SpellCaster

Smallies. The name given them by some American Indians was 'Achigan' - meaning 'one who fights.' In addition to their fight, they strike me as one of the most beautiful fish.

More weightless flukes and various Texas-rigged plastics like worms, craws, and creatures. That's what I've been throwing most for the past couple years, but I'm branching out a bit more in terms of brands and specific models/colors. Also planning to throw more tubes.

Weightless fluke Texas rig

Probably one of the least experienced here to contribute to the conversation, but in 4 1/2 years I've been able to cram in A LOT of time beating the banks, and it's granted me a better understanding of what setups I really like for how I fish. My go-to setup for almost anything is going to be a 7' M F fairy wand. My second setup has taken me a while to find the right combo that works for me but it's a 7' MH F baitcaster with left handed reel (though I'm righthanded - I just like the crank on the left side per spinning reels). Obviously, lighter/more finesse lures go on the spinning setup, with heavier lures/frogs on the baitcaster, but there's a certain amount of overlap between the rods (flukes, topwaters, swimbaits, T-Rig, etc), which is nice because I can opt for the baitcaster in heavy vegetation.

Thanks all for the suggestions. Great things to consider. Wagons are certainly underappreciated.

I work in the boot industry (work/outdoor and western). I have worked for brands that used to sell boots in Cabela's, and had to eventually stop because Cabela's would copy the boots and sell (essentially) the same product under their own private label at a lower cost, and the company I was with couldn't complete (this is exactly what Boot Barn does in western business). They basically get free R&D from the name brands that they sell, then duplicate the designs for their private label brands to make better margins. To echo what others have said already, in many cases you're getting a very comparable product between name brand products and house brand products, and in many other cases it could be the same basic product but with cheaper/lower grade components/materials (I assume this is as true for tackle as it is true for footwear). What it comes down to for me is where you want to put your money: 1) companies that take the time to research, develop, and come out with something innovative/original...or 2) companies that copy name brands and undercut them.

Weightless fluuuuke

I know this thread is years old at this point, but I'm heading to the same place (Raystown Resort cabins) next week for a company retreat. Our company does it every year at the same place and I've brought my travel rod for the last few years. Since it's a work function with meetings during the day all I'm able to do is bank fish along the cabins shoreline either at dawn for 30-60min or in the evenings. First couple of years I fished I couldn't get bit on anything, any time, at all. But last year I caught my first Raystown smallie (~2lb-2.5lb) on a soft swim bait with a beetlespin. I ended up catching 10 fish total (1 smallie, 8 largemouth, 1 perch) all along the shallows by the cabins. 9 were caught on weightless flukes. Spooked a 36" tiger musky while wading too.

I actually challenged myself to not buy any gear for the whole year. Over the years I've accumulated a lot more than intended (seems to be a common occurrence in the sport), and I wanted to push myself to make it work with what I already have. Part of that meant using more of the lures/colors that I haven't gained confidence in yet, which has resulted in mixed success. I have been able to hold myself to the challenge...despite breaking one of my go-to rods early in the year, and one of my buddies breaking my favorite rod a couple months later. Technically I have spent money on licenses ($16.60 AL resident license + $60 PA non-resident license) and I bought new polarized shades but I wear them all the time. Other than that I bought a box of live worms to take my kids, nephew, & niece fishing so I justify that as being for them rather than for myself. But no rods, reels, lures, terminal, line, storage. Happy I've been able to stick to my challenge, but in all honesty I can't wait for January 1st.

Howdy, I'm curious to know what y'all think would be the best vehicle solution if you found yourself in my circumstances. I primarily bank fish (90% of the time) and sometimes take a 10' kayak out. My fishing outings are brief when bank fishing, usually going out an hour before work or an hour between church services on Sunday, plus a variety of other times. When kayak fishing I devote more time to fishing and I picked a kayak I can load on top of a car by myself as I don't want to bother with a trailer. I take with me multiple one-piece 7' rods. Not that I carry all my rods to the bank - maybe a couple depending on the day - but I almost always end up leaving one or more rods in my car. I currently drive a Kia Soul, which I can load my kayak on top easily (because of the car's low height) and I can easily fit 7' rods into by laying the back seats down (because I hardly ever need the back row seats). If I'm taking the family we go in our minivan and I have some bungee cords hooked to the ceiling handles and suspend my rods from those. I've been considering getting a small/midsize truck or SUV and I'm not sure which would be better overall. I'm not necessarily looking for specific model recommendations - more for category rec's - but I'm happy to hear whatever you have to suggest, including other alternatives like external rod lockers and such... Here's how I currently see things... TRUCK PROS: - Easier to load kayak in bed and strap down - Easy rod storage in bed - Opens up a lot of other possibilities to haul all kinds of other things TRUCK CONS: - The rods I leave behind when fishing are now vulnerable to theft SUV PROS: - Same as what I'm already used to, just more space (and I'd probably use the bungee cord set up for holding my rods) - Secure rod storage SUV CONS: - Higher clearance to load kayak - A little less utility in hauling other things Thanks in advance...

Interesting. I haven't caught many bass below Wilson. More sauger/walleye/catfish. I have much more success just above the dam, with smallmouth, largemouth, and spots.

There were certainly a bunch of tournaments on Pickwick last year, which is where I am.

I've lost count of the number of times I've gone out fishing this year so far and I can't catch anything. I fish on the TN River in North AL, from the banks. All my normal spots I can't even find signs of fish (is that my error? Fishing memories?). Different times of day, different conditions, different presentations. I see the catch pics people post in local fishing groups on FB and they're throwing swimbaits mostly; but they're not doing a thing for me. It's demoralizing... any advice appreciated.

I'm "disloyal" to Dick's Sporting Goods/Field & Stream for the same reasons others already listed. I prefer not to buy tackle (or much of anything if I can help it) from Wal-Mart for similar reasons. Also, I refuse to buy anything Googan just because it's a brand that tries way too hard to be cool.

Welcome to the forum and the ancient sport. Anytime I find a new hobby I have a tendency to want to dive in and buy way more than I need or know what to do with, and I've learned over time that I'm better off using what I have until I see that it can't achieve the results I want. What I recommend is to fish with what you have already - and knowing exactly what you have will help others give more specific advice. 6'6" rod length is what I started with (Medium Light Berkley Cherrywood HD and a cheap Shakespeare reel) and it served well for a variety of species - particularly crappie and trout). It wasn't until I started specializing in certain techniques that I realized I would be better equipped with different setups. For bass I default to a 7' Medium Fast spinning rod (13 Fishing Blackout - I have 3 of them) combined with a decent Lew's or 13 Fishing reel for 95% of the time. Of course some lures/techniques will be ill-suited if you actually do have a Medium power and slower action rod (don't go throwing an A-Rig or frogs). Fish what you're able, such as swimbaits on jigheads, wacky rigs, drop shot, in-line spinners, etc. IN MY HUMBLE OPINION, the rod is the most important factor of your setup. It plays the biggest role in terms of casting distance, casting accuracy, good hooksets, etc. The next most important element is your line. Mono is great. I prefer braided main line with a mono leader for better sensitivity and castability. In third comes your reel. I feel that as long as your reel has a decent drag and it holds enough line very little else matters. I think for you to determine what you want to buy next (let's just be honest, it's probably going to happen) you should try getting a good grasp of the basics first and figure out what YOU enjoy fishing - which techniques, lures, styles. I LOVE fishing weightless flukes, drop shot, and top water. But I didn't start with any of those. I found out through experimenting and spending a lot of time on the water and many days getting skunked.