100% New to fishing what should i buy?

[Largemouth21]

On January 8, 2017 at 1:24 AM, Michael Yi said:

i found a gx2 6,6 for $40 at walmart. You think thats good enough?

I would say so. That was my "starter" combo. Still use it once and awhile 

[Michael Yi]

On 1/8/2017 at 10:28 AM, fishnkamp said:

new2BC4bass You were correct I left out the fast in my description, although the Lightning shock is kinda in between medium and fast action. It is a decent rod for the money.  Another good choice is an Abu Garcia Veritas 7 foot medium and they have that rod on sale for $47.89 plus $9 shipping on Amazon. That is a $99 rod. MY wife and I fish both of these rods as well as some rods that cost over $300 each, so I am suggesting gear that you will keep using.

For a starter setup, I would get myself one of the tackle bags that holds 3 or 6 plano boxes. It makes it easy to organise your tackle and if you go bass fishing one day and catfishing another day, you can easily swap out which boxes you carry that day.  For all around use I would set one box up with some different hooks, some small hooks for panfish and bait and some larger hooks like we use for fishing grubs and worms. If you decide to go catfishing, I would get some larger hooks for that. Add a couple of bobbers to fish minnows and nightcrawlers. Some of the largest bass are caught down in Florida with either a big bobber or balloon and a large minnow or bluegill.  Get some different weights, a pack of small pinch on weights, some rubber core sinkers,  and some worm weights in 1/8 1/4 and 3/8  to begin with.

Look at Kalin Lunker 5 inch grubs ( Bass Pro is a great place to go because they have people to help you).  Pick up a bag of bluegill colored and a bag of watermelon seed red flake grubs. If you fish really off colored water than add a june bug or chartreuse instead.  Bass pro has these hooks called Perfect finesse worm hooks that I like because they have a weight and a hook together. That is a great way to fish grubs and worms Just match up the sixe hooks to the bait/ They do come in different hook sizes and weights.

Next go pick out some worms. Gary Yamamoto, Zoom, Berkley all make great stuff, so does a ton of other people.  Look at Berkley Powerbait Power worms in 4 inch.  Pick up a pack or two of these colors to begin with.  First Blue Fleck, Black chartreuse tail, and watermelon red see. Later try some 6 or 7 inch worms, but for now start with some 4 inchers.  Next go look at Gary Yamamoto Sencos. They come in all colors and sizes. To make it easy choose the 5 inch and god all of the colors work, but let's start with say a pack of each of the following colors  Black Blue Flake, watermelon red green flake, and maybe smoke blue pearl silver purple.  That should give you a mix of baits in different colors.

The Sencos can be rigged different ways and present totally different presentations. With a very little effort you can find a ton of videos online that teach you how to rig them texas style, wacky style and as miny finesse carolina rigs etc.  Make sure to pick up an O ring tool with O rings and some small hooks to use with them.

Lastly,  take a look at a hollow bodied swimbaits like a Strike King KVD Perfect Plastics Swim'n Caffeine Shad. These baits look like a minnow swimming and then one dying when you stop reeling them. 

Depending on if you texas rig them, use a belly weighted swimbait hook or use a heavier jig head, they can cover shallow to deeper water.

 All of the baits I suggested will catch bass and lots of other fish as well. My wife and I use these baits all over MD, PA, VA, TN, KY, and MO.  They work in clear water and stained water. We will  just change colors to find out what the fish want but they all work well.

Notice I am not trying to spend all of your money at once!  I say get a pack or two of something. Go fish that technique, catch some fish and learn what works in your area, and water conditions.  And most of all as others have said enjoy yourself.  If you let us know what part of your state you are in we probably have some members that live near you. There is always that chance to meet up and learn first hand.  

 

is my setup good for bass fishing? There seems to be alot of bass places to fish in my area

[fishnkamp]

Absolutely that should work very well for bass. 

[lonnie g]

On ‎1‎/‎8‎/‎2017 at 1:26 AM, fishnkamp said:

MY best suggestion is to get a 6'6" to 7 foot medium action spinning rod. It is your most versatile rod to begin with. Match it up with a nice moderate priced reel. I really do not suggest ever buying "beginner" gear. Buying that means you will be upgrading too soon. I prefer to suggest moderate priced gear that will last for years of service.  When you purchase your next combo you are not replacing but rather adding to your fishing arsenal. The price of the Ugly stick combos range somewhere around $50. If your budget allows it let's add a little more and get you a better setup. For a reel look at a Pflueger President 6930. Spool it with 10 pound Stren mono.  That is going to  cost $60 but will last a decade or more. Some of mine are that old. Now look at a rod like a Berkley Lightning Shock rod. They are $49.99 at Bass Pro but can often be found online for less. They are both available through Dicks sporting Goods online also.

Now lets ask some questions. If you look around your part of the state do you have some small rivers, lakes or ponds that you will be able to shore fish or in the case of a small stream or river perhaps you can wade?  The type of water will help you decide on some tackle to go with that starter setup. 

wading fishing is a blast!!  especially In creeks.   you have fish confined to a smaller area.  you can park vehicle at both ends  fish with buddy. saves a lot of walking. good luck this year and welcome! 

[BrianSnat]

On 1/9/2017 at 5:13 AM, Michael Yi said:

I decided to get the Abu Garcia Vertias 1 piece 7ft and the Pflueger President 

 

I got these, the 10 pound one is that fine?https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B005OU1CLW/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1483957107&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=pflueger+president&dpPl=1&dpID=51cNpUuuT4L&ref=plSrch

 

That's a pretty good starter outfit, though I may have gone with the Berkley Lightning over the Veritas.  Both are fine rods for the money.

Now it's tackle time:

Soft plastics:  Yamamoto Senko, Yumdinger, Zoom Trick Worm, Zoom Brush Hog, Rage Tail Thumper, Zoom Super Fluke, Yamamoto Kut Tail, Rage Tail Space Monkey are good starter points.  I've had best results with darker colors. Black, Green Pumpkin, Watermelon, Junebug but your mileage may vary.  Also tube baits are good to have. There are made by dozens of mfrs and most should be fine.  THis category also includes swimbaits. They are generally soft plastic fish imitations. Keitech, Strike King, Zoom and Berkley make decent ones.

Spinnerbaits:  BooYah and Strike King are decent and fairly inexpensive

Topwater:  Rapala Skitterpop, Rapala traditional floating, Rebel popper, Rebel FrogR, Jitterbug, Heddon Torpedo, Smithwick Devil Horse, Hula Popper are good ones to choose from.  I think the Jitterbug, traditional Rapala and a popper of some sort are essential. There are also many soft frog imitations that are great. Scum Frog and Spro are popular.

Jigs:  Football head  jig (Strike King is good and not too expensive)

Crankbaits:  You should definitely have a good assortment of these running at a variety of depths.  The running depth should be noted on the box or on the order page.  Some to choose from are Rat-L-Trap, Bomber, Strike King, Rapala Shad Rap,  Storm, Luck-E-Strike.   Choose colors that match the major forage fish in the lakes you plan to fish.  If in doubt its hard to go wrong with sliver/black.  These can get expensive but I see no need to shell out 10 - 20 dollars for a crankbait. The brands I mentioned tend to be on the cheaper side.  Also look into suspending jerkbaits. Yo-Zuri makes a good one

Inline spinners:  Some good ones are Mepps, Panther Martin, Rooster Tail and Vibrax

Spoons:  There are many choices here, but you can't go wrong with Kastmaster, Krocodile, Dardevle, Johnson and Hopkins. Also blade baits such as Binsky, though not really spoons are often fished in a similar manner.

Other tackle:
Weights:  egg and bullet sinkers in several weights from 1/8 to 1 oz.  A splitshot assortment pack is also useful
Hooks:  Extra wide gap bent shaft worm hooks in 3/0 to 5/0.  Octopus hooks from sizes  #6 to 2/0. Standard baitholder hooks from sizes #8 to 1/0. Gamakatsu, Lazer and VMC are decent brands
Also, snap swivels and barrel swivels
Bobbers for bait fishing

Good to have:
Net until you get good at landing without it. Rubber nets cost a bit more but will save you a lot of frustration. Hooks and fish don't get tangled in them the way they do in cotton or synthetic nets.
Pliers or hook removal tool.

Tackle box: Hard or soft sided  is a purely personal choice and so are features.  Get one with room to expand, because you WILL  be buying more tackle as time goes on if you get even a little into fishing.  

 

 

 

[fishnkamp]

briansnat nice breakdown. Now do not get scared by that grocery list. 

Lets make it a little painless. If you start with say 1 pack each of one type of worm in the suggested colors, add a pack each of grubs like the Kalin 5 inch Lunker grubs in a watermelon red flake and a bluegill color then go get some worm weights ( the small packs ) and hooks that fit them to begin with. Add a couple of spinnerbaits, and a couple of packs of swimbaits with their hooks (belly weighted ) you have a good place to start.  Just add as you go. 

[Michael Yi]

Thanks, what kind of mono should I get?

[roadwarrior]

http://seaguar.com/freshwater/monofilament.html

 

[Michael Yi]

2 hours ago, roadwarrior said:

http://seaguar.com/freshwater/monofilament.html

 

Is the sufix 832 10lb 150yard fine?

[Spankey]

I take it you came into this site due to its bass fishing nature. But maybe not. You should try to keep it simple and try to settle into a type or types of fishing you like. Certainly don't get overwhelmed with all the high $$$$ stuff out there related to bass fishing. You might fish live bait. Nothing wrong with that.  

 

But I can pass on what I saw at a recent trip to Wally World they had Berkley Shok Rods for $9.00 and Garcia Vendettas for $25.00, clearance I guess you call it. They were new with hang tags. Worth asking your local Wally. Decent rods for a new guy. 

[Angry John]

Lots of lists.  So much to buy and to figure out.  Each type of bait has many ways it can be fished and tricks to learn along the way.  As an example the trick wordm can be fished a bunch of ways.  Some examples would be shaky head, weightless, drop shot, and the list goes on.  I would pick a bait that works well in the current season and figure it and your style out.  A dropshot and shake head and weightless will get you through most seasons and almost always produce.  More baits and money spent at first may only make it harder for you to learn.  Grab a backpack and one or two 3700 boxes with some good terminal tackle and a few bags of plastics and your in buisness.  Pick a worm a grub and a creature bait and roll with it.

[Deeare]

Bass pro has their reel and rod trade in promo coming up soon.   It's in Feb or March depending on where you live.   Buy a $5-$10 combo at a flee market and save.   Or check out classifieds on this site.   Or ***.    Great deals to be had.  

[Michael Yi]

So I went down to my local fishing store and they recommend me getting a swivel and a water gremlin.

[roadwarrior]

So, after 3 pages of suggestions you bought a swivel and a weight?

 

I think this thread is done.

 

Good night Irene.