So use a bobber & a night crawler - I sure have over the years.
Buy a pair of chest waders and wade some of the rivers and ponds around.
The water is cooling down and that means the fish will come into the shallows - easy to reach from shore.
I need a new pair of waders myself (I do have a boat) but have been wading in lake that contain walleyes - and cast stick baits/ jerk baits at night and have taken a few walleye dinners home like that.
You can get gills, perch and crappie during the day with a bobber & red worm.
Spinnerbaits are fairly cheap and will land bass & pike.
You need to check in here often, read current posts and use the search function to get answers to your many questions.
Persistence will pay in the long run - but many of us didn't learn a lot in a few days....

 

If you're in newaygo I would try at one of the dams on the Muskegon. Dams are a great place for beginner fisherman. Usually there is a lot of fish hanging out below and you don't need special gear to take them. I'd bring two rods. Cast one with cut bluegill, crawlers, chicken liver, or catfish bait. Put a few big split shots and cast out and let sit on bottom while you cast spinners or whatever you would like with the other rod. That's a pretty normal routine at the dams with newer fisherman and letting a crawler drift around on the bottom of the river will catch you carp, cats, walleye, smallmouth, trout, suckers, all in the same day depending on time of year and where you're at. Big cats seem to start feeding heavy through October and November and you will have ALOT more fun battling one of these than panfish or small bass. Go get em and good luck!

 

Not to mention there are a few fishing platforms or walls to fish from.
Good post....

 

Fishing from shore is a good place to start. Most of us started off that way. But as time goes on a small boat, kayak, or canoe will put you where the fish are. Try to find a buddy that can take you out and teach you some things. Trial and error will teach you things over time, but having someone with the knowledge to explain the how's and why's is invaluable. Keep checking this site and asking questions. You've received some good info so far.

 

Definitely check out county maps to find local parks close to you. It's best to get away from boat launches for the most part as traffic usually drives fish away. Im a shore bound fisherman right now, but I fish 4-5 times a week and never get bored. You do not have to have a boat or kayak to catch a lot of fish all year long. I spend a lot of time on google earth scouting so that I have an idea of what to expect when I arrive in a new place.

Muskegon lake has tons of shore fishing spots and not just for trout - just about every species that swims in Michigan can be found there at some time in the year. Some of the fishing piers have guys who are 'regulars' and are out there all the time- I'm sure if you are friendly to them and eager to learn, they would probably take you under their wing a little, so to speak. Lots of great reading out there too, in fisherman has always been my favorite mag.

 

It's best to get away from boat launches for the most part as traffic usually drives fish away.

LOL. Funny story about that. One day in November, a buddy and I launched at Rainbow Bend boat launch @ Big Man. We fished down to Coho Bend campground, then ran upstream to Pine Creek, then fished back down to Rainbow. We covered about 12 - 15 miles of river that day, fishing hard all day long. We landed 5 Steelhead, and called it a good day. When we got back to the launch, there was an older guy there, who was there when we launched. He had landed 8 Steelhead in the day, and never left the boat launch - fishing from shore. I enjoy boating around on rivers chasing Steelhead. But sometimes (probably more than I care to think about) fishing from shore can be better.

For the original poster: You seem to want to have a passion for fishing. I would guess that most on here started out with very little tackle, and experience. I know I did. But I quickly developed a love of fishing, and over time I accumulated more and more stuff for it. And some of the stuff helped me catch more fish, and some of it didn't. My passion turned from catching Bass, and Panfish, to catching Salmon, and Steelhead. And that led to accumulating all sorts of different tackle, in addition to the stuff I had for Bass, Pike, and Panfish. Now I pretty much could fill a small bedroom with my tackle, and I can pretty much fish for most any fish that swims in MI. And it has only been 50 years since I started!

The journey of fishing is the most important part. I've seen countless crazy things happen while fishing, and seen many thousands of critters while fishing that I would never have seen from my living room. Eagles, and Deer, and Otters, and Beavers, and Elk, and Ducks, and Muskrats, and Coyotes, and tons of other birds/animals. Grab some gear, and some bait, go to the nearest waterway, and see what you can catch. And keep your eyes open in case a great wildlife opportunity presents itself. The fresh air at sunrise is so sweet.........

 

I started bank fishing the Huron River near Ann Arbor, and dock fishing public accesses in small lakes near Dexter.

Lots of places in Newaygo County to fish. This is a list of what I can remember at the moment. On a good day you could bring home more than 20 lbs of fish if you wanted and were persistent.

Bare minimum tackle is a rod and some lures, or a bobber, hook, split shot and worms. Add a pair of chest waders and you are able to do some great fishing. Species that can be caught at the listed locations includes salmon, steelhead, trout, smallmouth bass, perch, walleye, bluegills, catfish and others.

Croton Dam in Croton - Muskegon River
Henning Park in Newaygo - Muskegon River
Fremont Lake Park in Fremont - Fremont Lake
Steelton Boat Launch in Steelton - Muskegon River
White River bridge crossings, also there is a roadside park or two - White River
Muskegon Lake Channel in Muskegon - Muskegon River
Muskegon pier heads in Muskegon - Lake Michigan harbor at Muskegon River

 

Good post BJ.

 

Thanks Robert, you probably have a few spots to suggest also. There is lots of fishing in the area. A small aluminum boat, canoe or kayak would give a big increase in the fishable water, also! Croton Pond, Hardy Pond, etc., etc.

 

You covered just about all of the more popular places I like to go play very well!


X2 on MikeZ's suggestion also~

 

Right under croton dam you can catch anything

 

Here is a link to a page of the MIDNR website, which lists all (well most) of the lakes in Newaygo County. There are maps of each lake, and you can find public access spots pretty easily.

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7-153-10364_52261_52964_66796-67600--,00.html

I also highly recommend getting a book of county maps of the entire State - Meijer used to carry these all the time. GPS is cool, but isn't as good for scouting fish spots as actual maps are.