need tackle advice for MN (MS river)

hi there,

later this summer i'm planning on taking an oasis the length of the MS river ... and as i think of the trip, with a couple thousand miles of river traveling immediately beneath (and hopefully not over) my arse, i ask myself if i actually want do that trip without fishing at all?

i'm sure you agree that the answer has to be "no."

about a third of the mississippi river is in minnesota (i still find this fact amazing). this is also the most "wild" area of the entire estuary. so if i get a MN license and focus my fishing efforts in that state, i can spend the rest of my trip dodging barges and wingdams without having to worry about putting a hook in the water merely to brag about having fished the river.

given that, these are my constraints, criteria and requirments:

1. although i've done much fresh water fishing in my life, nearly all of it has been wet fly fishing in the rocky mountains. everything else has been more-or-less one or two-off experiences. (and i'm definitely not taking my fly set-up on this trip.)

2. space is an issue (especially given that i'll have clothing, food, water, shelter and clothes for a two month trip onboard). once i'm done with MN, the fishing rig needs to be small enough to put/ship/give away.

3. the only fish i have deep familiarity with are trout. right this second i have no idea what might be in MN, nor what would be good lures for them.

4. again, the boat is an oasis, which means i don't have the super-tricky/ultra-fancy set-up that the more fishing-oriented hobies have.

5. my PFD is the standard hobie (stohlquist) high back -- not a one of the variations designed for fishing.


so ... given this, what would you suggest? something like "go to target, get a 'my first fishing pole' and a can of worms" is completely welcome (and acceptable) advice. so is, "get a line, a hook, a baby squirrel and read everything on the trollersRus website."

i have no idea what i should do, but someone here almost certainly does. if you word your explanation the same way as you would to your somewhat slow (and suspiciously enthusiastic) nephew, that would probably help.

thanks in advance for any and all advice.