Fishing doesn’t have to be expensive. Recently on a trip to my local Walmart, I noticed cane poles at the end of the fishing section for $3.34 each. I chuckled and picked one up for kicks. These poles come with line, a slipshot, float and a hook. All you need to do is thread the line through the eye on the tip and tie the fishing line up a few inches to avoid undue stress on the eye. There are no reels, so you fight the fish with your line basically tied to the end of a big stick.
I went to my local trout stream, Loyalhanna Creek, with a few worms and caught some river chubs and striped shiners. I have to admit that I enjoyed using this rod more than I would have imagined.
On the second trip to the stream with my cousin we caught the same types of fish.
On a whim I decided to take the cane pole where I knew I could catch a few trout. I went to the back yard and dug up a few worms and went back to a different section of my local trout stream. The first trout hookup was amazing. It felt like a monster on the pole. I fought it for a few minutes before getting it to shore. I ended up catching 2 rainbows as well as a few river chubs on the pole.
Needless to say, I am hooked and am trying to figure out the next fish that I want to catch on this.
I will eventually upgrade my rod and try other forms of fixed line fishing such as tenkara, but until I do so, I will be taking this pole out quite a bit.
There is nothing like catching fish on $3.34 rod and free bait! Pick up a cheap cane pole and try it for yourself!
