I'm Going to be picking up a canoe soon, and this will be my first time being in one, and especially fishing out of one. It's a 16 footer, i want to catch anything that'll take my hook, and livenin the Irving area. Any suggestions on gear I should get, beginner spots I can try out to get used to it, anything I should know?

Also, I was wondering if I should get double sided paddle (not sure what it's called) for when I'm by myself, or would it not make much of a difference? Thanks, all tips appreciated.

Wear a life jacket if your not an exceptional swimmer. Some canoes or very unstable. Learn their limitations and they make excellent fishing machines.

Ask this in the kayak forum and you may get more answers.

Don't stand up! LOL!
Get somebody (who is an expert, not just anybody) show you the correct paddling techniques, etc.

Thanks for the replies so far, I'm going to bps tomorrow, what would u recommend lure wise as to what I absolutely have to have?

About the double sided paddle: it's a kayak paddle, I use one in my canoe sometimes. They're good for getting down the river faster. The cheap ones are short and heavy, they bang against the sides of the canoe and drip a lot of water on you. I'd recommend a longer, lighter paddle if you go the double blade route.
As for lures, you can't go wrong with some beetle-spins and roadrunners in your tackle box.
Always think "safety" while you're in your canoe.

Last time I was in a canoe was several years ago with my brother at Lake Fork in a 16 or 17' Gruman aluminum. We had a good time. Both of us had prior experience as camp councilors back in the days when we were more agile and 100 pounds lighter. The jist of this story is that as I hooked a good size bass we both leaned a tad to far out the same side of the canoe and over we went. All the tackle, cooler, and gear was lost. We were hanging onto the bottom of the upside down canoe and making for shore when a bass boat towed us to shore.
I swore (cussed up a storm) off canoes for ever but relented and took it out by myself for one more trip. I sat out with one old cheap pole and lure, a paddle, and life jacket. The wind was blowing with a little bit of force enough that it took me about 20 minutes just to get away from the bank. I struggled with that canoe about an hour before I gave up and went back to shore. Told my brother to get rid of the (censored) thing. Never had any desire for any tippy human powered boat since.

I agree on the paddle length. Here is a link also to something you might be interested in buying for that canoe. http://www.castlecraft.com/stabilizers.htm

Before you load it up with fishing gear, take it to a small pond and get used to it. Canoeing is great fun but they take some practice in maneuvering. Have fun and catch a lot of them fishys!!!

I would go with a kayak instead, just me.
If you really want to canoe yourself, use a single-sided paddle and learn the J-stroke.

i plan to hit a local pond after i pick it up for practice, im going with a canoe over a kayak because i plan on having other people, dogs, and more junk with me than i'd feel comfortable having in a kayak. i'll look into paddles more once i start getting good at it, but ill stick with single paddles for now. for an anchor i was just planning to tie maybe 15 pounds of weight to a rope, and either wrapping on a clamp, or securing it to the actual boat

Another good anchor is just to stick a U Bolt (or better yet a caribiner with the clip exposed) in some concrete inside a big coffee can and let it dry sticking out. Easy, cheap and if you lose it not a big deal.

I fished out of an OldTown Canoe for several years on small lakes and the Upper Potomac River. They great to fish out especially if you want to get into shallow or back waters. I would suggest buying a river anchor. They work great for canoes and various type lake or river bottoms. Do take time to practice paddling and getting in and out of it. I do recommend wearing a life jacket especially if you take it out on any area lakes. A jet ski flying by at 50 mph will not be your best friend and will capsize you before you knew what hit you. So you really need to know how to turn into a wave very quickly. My last canoe before moving back to Texas I could stand up an fish out of but it was at least 40" at the center and 13'3" long. It was designed for fishing but it was a dog to paddle. I eventually tricked mine out with very well made paddling chairs, portable fish finder, and a transom mount trolling motor on canoe motor mount. It was a fishing machine but I will not lie I do like the security fishing out of my bass boat. Good luck, be careful, and have fun.

+1 on what Bulldawg says.
Hey Bulldawg, was that last canoe an Oldtown Discovery 133?

Oh, learn the J-stroke!