Position over your shoulder, (check to see what is behind you every time. Kids, dogs, partners, bushes and trees will sneak up on you all the time.) Start the cast with smooth but quick acceleration to the ten o'clock position and release the button at the same time that the rod stops at ten o'clock. The stop should be smooth also. Repeat until your arm falls off and you will have the idea. With spinning outfits you catch the line coming off the spool with the tip of your forefinger and open the bail (that wire like thing) with your other hand. (It snaps closed when you begin to crank.)

Some spinning reels come with a trigger that accomplishes this bail opening with one hand, although I think they cause more trouble than they are worth. After you get the mechanics working, start trying to get the weight to go where you want. Go for accuracy not distance. You will need a bit of control to be able to fish a brushy or tree lined river or stream, not so important when fishing open water.

Etiquette on the water or stream. Please don't trespass on private land. Go up to the door and ask politely. Offer to clean up any line or garbage you find. This often will get you access that others don't have. Don't crowd anybody. Don't let your kids throw rocks into the water or let your dog go swimming if someone is fishing nearby. You may be learning fishing etiquette here, but some people you encounter have no such intention. If it happens, just walk away and find some other place. More often than not you will encounter friendly anglers ready to share space, tips, and even gear.

Fly anglers are notorious for giving away the fly that works today. When casting around other anglers, notice where there line is or where it is drifting, and don't cast over it. If you are drift fishing from shore or boat, time your cast to allow some space between rigs. Often you might have to change your weight so your drift speed is the same as theirs. If you do become tangled with someone, one person reels in and untangles as the other allows free line to go out and waits patiently. It's always nice to thank the untangler.

If you are still-fishing, called 'plunking', along with everybody else, this avoidance is easy to do. As much or more fish are caught by "plunking" as any other method. Don't be afraid to try it, especially with kids. Check out the rigging instructions for catching trout on the tips section . Prop up the rod so you can see when the tip start twitching. Often this is done by cutting a forked stick and pushing the sharpened end into the ground. Or you can use a sand spike or rod holder spike. You can make a good one with a scrap of pvc pipe about 2 feet long that will slip onto your rod butt. Just take a regular crosscut wood saw and cut the pipe at a severe angle, creating a long tapered point that will go into the ground with a couple of careful stomps on the uncut end.

Cast your bait out, slip the rod into the holder, kick back and relax. When the tip starts to twitch, slide the rod out without disturbing the line, carefully reel up some of the slack while pointing the tip at where the line goes into the water, and set the hook with a backward sweep of the rod to the 12.