Thinking About Getting Back Into Bass Fishing, What Stuff To Get?

[sgjackson]

I used to fish a little bit as a kid - caught a few bass and some saltwater fish - and I'm thinking about getting back into it. I don't really have any tackle anymore, so I'm thinking about hitting up Bass Pro this weekend to pick up some things. I live in central Florida and would be casting off docks towards weedlines/other docks (have two specific spots in mind), and my university also has a pretty big bass/general fishing club I'm going to look into joining. Here's what I'm thinking about picking up, based on doing some searching here:

-A spinning reel, gonna play with a Pflueger President, a similarly priced Shimano, and the Bass Pro store brand to see what feels better.
-A medium power spinning rod with a fast action
-Some 6 pound test fluorocarbon

-Some Senkos

-Some 4/0 EWG hooks

-Maybe some other lures to play with - thinking about stuff to Texas rig curly-tailed plastic worms (this is what we always did as a kid, used purple and black Culprits), and maybe a white spinnerbait and a crankbait or two.
 

I'm not totally sure what kind of stuff I need outside of that - obviously I need something to hold all my lures but I'm not sure if I'm okay with just needle-nosed pliers and scissors or a knife or if other tools are useful also. I think I'd set my budget at an absolute max of 200 dollars for everything, and lower than 150 is definitely ideal. If you have any input for other stuff I should look at or just general stuff I should think about, I'd appreciate it as well.

[ThatZX14Fella]

Don't forget fingernail clippers. For me they work the best for cutting line.

[roadwarrior]

Topwater

Zara Spook, LC Sammy, PopR and Cavitron

 

1'-3'

Norman Fat Boy

Bandit 200

 

3'-8'

Red Eye Shad, Fat Free Shad, Bandit 300 and MegaStrike StrikeBack Spinnerbaits

 

Deeper

DD22, Sworming Hornet/ LFT Live Magic Shad

 

Soft Plastics

Rage Toad, Bug, Lizard, Hawg, Thumper, ReCon, Cut-R, Space Monkey, Shellcracker, Menace and Smokin' Rooster

GYCB Senko, Fat Ika, Kreature and Kut Tasil

MegaStrike MegaTube Craw and MegaBug (pick up some ShakE2 Professional series, too!)

[FrogFreak]

Here's my two cents:

 

Go with the Pflueger President combo ($80)

Rebel Pop Rs, They're cheap.

Zara Spook (also cheap)

T-Rig Hooks and bullet weights

Zoom trick worms/ribbon tail worms (good price point) in watermelon or green pumpkin.

Strike King spinnerbaits in while or white and chartreuse

A small soft sided tackle box

Go to a hardware store and buy some needle nose pliers

Nail clippers

10-12 lb Berkley Trilene Mono (good all around line)

 

This should cover you for a bit. You can add a couple cranks if you would like. I just don't fish them enough to advise you on which ones to buy. 

 

Oh and beware of the bait monkey!

[UKCats55]

Gander Mountain has some awesome Vortex spinning and casting rods for $20 right now (they were $60) and I paired one of each with a Mitchell Avocet spinning reel and a Pinnacle baitcaster. Mitchell was $30, Pinnacle was $40, both at Wal Mart. Wal Mart also has some pretty nice tackle bags for $20, they are Okeechobee Fats. As far as baits, grab a frog, Pop-R, Rapala, a buzzbait, Red Eye Shad, Senkos, Flukes and maybe a jig or two. Good luck!!

[A-Jay]

Hello and Welcome to BR ~

 

I recommend that you hook up with the anglers in that bass club at your university and ask them.

 

They will have all the information you'll need on tackle and baits that are effective in your area.

 

Good Luck

 

A-Jay

[F14A-B]

Based on the Fact I lived there for a decade, I trig 7" ribbon tailed worms, ran traps on weed edges, large Rapala balsa topwater minnow baits, larger dual prop cedar topwaters, and ran Bagley balsa B cranks on the edges of pads... However, there are certainly other baits as well, but those are my absolute most productive baits as well as my confidence baits..... Joining the bass fishing club would be ideal as well...

Best of luck to you!

[sgjackson]

I'm definitely going to be focusing on plastics since the locals I've talked to mostly use plastic worms and live shiners/shad to great success - right now I'm grabbing some Senkos and plastic worms for texas rigging for sure. A few of them also mentioned busting out the Rapala when it's hot to hit the schooling fish.

[Squirmin Wormin]

well that's your own decision really,but what's important it's what you develop and actually do with it cause you'll get back into the sport and will have more and then some to get back to the sport, lakes,and the fishing , happy fishing!

[sgjackson]

Ended up getting the President combo from Bass Pro, some Senkos, a popper, and a white spinnerbait. Threw a Senko off a dock towards a weedline and shifted it every ten seconds, felt my rod twitch, and landed my first bass! Was a small one, not bigger than two pounds, but was such a rush. Thanks for the help guys!