Questions about first time fishing (i.e. what do I do if I catch a fish?)

Ok. I'm going to take my son fishing to a nearby lake Castaic Lake in
Southern California. I guess a good spot to start would be the
fishing pier on the lower lake:

http://fishingnetwork.net/socal/castaic.htm

I'm going to buy a license, a couple rods and reels, and some tackle
at the
local Big 5, and we'll hit the shore. But I've got some basic
questions:

-Do I need anything fancy? The website above says the lake has trout
and
bass, so I was just going to get whatever looked good at Big 5.

-How important is the time of day? We will be staying within walking
distance of the lake, so we could get up early if we needed to. Or we
could
go in the evening.

-If we do end up catching a fish, what are we supposed to do? I'd
like to
take it home and grill it. Once we reel it in, are we supposed to
keep it
alive in a bucket, or do we kill it there on the shore and put it in a
cooler? I've never cleaned a fish before, so is it something I can
figure
out from a website? Are there any recommended books that talk about
this
for a beginner?

Thanks for any tips.

"cinepro" wrote in message
ups.com...
Ok. I'm going to take my son fishing to a nearby lake Castaic Lake in
Southern California. I guess a good spot to start would be the
fishing pier on the lower lake:

http://fishingnetwork.net/socal/castaic.htm

I'm going to buy a license, a couple rods and reels, and some tackle
at the
local Big 5, and we'll hit the shore. But I've got some basic
questions:

-Do I need anything fancy? The website above says the lake has trout
and
bass, so I was just going to get whatever looked good at Big 5.

-How important is the time of day? We will be staying within walking
distance of the lake, so we could get up early if we needed to. Or we
could
go in the evening.

-If we do end up catching a fish, what are we supposed to do? I'd
like to
take it home and grill it. Once we reel it in, are we supposed to
keep it
alive in a bucket, or do we kill it there on the shore and put it in a
cooler? I've never cleaned a fish before, so is it something I can
figure
out from a website? Are there any recommended books that talk about
this
for a beginner?

Thanks for any tips.


Since you are in SoCal, I would take the kid fishing on a 1/2 day boat out
of MDR or Redondo. You can buy a 1 day license, rent the poles and actually
catch something and the deckhands will clean the fish for you. Then you can
see if you like fishing. You can also fish off public piers in Ocean waters
without a license. Go over to Redondo Pier and see what the locals are
using for gear. Do not know how good the trout fishing is at Castaic, but
the bassing can be tough.
http://www.allcoast.com/reports1.cfm
Has links to most of the landings.