New To Bass Fishing

[jparker98]

I just started fishing again after almost 15 years and was looking for some advice on what gear to use when/where/with what and suggestions on more gear to pickup in the future.

Right now I have 2 rod/reel setups and do almost all my fishing from shore. My local lake is a reservoir and has quite a lot of cover in the areas I can access and from what I can tell is relatively shallow in most spots.

Baitcaster:

Pinnacle Deadbolt Pro Reel

Berkley AMP 6'6" Medium Action

50# Spiderwire Stealth Braid

Spinning:

Shakespear Ugly Stik Combo (25 series reel)

8# Stren Mono

I realize it's not top of the line equipment, but I'm on a budget and didn't want to blow a bunch of money on gear until I get a boat (hopefully next year). I'm wondering what I should get as a 3rd setup I was thinking maybe I need a 7" Med/Heavy rod setup to learn how to flip and pitch on? I seen a good deal on a Daiwa Exceller combo are those decent?

It seems like it's easier to throw lightweight tackle on the spinning combo (such as a Rapala minnow husky jerk bait) and I've been using my Baitcast setup for most everything else (texas rig worm, top water frog, spinnerbaits and crankbaits). I've been watching a lot of bass shows and trying to learn different setups and recently seen a drop shot rig so I'm thinking I want to try one of those since I've had such good luck on my weightless texas rigged worm. It appears most of the people throwing a drop shot use a spinning combo is that the ideal setup to use for this?

Also, the only thing I've caught any largemouths on is the texas rigged worm, but I have thrown my frogs quite a bit trying to get some bites, but I've yet to have a strike. I've tried all kinds of different retrieves (faster, slower, pausing/twitching in holes in the cover) is it the wrong time of year to be throwing that or just keep trying?

Sorry for rambling, just looking for some tips/suggestions. When it comes down to it I feel like I've done pretty well so far just looking to expand my knowledge and hopefully catch even more/bigger fish!

Adding a pic of the first largemouth I caught over at my local lake (Newburgh Lake, MI).

[Arv]

How much are you willing to spend? I saw the Exceller combo at Cabela's for $80. Would you spend more than that? I think youre on the right track with a 7' MH rod. You can pitch and flip with them and use them for many other applications as well. Do you have a preference on what type of lures you will use on this new set up? We will probably need a little more information to give you the best advice we know how.

[jparker98]

I guess I'd be looking to keep the combo under $125 maybe I'd go up to $150 if there was a huge difference (cheaper the better I suppose that's why the Exceller combo looked appealing). I'm pretty open to lure suggestions, but I've had the most luck with weightless texas rigged 5" Yum F2 Dingers on a 2/0 hook at the local lake (actually the only thing I've caught fish on so far). I recently picked up a KVD crankbait set that I haven't used at my local lake yet and I also picked up a couple jigs I was going to try out next time I go too.

The local lake I fish most often was recently dredged and restocked back in 2007 and I'm able to access deep parts of the lake due to some floating docks, but those appear to be heavily fished, it seems most people are fishing for panfish or walleye at these spots and they tend to stay away from the heavy cover areas so I've been targeting the shallower areas (approximately 4-8' deep) with lots of cover and have pulled in 3 decent bass over the past 2 weeks there (usually in the morning or just before dusk). I live in the suburbs so there are limited lakes for me to fish although there are a lot of apartment complexes around with pretty large ponds, but I have no idea if it's even legal for me to fish there and I'm not sure if they're even stocked.

[Arv]

Yeah, I would recommend something with a 6.X:1 gear ratio and a MH/F rod. It will let you cover a large spectrum of lures. Check out the flea market and see whats going on in there. I think theres a daiwa hst available for a steal of a price. Not sure about what rods are still available in there. But if you paired that reel with a shimano sellus worm/jig rod or berkley lightning shock rod you'd be off to a good start for pretty cheap. People on here usually take really good care of their stuff too. If you want to buy something new you can probably search around on ebay and find a lews speed spool for around 80-90 bucks. BPS pro qualifier is another really nice reel for $100 although I realize that is pushing the budget a little bit. I'm sure more people will jump on here and give more feedback but I think those are a few good places to start looking.

[deep]

Jparker; I'd urge you to look for an used Curado B series reel, either on Ebay, or on the buy/sell/trade sections of bassresource. The reel should cost you no more than 60-ish if you look hard enough. A Citica D would also be an excellent choice. Go used, (and go Shimano), and you'll have years of trouble-free and enjoyable fishing experience.

You can spend the rest of the money on a budget rod, which admittedly is a category I don't know much about. However, I have been quite impressed with a Berkley Lightning 7'6" flipping rod I recently bought for $25.