Junior High BASS Fishing Team Gear - Fishing Tackle

[ford4wd08]

Hi all,

 

My oldest is in 7th grade and this year they are starting a BASS fishing team.

 

I'm beyond excited that he is joining and has already found who he wants to be his partner for this years tournaments.

 

My neighbor is actually the guy heading it all up and I'm glad he is letting middle schoolers join.

 

So this brings me to my question, I fish, but I haven't targeted bass in a while. I've been fishing for crappie and rainbow trout quite a bit, but I can see myself getting bit by the bass bug again.

 

I need to start him with some of his "own" rods and reel combos on a budget. 

 

I am a fan of Abu Garcia reels, so I am gravitating towards some black or silver max reels for casting. He already has one Flueger President spinning reel.

 

For rods I am thinking some Berkley Cherrywoods or Lightning rods and maybe a Ugly Stick or two.

 

I am thinking he will need to have one spinning rod set up (which I think we have covered) and two or three casting rigs.

 

Are there any offerings by Lew's or anyone I am over looking? I don't have much experience with their reels or rods.

 

Obviously I am on budget, so I am ok with the low end stuff and understand there can be trade offs.

 

What do you all recommend?

 

[ford4wd08]

Hi all, my oldest son is joining the middle school BASS fishing team.

 

What do you all recommend having in a tackle box for him to fish?

 

He is new to bass fishing, so I would like to start with some pretty simple baits and lures to master.

 

I am thinking some spinner baits, texas rig worms, and a few crank baits.

 

I haven't bass fished in a while. What suggestions do you all have to put in his tackle box?

[Log Catcher]

I would add buzzbaits and topwater poppers. Put some Baby Brush Hogs or other creature baits in addition to the worms.

[The Bassman]

There's a ton of decent choices available. I see that you're not far from the Kodak BPS. Would be a good hands on place to start.

[roadwarrior]

 

[roadwarrior]

 

[Fishin Dad]

For a beginner, I would include a chatterbait (black and blue, green pumpkin, and white), a 1/4 and 3/8 oz. jigs in black blue and green pumpkin, 3/0 and 4/0 ewg hooks, a variety of tungsten bullet weights, a buzzbait or two, a couple variety of wacky rig hooks and some bags of Senkos, creature, and craws plastics in black and blue and green pumpkin.  

[BassNJake]

12 hours ago, ford4wd08 said:

Hi all, my oldest son is joining the middle school BASS fishing team.

 

What do you all recommend having in a tackle box for him to fish?

 

He is new to bass fishing, so I would like to start with some pretty simple baits and lures to master.

 

I am thinking some spinner baits, texas rig worms, and a few crank baits.

 

I haven't bass fished in a while. What suggestions do you all have to put in his tackle box?

That's awesome the middle school bass team!!

 

I'd suggest a ned rig with zman TRD's.

The zman line of baits are very durable and will give you the most value for you soft plastics.

 

I'd venture to guess that it won't be too long and he'll have a whole list of baits for you to buy him.

[ford4wd08]

1 hour ago, roadwarrior said:

 

 

Thanks for the advice. That is kind of what I was thinking.

 

[ford4wd08]

Thank you all for the replies. 

 

I am thinking of starting him on soft plastics as the learning curve is pretty sort.

 

I am stoked there is a middle school team. I think it is a great start for young men and women into fishing.

[bagofdonuts]

Sounds like fun. I think your list is a pretty good start. Might throw a jig in there as they are super versatile, easy to rig,  and a good bait to learn strike detection. 

[Spankey]

Berkley 4” and 7” PowerWorms. 

 

Berkley 3” Power Grubs. 

 

Bill Lewis Rat-L-Traps 

 

Rapala Shad Raps

 

Zoom Lizards

 

I have a boat full of stuff but this is all I really need to bass fish with. I choose to make it more difficult at time fishing other things. I believe I can catch bass anywhere in the country on that short list. 

[NYWayfarer]

13 hours ago, ford4wd08 said:

 

Are there any offerings by Lew's or anyone I am over looking? I don't have much experience with their reels or rods.

 

Obviously I am on budget, so I am ok with the low end stuff and understand there can be trade offs.

 

 

Lew's has their Mach 2 line on clearance as they are revising them for 2019 You can find them on sites like Tackle Warehouse and Dick's for great prices.

 

Another Lew's budget combo I have been happy with is the Xfinity line a Walmart Exclusive. I have been using the spinning comb0 for creek fishing and it handles a 2 pound Smallmouth fight nicely.

 

The Xfinity line prices are:

Baitcaster combo $90

Spinning combo $57

Baitcaster $55

Spinning reel $40

Spinning rod $50

Baitcasting rod $50

 

[J Francho]

Your threads were merged.  Please do not start multiple threads with the same question.

[ford4wd08]

4 hours ago, J Francho said:

Your threads were merged.  Please do not start multiple threads with the same question.

Hi J Francho, actually my questions were not exactly the same. 

 

One was specific to tackle, the other was specific to gear (rods and reels).

 

The forum has two dedicated sections, one for rods and reels, the other for tackle.

 

That is why they were posted in two different areas.

 

If you feel they needed to be merged, that is fine, but they were in the correct sections according to the forum.

[J Francho]

I sort of figured that.  I think you'll like the one stop and shop better.  Also, it's easier to keep just one thread at the top of the list and active than two.  You'll definitely get more answers like this, combined.

[WRB]

When I was 12 years 1 rod and reel was all that was needed. I used that one outfit through high school age. Too many choices only adds confushion to the learly earning curve.

My advice is master 1 presentation at a time. Catching bass is the goal for team tournaments not learning to use several outfit at the same time.

Your son has a spinning reel he likes, get him a decent bass spinning rod to go do with it. Don't waste money on low end Garcia tackle.

My suggestion is Dobyns Fury series rods FR703SF will handle everything he needs his first year. 

Soft plastics catch more bass then hard baits. 

1. Wacky rigged Senko.

2. Drop shot rigged finesse worms.

3. Texas rigged worms or creatures with sliding bullet sinker.

Your son can do all 3 with the same outfit very effectively and catch bass anywhere.

Tom

[J Francho]

A medium/fast spinning rod to start, maybe add in a baitcasting setup, based on his casting ability.  I'd start him off with 6-8# mono for spinning, and 12-15# mono for casting.  Let him discover braid a little later.  Some tackle for spinning: weedless hooks, wacky hooks, 4 and 5" senkos in his favorite color, some small medium depth crankbaits, a small spook/topwater style bait, some inline spinners or the "pond" size bent shaft spinners.  This will give him starting points for all types of baits.  Later when he gets into casting gear, you can introduce basss jigs and Texas rigs.  Lastly, have him spend some time in the beginners section of the videos here. Good luck to you both.

[ford4wd08]

15 minutes ago, J Francho said:

I sort of figured that.  I think you'll like the one stop and shop better.  Also, it's easier to keep just one thread at the top of the list and active than two.  You'll definitely get more answers like this, combined.

 

Understood. Thanks for the feedback! ?

 

 

Thank you all for the comments. I'll put him on the videos tonight!

[Fishes in trees]

Does the team have a coach?  What does the coach recommend?  What kind of gear do the other kids have?    Jr high kids like to "fit in".   Give the kid high end gear and he's a "snotty rich kid", get gear that is low end and he's a "poor kid". This is another area where the coach needs to set some guide lines.

Here is a cautionary tale about high school fishing . ..

A buddy of mine get a new job and moved - from suburban St. Louis to a town in central Missouri within relatively close driving distance to 4 decent reservoirs - Lake Ozark - Truman - Pomme de Terre - and Stockton.  When he moved his relatively new 2nd wife and her teen age son moved with him.  To call him a fishing fanatic isn't fair - he's more serious about fishing than that.  Seriously into tournaments at the BFL level.  Town had a high school fishing team - he made some inquiries - yes anyone could join the team but fishing in the tournaments mostly depended on who had a dad or brother or uncle or neighbor with a boat who could act as boat captain.  School didn't have any boats of their own.  So he bought a new boat - one of those 20' nationally advertised Skeeters, tricked out - might as well get in in the high school colors.  You can't imagine how much abuse that teen age kid took, being the new kid in school, wanted to get on the fishing team so he had his dad buy a new boat.   That wasn't exactly my buds intention, but that was kinda how the other kids on the fishing team saw it.   Couple of years later it was mostly better, only after he made a point of taking most of the other kids out fishing in the new boat - and several tournaments taking two other kids on the team in his boat and his step kid went fishing with one of the other dads.  In some ways the fishing team was just as big a deal as the football or basketball team.

 

[ford4wd08]

3 hours ago, Fishes in trees said:

Does the team have a coach?  What does the coach recommend?  What kind of gear do the other kids have?    Jr high kids like to "fit in".   Give the kid high end gear and he's a "snotty rich kid", get gear that is low end and he's a "poor kid". This is another area where the coach needs to set some guide lines.

Here is a cautionary tale about high school fishing . ..

A buddy of mine get a new job and moved - from suburban St. Louis to a town in central Missouri within relatively close driving distance to 4 decent reservoirs - Lake Ozark - Truman - Pomme de Terre - and Stockton.  When he moved his relatively new 2nd wife and her teen age son moved with him.  To call him a fishing fanatic isn't fair - he's more serious about fishing than that.  Seriously into tournaments at the BFL level.  Town had a high school fishing team - he made some inquiries - yes anyone could join the team but fishing in the tournaments mostly depended on who had a dad or brother or uncle or neighbor with a boat who could act as boat captain.  School didn't have any boats of their own.  So he bought a new boat - one of those 20' nationally advertised Skeeters, tricked out - might as well get in in the high school colors.  You can't imagine how much abuse that teen age kid took, being the new kid in school, wanted to get on the fishing team so he had his dad buy a new boat.   That wasn't exactly my buds intention, but that was kinda how the other kids on the fishing team saw it.   Couple of years later it was mostly better, only after he made a point of taking most of the other kids out fishing in the new boat - and several tournaments taking two other kids on the team in his boat and his step kid went fishing with one of the other dads.  In some ways the fishing team was just as big a deal as the football or basketball team.

 

Understood on the comment. 

 

Best thing about this team is it is brand spanking new. 

 

All the kids will be the first team together. The coach is my neighbor behind us. Just a good ole boy from East TN.

 

I don't expect any issues.