The Beginner -> Serious Pond Hopper Shopping List

[Quarry Man]

Scenario: It's early fall, you just started bass fishing with lures this spring. You think you really like it. You like it enough that you are willing to spend that $1000 or so to upgrade from an old ugly stick and tackle that's older than grandpa. You get that the ol' faithful rod, reel, and lures still work, but you know it's time for an upgrade. The tackle store is full of choices and it's quite overwhelming. Where do you even begin?

 

Had a little free time tonight and I thought I would put together a shopping list for people who just started fishing, started to like it, and want to get more into it. I put this list together for someone who primarily fishes ponds, and lives in an area that has four seasons, meaning the fish won't be massive and the tackle can be used in all four seasons. Please let me know what you think and if there is anything you would add or subtract. I will explain my thought process below.

 

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/workingorder.html?o_l=7viV_UuyBq4BY_2v

 

I break the pond into four categories: top, middle, bottom, and finesse. I chose a popper, frog, and buzz bait for topwater. Covers the basics. I chose crank baits, chatter baits, swim jigs, and spinnerbaits for the middle of the water column. I chose a jig and various soft plastics to fish the bottom of the water column. For finesse, I chose a drop shot and a ned rig, along with a wacky rig and small Texas rig. These should cover the majority of conditions in any pond. I chose a variety of soft plastic styles in the basic colors, as an intermediate/beginner, you shouldn't be overly concerned with color, as long as you own the basics and can focus on technique and learning how to fish. I chose all z-man soft plastics because of the Elaztech. I personally do not use those baits very much, but that is simply because I value quality more and am willing to pay for it. I also fish competitively so the fine details make a difference. Elazatech baits are great in ponds where the fish are smaller yet there is still potential for large fish. I cannot say whether or not the zman sinkers are better than say a YUM dinger or not, but I would take the former over the latter when pond fishing. It is more important to learn the techniques. When you are on a tight budget, having a bait that will last is more important than having the best action and getting 1 extra bite per trip. Fun, but not necessary. that is my opinion.

 

as for the rods, I believe that this is the entry point to very nice gear. These combos are very very reliable, yet they don't break the bank. Anything less than that, I do not feel comfortable recommending, especially for someone moving up the swim ladder. Shimano and Daiwa dominate the reel game, and Dobyns dominates the $120 rod market. I recommend a 7' ml or m Dobyns fury paired with a 2500 Shimano ultegra, 15 lb braid and 8lb leader. this is a great pond finesse setup. Im not sure if m or ml is better. Next up is a 6'6" MH fury paired with a 6.3 tatula ct LEFT HAND. I am confident that this setup is excellent for ponds. I think left hand is easier to learn as that is what people use in spinning reels, and most people are right handed so they want their dominant had n the rod. This rod will be paired with 15 lb hybrid copolymer, maximum versatility here. Last up is a 7'3" mh fury with a 7.3:1 tatula and 40 lb braid. heavier rod meant for heavier baits. still light enough for multi purpose usage. I like the 7.3 here because it is more versatile than an 8.1.

 

I like those boxes because they allow for different storage setups and can be configured multiple ways. No tackle backpack here, just stuff the plastics in a gallon ziplock and the two 3700's in a backpack you already own and good to go.

 

 

what do you think?

[jbsoonerfan]

On 2/12/2020 at 8:08 PM, Quarry Man said:

 

http://www.tacklewarehouse.com/workingorder.html?o_l=7viV_UuyBq4BY_2v

 

what do you think?

I think your cart is empty  

 

Edit*** Nope, my cart just had stuff in it LOL

[Quarry Man]

Just now, jbsoonerfan said:

I think your cart is empty  

is it actually   that wasn't supposed to happen   

[Finessegenics]

^ I saw it just fine. Weird. It’s pretty well thought out

[jbsoonerfan]

2 minutes ago, Quarry Man said:

is it actually   that wasn't supposed to happen   

See my edit  

[MIbassyaker]

I'd buy a kayak instead.

[Quarry Man]

Just now, MIbassyaker said:

I'd buy a kayak instead.

yeah my thought was 12' Jon if you could transport it

id personally think its best to learn to fish from the bank and build skills using quality gear before buying a kayak and being stuck with old gear. this gives you a methodical approach to improvement

[MIbassyaker]

4 minutes ago, Quarry Man said:

yeah my thought was 12' Jon if you could transport it

id personally think its best to learn to fish from the bank and build skills using quality gear before buying a kayak and being stuck with old gear. this gives you a methodical approach to improvement

 

I just don't think improving your fishing has all that much to do with how many different lures you use, or how nice your rods are.  Rather, getting to where fish are is the key to catching them.

[reelfast]

The Lews combos are hard to beat for the money. I have won tourneys on their setups.

[MWallace15]

Lews lfs are great and cheaper than the tatula and a Daiwa exceler is one of the best spinning reels and about half the price of the Shimano

[Hammer 4]

1 hour ago, MIbassyaker said:

 

I just don't think improving your fishing has all that much to do with how many different lures you use, or how nice your rods are.  Rather, getting to where fish are is the key to catching them.

 

I agree with this ^^^^. Get good at 1 or 2 presentations, once you can catch fish a good percent of the time, then move on. Re: Tackle..I would suggest buying stuff that will last, doesn't have to a 120.00 rod or reel, but something around the $100.00 mark. Get Proficient with that set up, then in a few months or so, then If you want to upgrade, or add more, fine. Buy decent stuff, and don't cheap out on line, ect. 

[Fishes in trees]

I used to be bank bound.  I think that one of the most important pieces of gear that a bank fisherman should have is a good set of hip waders.  Just a step or two off the bank and fishing parallel to the bank becomes MUCH easier.  If you ain't going to get a boat or a canoe or a kayak this year - go with the hip waders.

[Chris at Tech]

If it's me, I'm making a few adjustments...

 

1) add lipless crankbaits, soft jerkbaits, original rapala, trick worms, and a lizard or brush hog

2) slim down the color/size variations.  I don't think it helps out newcomers to try to select between 4-5 colors of the same bait, or between the 2 in and 2.25 inch plugs

 

[Quarry Man]

3 hours ago, Chris at Tech said:

If it's me, I'm making a few adjustments...

 

1) add lipless crankbaits, soft jerkbaits, original rapala, trick worms, and a lizard or brush hog

2) slim down the color/size variations.  I don't think it helps out newcomers to try to select between 4-5 colors of the same bait, or between the 2 in and 2.25 inch plugs

 

thats a good point, would you go with the 1.0 or 1.5?

[schplurg]

$6.29 for 25 wacky o-rings? Man and I thought Senkos were expensive! Bad reviews too, if you believe reviews  

[Fishes in trees]

kind of off topic but you can go to o-rings.com and get 1000 of them for mourned $10, plus a little shipping.  That's what I did - 8 years or so ago, maybe 12.  I'm sure I got at least 500 of them left.

 

later edit . . the size you want to get is 3/8" o.d. by 1/4" i.d.  This size will work on those senko o-ring tools.  You can put them on without the tool with a little bit of slobber.   I've torn senkos , to the point that they were useless, trying to put the o-rings on without some kind of lubrication.

[Chris at Tech]

15 hours ago, Quarry Man said:

thats a good point, would you go with the 1.0 or 1.5?

1.5 would be my preference

[kyral287]

Hello, I tried to open the link, but it keeps telling me the shopping cart is empty! do you know if it needs to be updated or a way to open it?

[Glenn]

It's a 4-year-old thread.  That's why.

[flyfisher]

On 2/12/2020 at 11:23 PM, Quarry Man said:

yeah my thought was 12' Jon if you could transport it

id personally think its best to learn to fish from the bank and build skills using quality gear before buying a kayak and being stuck with old gear. this gives you a methodical approach to improvement

Fishing from the bank is a lot different than from a kayak/jon boat.  Opens up more areas that bank fishermen can't access.