Pascagoula River Bassin

I live on the Pascagoula River in Southeast MS, which is a very wide river and is very close to the gulf. I was wondering if any experienced anglers had any advice on tournament fishing a river system such as this. I am about to become a boater in my bass fishing club, and since I'll be looking for my own spots now I'm wanting to start off on the right foot. I know during the heat of summer that bass move deeper, but being a river system there isn't much structure to target in deep water due to the moving tides... the same goes for vegetation. So where would I start in my search for a decent limit? Any help would be much appreciated.

#1 and #3 perfectly describe my last outing...

I was fishing a club tournament once and the sun was setting during the last few minutes of daylight, so I slipped off my sunglasses (Costa Del Mar Triple Tails with Vermilion lenses) and sat them on top of my hat. About 10 minutes later I took my hat off and used it to swipe at a mosquito flying around my face, and SPLASH... there went my sunglasses. I actually anchored and dove down to feel around on the bottom (fishing a river in about 10' of water) but never found them, the current probably has them sitting on the beach somewhere by now :'(

If it needs any South Mississippi muddy river mojo, send it this way!

My girlfriend and I rented a condo in Orange Beach this weekend so luckily I'll be driving that way and can stop by the BPS (girlfriend doesn't know it yet). I actually haven't even heard of Dream Strike lake, but the name sounds pretty good. The bass in the pic went 10-3, caught it in a private pond at midnight, dragging a worm as slow as I could stand it through the stumps. Fish was old and put up almost no fight at all, I actually horsed it in because I thought I hooked a catfish... Almost passed out when she rolled to the surface. She could've went more, but I caught her too late... the egg sack was completely empty, but I have no complaints with a double-digit personal best... closest I've ever caught to that was a 7.

The Spro Bronzeye has never let me down before. In tournaments, I'll throw the Bronzeye Jr. in black until I get a limit, then pick up the larger size in black to work on the bigger fish. Braid is a must, you want to drive the hook home bigtime, or you'll just end up with a frog smacking you in the face at around 20mph.

Insurance is going to cover the losses of my rods and reels, but they weren't worth as much as I'm going to pay for the new setups. I'll have to spend a couple hundred out of pocket once I'm done, but it will be well worth the added performance and durability. I was actually looking at the Daiwa Light & Tough Frog Rod, and I'm thinking about a Revo as well. Would this setup also work for a floating worm such as a Zoom Trick Worm?

Vacation's probably over by now, but if you ever go back, where I'm from the DOA shrimp is deadly. I use it under a popper cork instead of live shrimp (saves money) and get just as many bites, and I also keep one rigged without a cork for twitching past points, etc. You'll also get the occasional catfish or ladyfish.

Just wondering if anyone on these forums is from around here, and if so, what have you been tearing them up on? I've been doing pretty good in the marsh around I-10 with a Spro Bronzeye Jr. frog... they're few and far between but they always keep.

Big Creek Lake is a pretty good fishery from my experience, we've had a couple club tournaments over there and there have always been some nice limits weighed in... last tournament I only caught 3 fish (non-boater) and weighed 7 pounds.. better fish on average than what we seem to have in most places around here. I'll let you know some of the creeks we fished there but I'll have to take a look at the map and get back to you.

First off, let me say that I'm brand new to the forums. I've learned quite a bit from this site since my first read, and to say the information has helped me out when the fishing gets tough would be an understatement. So I figured with the wealth of knowledge contained on BassResource, the forums would be a great place to learn more and be able to ask more specific questions as they come up, and hopefully be able to share some of what I know with others... So on to the first question: I was recently rear-ended while towing my boat, totaling the boat/motor and snapping every one of my rods and reels. Luckily, I am soon to be a nursing school graduate and will have the funds to invest in a whole new setup. I want my first combo to be for my favorite tournament method: Frogging. Any advice on what rod and reel to purchase for frogging would be greatly appreciated, and as far as budget I'd like to spend no more than $300 total. Sorry for the long post, but I wanted everyone to know a bit about myself being that I'm new, and I look forward to being a part of this great community!