In early 2016 my partner and I went on a fishing trip in the San Francisco bay: we caught a 17" Striped Bass (released as it was 1" under the 18" limit), as well as an 8lbs Halibut that we later seasoned and had for dinner. We didn't do much besides ride the boat, hook bait, plop them in the water when told to, and reel them up. It was the perfect way to get hooked on fishing though!
Seized with the fishing bug, I went out and bought a bunch of fishing equipment from Gus's Discount Tackle, which is one of the few fishing shops in San Francisco. There is another shop to the south, but I was in Sunset so I tried out a few things and decided on two $30 rods for saltwater pier and freshwater fishing. The store owner Steph recommended that I try powerbait for freshwater trout and catfish, and gave me the correct sized (small) hooks. She gave me some larger hooks and weights for saltwater pier fishing, saying I should use some chicken liver or live baitfish when trying that. Seems like people here use anchovies most frequently.
The next weekend I went to Pacifica Pier. Apparently you don't need a California State Fishing License to fish from municipal piers. It was really crowded however and it seemed like a lot of waiting in windy / cold conditions to fish on a pier. We decided against fishing there, and made other plans to find a decent place to test out our rods.
Shannon scouted out a reservoir that might be a good place to start: Lafayette Reservoir between Oakland and Walnut Creek. We rented a rowboat for the day (~$20) and spent our time trying not to drift too close to the reeds, clanging around and throwing baited hooks down at different depths for hours.
We really didn't know what we were doing, so I started to do some research. But there's a lot to learn and a lot of fishing terms!
I realized there isn't a single site to learn about the myriad of tools and techniques of the modern angler, so this repository will serve as a reference for myself and anyone interested.