Looking for advice

[Lukie]

I am going into highschool this year and I want to join a bass fishing club and I want to do tourneys with my friends but I want to add some more tackle and high quality rod combos but I have little money what should I do

[GrumpyOlPhartte]

Wow! Experienced guys on here could write books on your question, but fortunately I'm not one of them so just a couple of thoughts.

 

First, remember that bass have no idea of the cost of your rods and reels. All they recognize is that something is in front of them that is food, threat, or disturbance. You'll get a lot of recommendations and, from my experience, these guys are pretty good ... OK, really good, but they are not you and their personal situations may not be similar to yours.  So really read what they tell you in their responses.  As a generic example, I can't afford a lot of their recommendations and I have had unpleasant experiences with some of the products they highly recommend but I still study each recommendation IF it is accompanied by reasons why they like a product.

 

Don't read the articles on this site.  STUDY THEM. There are terrific articles and videos; in fact, you may be overwhelmed by the amount of info if you don't take the time to think about what they say and determine what applies to your situation. There are forums and articles related to beginning fishing techniques, equipment selection, and tournament fishing. Keep in mind you can't do it all at once so try to focus on a couple of techniques with which you may want to start. It takes time, patience, and practice to acquire the skills attained by some of these guys.

 

A final thought before I get off my soapbox. In my opinion, there are lots of economical tackle configurations, but what you buy is not nearly as critical as learning what to do with it to become successful.  So ... pick their brains. Ask how they would use a particular rod/reel combo. Find out not only what they recommend, but how they use it. Don't be afraid to personal message (PM) them. I've never been rebuffed or ridiculed when I sent a PM. Seems that they are much more effusive when they can talk to you one-on-one.

 

Now I yield the floor and wish you good luck! Hope this helps!

[Lukie]

Thank you 

[EastNcBassin]

Hey Lukie! Welcome!  I do fairly serious tournament fishing and like Grumpy said the bass don't know how expensive your rods and reels are. I just went by walmart and bought a Berkeley rod for $30 MH 7ft overall great rod so far (I actually like it better then some of my more expensive rods) and for cheaper reels Lews makes great reels (I use them almost specifically) they have some really nice reels for 80ish or less. good luck to you in your endeavors friend!

[scaleface]

16 hours ago, Lukie said:

I am going into highschool this year and I want to join a bass fishing club and I want to do tourneys with my friends but I want to add some more tackle and high quality rod combos but I have little money what should I do

 

Watch for sales .

  Also post where you are from . I've given away lots of tackle     . Just gave the cable guy two homemade buzzbaits yesterday .  

[NHBull]

Prioritize and remember there are needs and there are wants.  Not all the techniques discussed on this board will be relevant to you and your situation, location and access to water.  Starting out I would not buy any technique specific setups with the exception for a worm/ jig rod.  These will give you the most milage.  Guys on this board will bend over backwards to help the novice angler.

Goodluck and welcome aboard 

[WRB]

15-16 yrs old going to high school.

In 3 yrs your interest may be very different, based on the fact you have limited budget and may not have an experienced mentor to teach you the basics, relying on what you read can get confusing. Without knowing your current fishing and boat handling skills or what tackle you may now have makes it difficult to advise you where to start.

Suggestions; Bill Murphy's book "In Pursuit of Gaint Bass" has some good bass behavior info.

Don Iovino's book "Finesse Bass Fishing and the Sonar Connection" is a good resource on finesse bass fishing.

Glenn's how to vedio's are excellent tutorials.

US Reel 180X spinning reel on eBay @$40 is a good finesse reel.

Dobyns new Colt series rods @ $80 are a good choice. Gary Dobyns likes to support young anglers, so give him a call.

Good luck.

Tom

[Catt]

Morning Lukie! How Y'all Are?

 

Outstanding advice already!

 

Prioritize

 

Family, school, work, & then fishing!

 

You got a job?

 

Not necessarily at Micky D's but around the neighborhood, earn it, save it, & buy tackle.

 

[Mike L]

As others have said you don't need "high quality rod combo's".

What you do need is the desire and commitment to listen and learn, which seems like you have. 

 

Buy what you can with the funds you have and become profient with it. Visit your local waters experimenting with just a few baits keeping different colors to a minimum. You don't need boxes of different baits and lures.

 

Visit a few local tackles shops or marina's if you have any and ask what would be best to use in your local waters. Don't be afraid to walk up to other fisherman you may meet fishing off docks if you have any or others walking the bank of a pond. Tell them you're wanting to learn, you'll be surprised at the advise and help you may get. 

 

The best advise I can give you is don't worry about fishing tournaments just yet. Read, ask, listen and learn as much as you can. Take your time.. You're about to start something that will stay with you for the rest of your life. You have to learn what to do before you do it. 

 

Best of luck to you kid, and hope to hear from you again. 

 

 

 

 

Mike

 

[Lukie]

On August 18, 2017 at 10:14 AM, scaleface said:

 

Watch for sales .

  Also post where you are from . I've given away lots of tackle     . Just gave the cable guy two homemade buzzbaits yesterday .  

I am from Waupaca Wisconsin 

[Bassin' Brad]

All above advice is good. The simple answer to your question is to work. The things you want take money, the way to get money is to work. You don't have to have a drivers license to find jobs. Check with your neighbors and see if there is anything anyone needs done. Ask them to spread the word you want to do odd jobs. There is always leaves to rake, a car to wash, a tree to trim, a yard to mow, dogs to walk, a flower bed to clean..etc..etc..  Give people what they want and in turn you will get the things you want. 

[Sword of the Lord]

My post from this thread:

 

"""Tips:

 

Fishing for bass doesn't have to be stressful or expensive. Most people overkill on line size and gear in general. For example, I'm teaching my son to fish. He's 9. Today we took 2 Platinum Zebco 33's on 6'6" MH Shakespeare Excursion rods, spooled with 10 pound fluoro. Baits were Senkos, tubes, power worms and trick worms. 27 bass between us both. You don't need 60 pound line or high tech gear. People prepare for their PB and heavy, heavy vegetation, but that isn't the usual reality.

 

I'm not telling you to be cheap and take a Zebco, but I'm telling you that you don't need professional grade gear. Its easy and fun and doesn't have to cost a fortune."""

 

The last bass from our adventure (ignore the silly face, we act like fools when we're left alone).

 

 

As you can see, a decent fish pulled out of a weed bed on a spincast reel and a cheap rod. You don't need to spend a ton of money.

 

 

[BassNJake]

15 minutes ago, Bassin' Brad said:

All above advice is good. The simple answer to your question is to work. The things you want take money, the way to get money is to work. You don't have to have a drivers license to find jobs. Check with your neighbors and see if there is anything anyone needs done. Ask them to spread the word you want to do odd jobs. There is always leaves to rake, a car to wash, a tree to trim, a yard to mow, dogs to walk, a flower bed to clean..etc..etc..  Give people what they want and in turn you will get the things you want. 

This^^^

 

By doing this you get a lot more than money to buy some tackle.

You will learn people skills, develop a work ethic, learn how to negotiate as well as develop connections/networking skills.

Sometimes it is these connections that lead to opportunities.

 

If you look at the guy that just finished 2nd at the Forrest Wood cup, his sponsors include a car dealership(Everett) and a Bank.

Both are located in his hometown and prior connections could have played into his sponsorship with them.

 

 

[BCline]

You do not have to spend a lot of money to catch bass.  I work for a living and have a wife and three kids who are constantly in my wallet so there isn't any money left over to feed my fishing addiction.  I buy stick bait seconds for $5/pound and fish with hooks which cost $0.99 for 5.  My rods and reels came from Walmart and I string them with the cheapest mono-filament I can find.

 

Today I landed bass number 234 for the year and my PB is 7-4.  Learn how to fish, not how to shop and have fun!

[Bruce424]

Keep fishing simple at this point.  Dont need a bunch of colors or baits. Blacks, whites, natural colors.

 

Say you like to fish jigs... I would recommend buying the parts to build your own jigs. Instead of buying a 3-4$ jig. Buying the jigheads and skirts separately and putting them together yourself cold be cheaper in the long run.

 

Join ebay. Can find awesome deals there. Alot of people on ebay do custom stuff. Sometimes find reels and rods for cheap. Ask for gift cards for birthdays or x-mas.

Sales are your best friends. So are discount bins.

Pm me your address. I probably can help ya out on a few things.