I can't help with location being from Sk.. but for starting gear, basically your first setup should be a cheap one because it is going to get banged around, probably neglected, and possibly dropped in the lake more than a few times.
You will want to find a reel/rod combo as that will be your best price. If you are just starting out the fancy options an expensive reel or rod can offer will not be very useful to you, yet. As you angle more and more and learn to feel the bites, practice making your lure dance.. etc.. you can upgrade. Make sure it is spin cast.
I am guessing that Calgary has a
Cabelas?
http://www.cabelas.ca/
Just a few to look at off the website:
https://www.cabelas.ca/index.cfm?pag...=1632&ID=21325
Anything Abu Garcia or Quantum you really can't go wrong.
https://www.cabelas.ca/index.cfm?pag...2=1632&ID=8843
For line you can ask them what they recommend, there are some really cool lines out there these days included camo line that changes colours when it hits the water. I just use the crystal fireline (the white stuff) that is what I have always used and I love it. I put on 8lb test and keep 4lb on my back up reel in case I am strictly jigging. I find that 8lb will be the best for any time fishing, depending on your lake. Even in most cases that is a bit much as it can have trouble sinking with just a jig.
Next you want a tackle box, I typically spend about $20 or a little more on my tackle box, you really don't need to get super expensive. In all honesty you won't end up using more than 3 or 4 different lures in an entire day of fishing unless you have bad luck. Just make sure it can hold your extras, enough room for pliers, spreaders, change of socks, your back up spool/line etc.. and check the buckle on it. As long as it isn't a flimsy plastic piece of crap you will be fine, typically this is the first thing to bust on a tackle box and once that goes it can be pretty much useless, so take the time to scout one out that will last.
Now for lures.. well crap, there are so many different ones you honestly can't collect them all. I will outline my top 5 favourite lures for you and tell you where/when I have the most success:
(1) Mepps Cyclops
http://www.mepps.com/information/syc...ailable-colors
This is my go to guy, I bust him out when I need to catch a fish right meow. The colour I use is the silver, but the in store one will have a slight greenish/yellowish tinge in the center, look for that one. It hits, all day and all night, on anything and everything. I have caught trolling, casting, with my toes.. don't worry about it just throw it in.
(2) Len Thompson Five of Diamonds
http://www.lenthompson.com/charts.html
The yellow one with the five red diamonds. Being in SK I fish for a lot of Pike, this is the pike slayer. The bigger the lure, the bigger the pike that will bite it. It is tough to say which one I would use to land a pike this or the syclops... because last year we had a boat of 4 all trolling everyone had on the five of diamonds and was hitting, I switched to the syclops and started hitting both jack and wally's... and more rapidly. I have had the best success for SIZE in jacks though with the five of diamonds, so if you have more patience and want to land that big guy, throw this one on there.
(3) Jigs! White body, pink head.
Typically you can find a nice jig kit to sit in your tackle box, something like
this from Cabela's.
I personally love the white body with a pink head, something like
this.
Standard size would be 1/8, you can get a bit bigger for weight/bigger body with a 1/4 or if you are inclined 3/8. I would stick between the 1/8 and 1/4 though.
Jigging is when you let your jig rig hit the bottom of the lake, then you bring it up about 4-6 inches and twitch your rod slightly upwards to make it dance. You can bait this with artificial, leech, minnows or whatever you wish to try to make it extra tempting for the fishies. There are different methods, some people like to hold the corked part of the rod, the others the end or upwards above, some even like to jerk the line. I typically hold just above the corking and just jerk my wrist upwards every 10 seconds or so. Please leave all those puns and potential sex jokes alone. Or go ahead I don't care
It is best to hold your rod off of the corking so you can feel the bites and you know when to sink that hook in.
(4) Rattlin Rapala
http://www.rapala.com/products/lures/rattlin_rapala/
If you are fishing in a lake with a lot of different species and want a wide range of fish, throw this guy in there. It is like playing the slots, you really have no idea what you are going to pull up.
Look at the description:
Species:
Bass, Walleye, Pike, Musky, Trout, Salmon, Panfish, Redfish, Tarpon, Snook, Tuna, Sea Trout, Striper, Grouper, Peacock Bass, Kingfish, Bluefish, Wahoo, Dolphin
The people at Rapala have mastered the movement of a wounded minnow, their lures can imitate it perfectly and that just screams eat me. This lure has an added trick up its sleeve by making a rattling sound as it swims back and forth which attracts the fish, especially helpful in muddy or murky waters. Again I have caught with this just like the syclops, troll cast or with your toes. This was my favourite lure, the Firetiger model, before I picked up a syclops.
(5) Wally Diver
Initially wally divers were great for trolling but I have found over the past few years that their movements are very similar to the Rapalas, and you will be pulling up a lot more than Pickerel. Although if you are specifically targeting pickerel, next to jigging off of a drop off, these are your best bet.
http://www.cottoncordelllures.com/lures.html#wallydiver
This is the top of the line wally diver. You can't top this guy and he is magic, especially when trolling. Not much else needs to be said about it really. I have had a lot of success with the rainbow coloured one when it is sunny out.
Alright I hope that helps get your started, I am by no means a pro fisherman and will never claim to be, I simply love to fish and have spent a lot of time doing it. I might even do it wrong sometimes, but this is what I do and carry. Basically anything Len Thompson or Rapala you can't go wrong with, just read the description on the back to figure out which Rapala's do what, some are divers, sinkers, floaters, rattlers etc.. all have different targets and all have different actions.
Detailed list of the lures can be found here:
http://www.rapala.com/products/lures/
They are great for starters because in most cases they don't really require a lot of maintenance other than cast and reel.
Another thing you might want to grab is leaders. These are short 3-6 inch strings of metal that will tie on to the end of your line. This makes it so that when the fish bites your line, if he swallows it, he wont get away with your lure and just cut your line. A lot of the new lines are durable enough that you can't really lose a lure unless he gets a good bite on it, but for beginning I would throw a leader on there because it can be really frustrating to lose a fish, and your favourite lure, when you are just starting out.
I can't think of anything else off the top of my head but I will get back to you as I do.. plus I am sure a lot of people can help fill in where I missed.
