Sorry for keeping ya 'll waiting, had to attend a patient when I was about to reply ( a dog that fell from the bed of a truck in motion, injuries looked a lot worse than they actually were ).
For the shore guy ( I used to be one for many years and still many times I fish from the bank ) that has to carry all that weight around I know that with a couple of 3700 boxes ( one for soft plastics and one for cranks ) plus a small box for hooks & sinkers and a binder for some spinnerbaits & buzzbaits can hold in practical terms 99% of most fishing situations you could find and they store neatly in a backpack so you can carry them around on your back. Another option is the same 3700 for the cranks plus one of these binders:
And the same small t box for hooks & sinkers. A 3700 box can hold up to 20 bags of soft plastic baits in their original package, that binder can hold 24-28 bags of baits plus spinnerbaits and jigs, I know very well that binder because I have one.
Ok so where were we........ how about starting with soft plastics ?
Watermelon in it 's multiple variations of metallic flake seems to be as close as an universal color for most people along with green pumpkin, man I don 't see what 's so special about them cuz I catch fish with practically any color I rig ( hey, I like to have a big bunch of colors from where to choose ..... and end up using the same ones over and over again : ) So let 's use watermelon and green pumpkin as a base color for soft plastics.
So we have 20-24 bags of soft plastics for the 3700 box:
2 bags of 6 -7" straight tail worms, don 't ask me why but straight tail worms have a "ye ne se quois" that attract bass to them and can be rigged in many ways ( versatility ). Choose your poison, my favorites now that I 'm out of jelly worms are Trickworms & Kut tails.
2 bags of Fat Ikas, there 's no substitute for them except the Kinami Palm, if you have never fished with an Ika trust me and RW, we know what we are talking about.
2 bags of 5 inch single tail grubs, personally I like the Zoom Salty Fat Albert, it 's cheap, it 's heavily salted but not so soft that will tear to pieces if you cough hard on it can be rigged many ways and can be used as trailer for jigs and spinnerbaits ( versatility )
2 bags of 4" ( aprox ) craws, I use Zoom Cross Craws, as with the grubs versatility is the key, one bait can do a lot of things, if you can 't find Cross Craws you can purchase Gene Larews craws or GYCB 's craws or Flappin Hogs.
2 bags of 5" double tail skirted grubs, it 's not a new one but double tail skirted grubs catch fish, ever heard of the Spider jig ? we old farts know it very well, can also be rigged in many forms ( versatility ), choose the brand you like.
2 bags of 5-7" lizards, personally I fish with Zoom, they are cheap, well made, catch fish, salted and the appendages are lively.
2 bags of 3.5" tubes, never fished with tubes ? you don 't know what you are missing. I like BPS tubes beacuse they have the combination of color and metal flake colors I use the most.
2 bags of Baby Brush Hogs, the size catches big and medium fish, can be rigged in many ways and it 's a proven fish catcher.
2 bags of 4-5" Flukes, it doesn 't have to be a Zoom fluke per se but a fluke type kind of bait, Shad Assasin, Shad Shape worm, Shaddick or so will do the trick. Most people think of flukes as a d-shot or jerkbait alone bait, such thing is not true, the bait is very versatile and can do something no other bait can which is t swim paralel to the shore.
2 packs of stickbaits, choose whichever you want, Senkos, Tiki Sticks, Stik O 's, whatever brand tickles your fancy. I don 't have a favorite, all brands I 've tried work well for me.
So there you have 20 bags of soft baits, depending upon how you arrange your box you can add more bags of something else you want like Beavers, more senkos, ribbontail or french fry worms but with any of those I mentioned you will catch fish ( that binder will allow you to carry a wider selection ), in most cases it 's not the bait but the rigging technique what transoforms the bait and the presentation you give to it.
Ok let 's move on to the spinnerbaits.
Me ? oh well I carry more than 100 spinnerbaits with me wehn I 'm on the boat but when from shore with 10 I have more than enough. To me the most universal skirt color is white/chartreuse and the two blades I fish the most are single colorado and single willow leaf, you want to add more it 's just a matter of adding a greater combination of blades. Why I use single blades more ? because spinnerbaits with single baldes do what the others don 't, the blade "helicopters" when it 's on the fall.
Jigs
With 10 jigs you have plenty, weedless jigs are a must if you fish most of the time from the shore, preferably with rattle, 3/8-1/2 oz jigs in black is what I suggest, any color is fine ...... as long as it is black, why I say black, the idea is simplicity and the most basic and simple color is black, it can be seen in clear water, it can be seen in murky water and if you are in the "match the hatch" school of thought ( : ) black is "natural" cuz a lot of critters that bass can eat have or are black. I pay more attention to the trailer and what I want to show to the fish than the color of the jig. I can 't suggest a particular brand cuz when it comes to jigs I 'm as cheap as I can get for a reason, I loose jigs a lot ( if you ain 't casting where they 're going to hang up you ain 't casting where the fish are ).
