculter, small Topmouth Culter, and Bass). They offer good sensitivity and make casting relatively easy.
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Action (Tone): I recommend a Fast Action. Fast action rods have good sensitivity and allow for quick hooksets, making them suitable for beginners to practice with.
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Length: Between 1.8m and 2.1m (approx. 6’0″ to 6’10″) is most suitable. Whether you are fishing from the shore or planning to advance later, this length is easy to control.
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Material: Most modern lure rods are made of carbon fiber. Be careful not to buy extremely cheap fiberglass rods, as they are heavy and have poor sensitivity.
2. The Reel
Lure reels are mainly divided into Spinning Reels and Baitcasting Reels (often called “Water Drop Wheels” in Chinese).
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Beginner’s Choice: Spinning Reel. Why not recommend a baitcaster? Although baitcasters look cool, they are very prone to “backlash” (also known as a “bird’s nest”) if not handled correctly. The process of untangling the line is incredibly frustrating and can easily cause a beginner to give up right at the start.
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Size Selection: To match an L or ML rod, choose a 1000 to 2500 series shallow spool spinning reel. These reels are compact, lightweight, release line smoothly, and are less likely to tangle.
3. The Line
The main types of lure lines are Nylon (Monofilament), PE (Braided), and Carbon (Fluorocarbon).
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Nylon Line: Cheap and has stretch, which makes it less likely to snap or backlash. It is great for beginners to practice with. The downside is slightly lower sensitivity and it ages faster.
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PE (Braid) Line: High tensile strength, zero stretch, and extremely high sensitivity. It is the mainstream choice for lure fishing. However, PE line usually requires a leader (Fluorocarbon) and you need to learn specialized knots (like the GT knot or FG knot), which is a bit of a hurdle for novices.
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Recommendation: Beginners can start with #1.0 – #1.5 Nylon line. It is cheap and easy to use. Once you are proficient at casting and tying knots, you can switch to #0.6 – #0.8 PE line + Carbon Leader.
4. The Lures (Baits)
When buying lures as a beginner, remember: do not buy those massive “Lure Gift Packs.” They contain many lures you will likely never use.
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Spoons (Sequins): The “Jack of all trades” in lure fishing. They are cheap, can search all water layers, and it doesn’t hurt your wallet if you get snagged on the bottom. A must-have for beginners.
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Jighead + Soft Bait (Grub/T-tail): Low cost, better at avoiding snags than hard baits, and excellent at attracting fish, especially Bass and Mandarin fish.
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Minnow: A hard bait that mimics small fish. It is easy to operate—just cast it out and reel it in at a steady speed to create a swimming action. Suitable for shallow water.
Post time: Dec-20-2025