Alright so im sorta new to bass fishing but really want to start getting one or 2 tackle boxes for just bass and 1 for just catfish. today i ordered a tackle grab since it was only $5. i also have a $10 gift card for bass pro. im slowly adding to my tackle box so what should i add? just list a few items. here what i have so far:
Im going to post a pic of all my hard baits since i dont know what im talking about
Some shallow cranks, if budget is a concern bomber square a's are good, buzz bait, heddon spook. If you want to add plastics lizards, grubs are good, ribbon tail worms are a must have. Some 4/0 EWG hooks and 1/8 oz bullet weights for the lizards and ribbon tails.
Any good lip less crank baits? im just trying to get a list? already have 1 buzz bait. right now im trying to get variety and later i can add quantity. any good colors for crank baits? thanks for the reply ^.
My man, the cricket and those marabou jigs aren´t exactly "bass tackle" nor that teeny tiny wee rapala minnow you got there, not that they won´t catch bass, it´s just that they are too small, because of the size it´s more probable you catch a bunch of panfish on them that even a relatively good pan size bass. You need bigger stuff for bass. Since you are a newbie, coming from a tackle enthusiast ( that how we tackle hoarders prefer to be called instead of simply being called tackle hoarders, tackle hoarder lacks of any panàge ), don´t get caught on the " I need this and that, man I want/desire/wish ", you´ll end up like me, with an absurd amount of stuff I don´t need and that has never touched the water, to tell youthe truth, I fish pretty miuch with the same lures I´ve caught them with for more than three decades most of the time.
+1 on the Bomber Square A, Excalibur makes a square bill called Pumpkin-seed that's my favorite, looks sorta like a sunfish. Can't go wrong with a blue/chrome rattle trap. Looks like you have a good start. I'm partial to any plastic that has watermelon or green pumpkin in it but that's what I have confidence in.
Need to add some jigs
Whatever you get keep your selection simple. It's better to have 3 lures that you have confidence in than 15 and not know how to properly fish any of them.
If you wanted to add a soft plastic, i would suggest a zoom super fluke. It is best rigged weightless (would save you some money on bullet weights or jigheads) rig it with a swivel and 2 foot leader on a worm hook and its nearly impossible to fish wrong. Its the cheapest and most effective addition to any tackle box IMO. Pearl White is the way to go. Tight lines, and good luck too ya.
I guess to answer your question we need to know what kind of bass you are fishing for, and what typs of lakes/ rivers you are fishing in. Also what types of rod/reel combos you own. this will better allow the guys on here to help you out.
Mitch
Get some Zoom Super Flukes and Senkos
On 3/23/2013 at 11:50 AM, mjseverson24 said:I guess to answer your question we need to know what kind of bass you are fishing for, and what typs of lakes/ rivers you are fishing in. Also what types of rod/reel combos you own. this will better allow the guys on here to help you out.
Mitch
That's right. It's very situational. Tell us where you go and we can help more. When I started bass fishing, it took me awhile to get comfortable with all the variety of tackle. Now I can outfit a small tackle shop.
I'm going to the state BASS Nation event next week. I'm taking only 18 of my combos. (But 10 extra bait casting reels, so I don't need to change line; just put another reel on and rig up.) I loaded enough tackle to fill the bed of my PU. That's about a third of my tackle.
You asked about lipless cranks. The Cordell "Spot" is a good one and sells for about $3.00. Silver/blue, Red, and shad colors.
Don't worry about different lures right now. Right now, what you need is different rigs to throw the different baits you've already got. You are going to need a spinnerbait rod. You are going to need a top water rod. You are going to need a medium diving crank bait rod. (Not to be confused with a deep diving crank bait rod or a square bill rod) Oh year, you will need reels for all those rods, in the interest of saving time while you are on the water.
You can't effectively throw those tiny jigs with any of those rigs effectively, so you are going to need a finesse rod. In a pinch, maybe you could throw the tiny Rapala with the same finesse rod you throw jigs with. You will need a reel for that also.
You might try to multi-task, and use the same rod for different baits, but that approach has been known to cause significant self esteem issues in lesser men. Good luck.
Oh yeah, back to the point of the post. Rattle Traps or Spots are good baits. Color really doesn't matter, I prefer shiny ones. When you are bank fishing, throw them out as far as you can and then pull it back, keeping it a foot or so beneath the surface. Should you continue to get stuck on woody type cover, get a Timber Tiger DC1. A medium sized Mann's Minus 1 is more readily available and is kinda a similar bait. Doesn't come through bushes, branches, etc. like a Timber Tiger does though.
Have I added to your confusion, if so, then my task is done. Please be aware in addition to having fun while fishing, you have an added responsibility to buy more tackle all the time and in that way support the entire industry.
Top to Bottom:
Topwater: Rage Tail Shad & Space Monkey; MegaStrike Cavitron; Zara Spook; LC Sammy
Shallow: Bandit 100; LC RC 1.5; Mann's -1; Zoom Fluke or Sluggo;
Hollow Belly or Shadalicious
Mid range: LC RC 2.5 & 3.5; DT 6, 8 & 10; LC Staysee; KVD Red Eye Shad
Deep: DD22; DT16
Jigs: GMAN
Soft plastics: Rage Tail Thumper, Anaconda, Smokin' Rooster, Rage Hawg & Eeliminator; 5" Senko, Fat Ika & Kut Tail
Craws: Rage Tail Baby Craw, Craw & Lobster
Terminal Tackle: Gamakatsu 2/0, 3/0 & 4/0; 5/0 Moaner Stick'r & Weighted Stroker; 1/8, 1/4 & 1/2 oz bullet weights; swivels
Line: Yo-Zuri Hybrid Hybrid #6 for spinning tackle, #12 for baitcasting
That will get you started!
You can never have to many plastics and hooks...
I'll throw in my 2 cents worth. Since you're just starting I would suggest that you keep it simple. I've had good luck with crankbaits at various depths and simple tube and swim baits. I've fallen in love with Gitzit tubes and soft swim baits. They're cheap and easy to fish, but very effective. The best advice I can give is this: DON"T FORGET TO HAVE FUN!! You don't have to spend a fortune on gear. I rarely go out with more that (2) medium spinning rigs. ENJOY! FYI, I just returned from a morning trip to my favorite lake in southern Utah, Sand Hollow. Before the wind came up, I had great luck with Gitzit soft baits. No, I don't work for Gitzit!!
If you are new and want to catch fish regularly here is what you should be doing.
1) throw a weightless senko green pumpkin in color with a 1/0 circle hook wacky rigged.
2) go back to 1 again and catch more fish.
This is how I started all of my children bass fishing. When you start catching fish and you will you can then move on and try a different method. Ask the guys at the spots that you fish what they are using. Remember to keep it simple most lures catch more fisherman than fish. Have fun!
On 3/23/2013 at 11:50 AM, mjseverson24 said:I guess to answer your question we need to know what kind of bass you are fishing for, and what typs of lakes/ rivers you are fishing in. Also what types of rod/reel combos you own. this will better allow the guys on here to help you out.
Mitch
large mouth bass, idk what you mean by question 2, bait caster abu Garcia silver max on a ugly stick, shakespeare spinning rod and reel combo.
Imo, learn to fish a Texas rig. Pretty cheap, wide variety of colors and sizes (but keep it simple) and one of the most trusted and productive techniques. Once you learn the basics of detecting the Bite, determining structure, and hooking up, THEN you can start throwing ridiculous amounts of money into a bag or box... Only thing is, you'll ALWAYS fall back to that four dollar bag of worms or a three dollar jig!
Get some Senkos or YUM Dingers, some Zoom U tail worms, and some Strike King Red Eye Shad. You can't NOT catch a fish with those baits.
I am a big fan of Chatterbait, Gene Larew Hard Head football style Jig 7/16 oz with a Soonerrun colored biffle bug.
On 3/24/2013 at 9:33 AM, mr.kagrise said:Imo, learn to fish a Texas rig. Pretty cheap, wide variety of colors and sizes (but keep it simple) and one of the most trusted and productive techniques. Once you learn the basics of detecting the Bite, determining structure, and hooking up, THEN you can start throwing ridiculous amounts of money into a bag or box... Only thing is, you'll ALWAYS fall back to that four dollar bag of worms or a three dollar jig!
I agree. A texas Rig is waht I would start off with. If I started right now I would go out and get 1/8 oz and 3/16 oz weights, 2/o ewg gamakatsu hooks, a pack of rage craws and baby brush hogs in a green pumpkin color
On 3/24/2013 at 9:25 AM, brycen97 said:large mouth bass, idk what you mean by question 2, bait caster abu Garcia silver max on a ugly stick, shakespeare spinning rod and reel combo.
The second question was basicaly to find out what kind of water clarity, and cover you are fishing in. weather it is grass, wood, rock, or really heavy vegitation like lillypads hydrilla and milfoil. but just knowing largemouth bass is a good start. In my opinion a new bassfisherman should probabily start out using reaction style baits. I would pick up a few different spinnerbaits a white with silver blades a yellow with both silver and gold, and a brown or dark with all gold blades. either in a 3/8 oz or 1/2 oz size. The other bait I would recomend is the rapala dt series baits. pick up one or two in each of the dt-4 dt-6 and then either a 10 or 14 depending on the lake you fish. the last bait I would recomend for a beginner is the storm wildeye swimbaits. pick up some in different sizes and different colors they are very easy to fish and they do work quite well. also they wont break the bank for like 4 dollars for a three pack. all of these I would recomend throwing on your baitcasting setup, and like someone else said before for the spining set up a weightless senko is tough to beat. I hope this helps you out some.
Mitch
On 3/24/2013 at 11:35 PM, mjseverson24 said:The second question was basicaly to find out what kind of water clarity, and cover you are fishing in. weather it is grass, wood, rock, or really heavy vegitation like lillypads hydrilla and milfoil. but just knowing largemouth bass is a good start. In my opinion a new bassfisherman should probabily start out using reaction style baits. I would pick up a few different spinnerbaits a white with silver blades a yellow with both silver and gold, and a brown or dark with all gold blades. either in a 3/8 oz or 1/2 oz size. The other bait I would recomend is the rapala dt series baits. pick up one or two in each of the dt-4 dt-6 and then either a 10 or 14 depending on the lake you fish. the last bait I would recomend for a beginner is the storm wildeye swimbaits. pick up some in different sizes and different colors they are very easy to fish and they do work quite well. also they wont break the bank for like 4 dollars for a three pack. all of these I would recomend throwing on your baitcasting setup, and like someone else said before for the spining set up a weightless senko is tough to beat. I hope this helps you out some.
Mitch
helping me out quite a bit. so is everyone else. water one lake is clean can see the fish sand bottom, but others are stained with trees and bushes in the water with some grass. also one i know has lots of large bass but covered in all kinds of vegetation from top to bottom.
anyone suggest umbrella rigs?
Having wide variety of bass lures doesn't make a bass angler, you will gather up more than need without trying.
What is important to know before trying to give you any advice is what type of rod and reel do you fish with?
Model numbers help a lot. Line type and lb test.
Tom
On 3/25/2013 at 3:52 AM, Brycen97 said:helping me out quite a bit. so is everyone else. water one lake is clean can see the fish sand bottom, but others are stained with trees and bushes in the water with some grass. also one i know has lots of large bass but covered in all kinds of vegetation from top to bottom.
For the lake that is clear and full of sand, I would suggest using the spinnerbaits and crankbaits to help locate active fish. Usually the more natural colors work best in these situations use bluegill and shad patterns. Once you find active fish slow down and use either the weightless senko for water less than 8 ft and learn to use a dropshot for depths over 8 ft. a dropshot is one of the most reliable presentations out there especially in clean water. the colors for the dropshot that are best are again natural colors and translucent. The KVD dream shot is good also the robo worm makes a good dropshot bait, but to catch the numbers of fish try a berkley gulp leech or minnow. for the stained water lake the spinnerbaits would work very well up in the wood and bushes. the more bright colors (chartreuse or Black) will probabily work well. also if you have stump fields and brush a square bill crankbait is hard to beat. there are lots of brands out there find a price range that works for you a couple colors that should work is the chartreuse and black, bluegill, maybe a black or blue back with silver sides as well. For the lake with all the weeds the spinerbait should work well also the storm swimbaits work great ripping through the weeds. weeds are your friend, find good weeds and a drop off near by you should be in business, use that dropshot on the outside weed edge. there are many other techniques that would work for these lakes that you are fishing, but these few should help you catch some good fish, and should give you the confidence to explore new techniques. good luck.
Mitch
Alright how about all of this to set me in the right direction. i didnt add jigs because im going to BP today and going to pick up a few,
On 3/26/2013 at 1:56 AM, mjseverson24 said:For the lake that is clear and full of sand, I would suggest using the spinnerbaits and crankbaits to help locate active fish. Usually the more natural colors work best in these situations use bluegill and shad patterns. Once you find active fish slow down and use either the weightless senko for water less than 8 ft and learn to use a dropshot for depths over 8 ft. a dropshot is one of the most reliable presentations out there especially in clean water. the colors for the dropshot that are best are again natural colors and translucent. The KVD dream shot is good also the robo worm makes a good dropshot bait, but to catch the numbers of fish try a berkley gulp leech or minnow. for the stained water lake the spinnerbaits would work very well up in the wood and bushes. the more bright colors (chartreuse or Black) will probabily work well. also if you have stump fields and brush a square bill crankbait is hard to beat. there are lots of brands out there find a price range that works for you a couple colors that should work is the chartreuse and black, bluegill, maybe a black or blue back with silver sides as well. For the lake with all the weeds the spinerbait should work well also the storm swimbaits work great ripping through the weeds. weeds are your friend, find good weeds and a drop off near by you should be in business, use that dropshot on the outside weed edge. there are many other techniques that would work for these lakes that you are fishing, but these few should help you catch some good fish, and should give you the confidence to explore new techniques. good luck.
Mitch
I added some drop shot weights now too. I chose mostly green pumpkin bc they are a darker color bait, most people use them, an i think/ hope they can be used in most if not all water conditions.
also thinking about putting some braid on the spinner. that way it can be used for catfish too.
On 3/26/2013 at 2:23 AM, Brycen97 said:Alright how about all of this to set me in the right direction. i didnt add jigs because im going to BP today and going to pick up a few,
I added some drop shot weights now too. I chose mostly green pumpkin bc they are a darker color bait, most people use them, an i think/ hope they can be used in most if not all water conditions.
also thinking about putting some braid on the spinner. that way it can be used for catfish too.
Nice I like the lure selection, the only observation I see that might be a problem is the worm hooks are quite small in my opinion. I throw the havvoc pit boss on atleast a 3/0 EWG or most commonly a 4/0 EWG. with the 2/0 and the 1/0 you probabily wont have the hookup ratio you would want. also I see that you have some form of an A-rig. I like the thought, but be careful those lures require pretty long and heavy action rods with some pretty beefy line as well. after going to BP it looks like you will be good to go.
Mitch