95% New to this

[Hower08]

12 hours ago, MattyV said:

I am in Shiawassee county in Michigan. I guess its more central Michigan. Pretty much west of Flint. There are some local lakes that are good for bass fishing. 

Your bass are probably big up around there. They're full of lead

[MattyV]

8 hours ago, Ppennin986 said:

Ask A.J. He is the man when it comes to Michigan 

I definitely will. Thank you.

6 hours ago, nascar2428 said:

Two of the best fisherman or shall I say bass anglers from the state of Michigan(Kevin Van Dam and Mark Zona) recommend the following two setups for most waters in Michigan. A medium fast spinning setup and MH casting setup. When I got back into it, I started with a spinning setup first, it is a lot more versatile for the clear water fishing of Michigan. Hope this helps.

It does. I will look into them. Thank you.

2 hours ago, Hower08 said:

Your bass are probably big up around there. They're full of lead

Lead is a bigger issue in genesee county (Flint). Luckily for me there are plenty of good clean lakes within a 2 hour drive. 

[nascar2428]

3 hours ago, Hower08 said:

Your bass are probably big up around there. They're full of lead

I live in Genesee county, born and raised in Flint. Plenty of clean lakes in this county.

[4reelfishing]

I fish SE Michigan (Ann Arbor Area: Kent Lake).  You have already got a lot good advice but I will add my own.  I would stick with the rod and reel you have, buy some 8lb monofilament, get some 3/0 EWG hooks and some 5 inch Yum Dingers or Senkos in Watermelon Red Flake and Rig them weedless. 

 

If you are having fun fishing you can upgrade you rod and reel later in the season.  I would tell you to use braid but I think mono is your best bet to start off with. 

[MattyV]

10 minutes ago, 4reelfishing said:

I fish SE Michigan (Ann Arbor Area: Kent Lake).  You have already got a lot good advice but I will add my own.  I would stick with the rod and reel you have, buy some 8lb monofilament, get some 3/0 EWG hooks and some 5 inch Yum Dingers or Senkos in Watermelon Red Flake and Rig them weedless. 

 

If you are having fun fishing you can upgrade you rod and reel later in the season.  I would tell you to use braid but I think mono is your best bet to start off with. 

I currently have some black mono 10lb line on the reel. I should probably change that to something clear since the water isn't too muddy around here.  

13 minutes ago, nascar2428 said:

I live in Genesee county, born and raised in Flint. Plenty of clean lakes in this county.

About the only place in Genesee I wouldn't want to fish is the Flint river. Other than that there are a lot of good spots around there. 

[WRB]

23 hours ago, MattyV said:

I am sure you guys get this a lot but hear me out. I am new-ish to fishing and i want some advice. I have only gone a few times when i was 12 and now i am 28 and want to get a little more serious. I live in south east Michigan and I want to know what a good setup is for bass fishing. I am talking rods reels tackle and general information on bass fishing. I.E. feeding times good water temperatures and stuff like that. I am going to start out on land but my uncle has a 16ft aluminum v hull boat I can use to do some good boat fishing. My starting budget for tackle rods and reels is $200 but I can spend more if it makes sense.   


Thank you everyone. 

Welcome to bass fishing.

You need tackle to catch bass but you need some basic bass behavior to find them.

My suggestion is take a look at The Clock and Bass Calendar, the chart and read the instruction page attached. This was developed for a seminar way back in 1974 for my local deep structure reserviors, bass behavior doesn't change because they are located in California. Where in the lake the bass are located and what prey thry have to feed on is regional.

Select tackle that is appropriate to your needs and preferences.

Tom

[DanielG]

I've been there recently....

Ya, know.. I started fishing again three years ago after many, many years of being out of it. My gear was very old. I went to a local fishing place, Kittery trading post, sort of like a cabellas or LLbean and asked the guy at the counter to recommend a decent spinning outfit just to get me started. I ended up with a shimano outfit that worked well for about $149. I purchased some Berkley Swimbaits at Walmart, the ones with the big weighted hooks in them for $2.99 for a package of five and for the first year (They are still that price) and I had fun catching a bunch of bass, I did have a small trolling boat though.

After two years with this setup and a few more different lures, I felt I almost knew what I wanted with research and reading forums like this. I got a Dobyn's glass rod and A Shimano Curado reel and I do a lot of crankbaits. They work in my deep cold lake.  That's my story, yours might be different depending on your needs.

Point is, Pick up a few lures, and fish with what you've got for now. Seems you've got a servicable setup. Later on you'll get a feel for what you want and were you want to be. Spend the money then so you won't have regrets because you really didn't know what you wanted at this point in time. For now, just get your line wet and have some fun. Give it at least a season, then spend the winter looking online, going to gear stores, and choosing just the right first setup that fits you and your needs. Order something and enjoy setting it up and getting it ready for good weather.

[813basstard]

Put those 200 smokes as a down payment on a Phoenix. 
Attach it to a vehicle.

Awkwardly back it down the ramp.

Go fast. 
Your a bass fisherman now.

[Jaderose]

So you haven't been fishing since you were 12?  Use what you got and put a nightcrawler on a hook under a bobber.  Go fish.  If you're bored quickly, this probably ain't the hobby for you and you ain't out much.  If you enjoy being outside and peaceful and rasslin with sunnies and the occasional bass or catfish, you can start ratcheting up your gear game.  Ain't nothing wrong with an Ugly stick and a Zebco or whatever you got.  See if you actually LIKE fishing first.  Ain't no point in dropping coin on something you THINK you might like.

 

[MattyV]

52 minutes ago, Jaderose said:

So you haven't been fishing since you were 12?  Use what you got and put a nightcrawler on a hook under a bobber.  Go fish.  If you're bored quickly, this probably ain't the hobby for you and you ain't out much.  If you enjoy being outside and peaceful and rasslin with sunnies and the occasional bass or catfish, you can start ratcheting up your gear game.  Ain't nothing wrong with an Ugly stick and a Zebco or whatever you got.  See if you actually LIKE fishing first.  Ain't no point in dropping coin on something you THINK you might like.

 

I am definitely an out doors man. I spend almost all summer outside. I usually get on my bicycle and go for long rides but due to a knee injury (ATV accident) I am looking at other hobbies. I have very fond memories fishing. I spent all summer when i was 12 fishing. My mom got to enjoy a lot of it with me.

3 hours ago, DanielG said:

I've been there recently....

Ya, know.. I started fishing again three years ago after many, many years of being out of it. My gear was very old. I went to a local fishing place, Kittery trading post, sort of like a cabellas or LLbean and asked the guy at the counter to recommend a decent spinning outfit just to get me started. I ended up with a shimano outfit that worked well for about $149. I purchased some Berkley Swimbaits at Walmart, the ones with the big weighted hooks in them for $2.99 for a package of five and for the first year (They are still that price) and I had fun catching a bunch of bass, I did have a small trolling boat though.

After two years with this setup and a few more different lures, I felt I almost knew what I wanted with research and reading forums like this. I got a Dobyn's glass rod and A Shimano Curado reel and I do a lot of crankbaits. They work in my deep cold lake.  That's my story, yours might be different depending on your needs.

Point is, Pick up a few lures, and fish with what you've got for now. Seems you've got a servicable setup. Later on you'll get a feel for what you want and were you want to be. Spend the money then so you won't have regrets because you really didn't know what you wanted at this point in time. For now, just get your line wet and have some fun. Give it at least a season, then spend the winter looking online, going to gear stores, and choosing just the right first setup that fits you and your needs. Order something and enjoy setting it up and getting it ready for good weather.

Sounds like a good plan. I will go to Walmarts tomorrow and get some good lures and go hit up some lakes as it warms up in the next week. Luckily i have a boat i can use for the summer.

[DanielG]

44 minutes ago, MattyV said:

Sounds like a good plan. I will go to Walmarts tomorrow and get some good lures and go hit up some lakes as it warms up in the next week. Luckily i have a boat i can use for the summer.

Half the fun is figuring it out and browsing the stores and online. I had my spinning setup. Not great but good. And I'd never bait casted so I researched and got a pretty good bait casting outfit. They both have their place. I'm not one of those people who have 10 rods and 500 lures I never use. I have one of each and a small collection of lures. I recently began making my own too. If you're planning on going all out as time goes on great. If not, it doesn't matter. I have two poles and reels that do multiple duty for different kinds of fishing, and ya know... they work just fine for however I decide to fish. If I had a dozen in the bottom of the boat I'd probably go nuts going from one to the other.

 

Seriously, I'm a bit older and old school. Long ago we only had one pole and only got another one to upgrade or if one broke. I'm not sure about the mystique of having every piece of equipment made and carrying it with you all the time. Seems a bit decadent to me. When I got back into fishing and found out that people had evolved to this I was like "What the heck?" Sometime simple still catches the fish.

 

[Hower08]

Get yourself some 1/8 ounce jigheads and twister tails of s few different colors and go catch fish. A pack of worms and some 1/0 ewg worm hooks is also cheap 

[MattyV]

I went to Walmart and spent $70 on the terminal tackle and lures and a license. Time to go hit some lakes and see what i can get this early in the season.