I'm going fishing for the first time since I was a kid (I'm 44 now). We are going to be staying in West Yellowstone, Montana and we will be doing trout spinner fishing, probably in the Madison River.

I have some newbie questions:

1. I don't have any fishing equipment. I probably won't go fishing very often. What kind and brand of equipment should I buy?

2. How much should my budgets be to get reasonable/decent equipment that won't break the bank?

3. What is the best time of day to catch trout?

4. What kind of lure do to you recommend?

5. Any words of wisdom?

We are going to eat what we catch, so I really want to catch something worthwhile.

Regards,
Kory

Just get something lightweight at Wal Mart. Don't buy the cheapest one. Get four to six lb line. Buy a small kit of Mepps and maybe a Little Cleo or Kastmaster or two. Pliars and waders would be good too. Shouldn't need to break the bank just to catch a trout or two.

What Mike said is good but also get some Rooster Tails in the small sizes and in colors from light (yellow, white) to dark (browns, black) and some in between.
Early morning and right at sundown can be great but I have caught big fish at any time of day.
For 30$ + or- you can get a workable spinning rod/reel combo, 10 or 20$ more makes a big difference.
Good luck

Thanks for the reply, gentlemen. I know in my original post I said I will be spinner fishing -- I thought that meant that I was not going to be fly fishing. As you can tell, I'm a newbie and very confused about the terminology.

Can you guys tell me if I should get a Spincasting, or Spinner Rod & Reel, or Baitcasting gear? I ask this because I neglected to mention in my original post that I am partially handicapped and won't be able to stand in the water, so I will need to fish from the edge of the river or from a bridge.

I recommend a spinning rod as spin cast outfits are mostly junk or for kids and baitcasting outfits are unsuited to light tackle trout fishing.

If you are a new guy to the sport of fishing a spinning set up would be ideal.

Easy to cast and operate.

Have a look at Shimano 2500 stradic and a matching 7ft spinning rod.

I would load the reel with 6lbs fire line braid and you will use this set up for a very long time with lots of fun.

I've used a Stradic for years now and it still works great. I'm a mono guy though, except for trolling and bottom fishing outfits.