Good luck with your nursing degree! My wife
is an RN, been doing it for almost 20 years now.
As for hooks, I recommend highly, Gamakatsu
brand. They are strong, sharp and stay sharp.
I'm a wacky rig guy, like it more than most other
rigs, so I'll recommend either the Gamakatsu
Splitshot/Dropshot hook in 1 or 1/0, or the same
brand hook in Wide Gap Finesse, same sizes.
Bait colors - things like watermelon magic, or
something that imitates a crawfish in your waters.
Another is Bass Pro's Hot Pepper Frog, a watermelon
green/orange laminate. I have a lot of success on it.