Welcome to the family...you picked a goofy time of year to start...keep cat fishing till the water warms back up to the 60s anyway and the bass move back to shallow water in numbers...then get you a medium light casting or spinning rod spooled up wit 12 to 14 lb test mono...think 1/4oz lures, get some shallow square bill cranks a couple of pop-r's and a buzzbait and a few spinnerbaits...keep your color patterns tame for now, white, shad colors...tank fishing is a great place to start if you don't have a boat...go have fun figuring them out...you can stay this simple or go join a bass club and go all out !...good luck !

Well you're in for a Long expensive Ride But if you must , Shimano Chronarh or Curado are good reels and a 6' to 6'5 med. / crankin rod maybe , Call that Rig #1 Others Will Follow. About 5 of each type of bait you can see on the shelf from Worms to Rattletraps. and LOTS of Throwing your Arm out of Socket 3000 casts a day and OH for sure a Great Trolling Motor and Fish Finding Equipment , Boat? Don't matter !! Fish aren't Like Women (You're Ride Don't Matter to them ) that's only for Your Ego. Trust Me!!! I saw a Guy put an 8# bass in the net on a Innertube.. LOL.... trolling right next to a #55,000 Ranger a few weeks back. And it was a Female Bass so I speak the Truth on that. I'm a Multi - Species Kinda Guy Myself , and that's not Easy.. Tight Lines.

Bass fishing is about like all types of fishing. If you're a big catfish guy you probably already have most of the necessary stuff. A lightweight spinning rig, and a box of nightcrawlers is all you need for starters.

This is good advice.

Start slow, keep it basic. You do NOT need a big fancy rig to catch bass well.

I fish from a Bass Hunter (10 foot plastic boat) and do quite well on ponds and even fish smaller arms of the big lakes.

Good luck! And welcome to the addiciti.... errrr I mean club

Like everyone said it can get expensive. I could open a tackle shop with all the stuff I have purchased over the years, but how much or how little you spend is up to you. I would start out by buying used quality rods and reels because you can get more for your money and it will last you for years. You can find used equipment that is like new a lot of the time for a lot less than buying it new. A 6ft 10inch - a 7ft M/H rod would be a good choice for an all around rod. Buy good line, don't skimp there. Watch for sales on tackle, crank baits go on sale quite a bit and the H2O brand from Academy are good for the price. Strike King now makes some descent crank baits as well. There are better ones out there but the price goes up also so its up to you what you want to spend.

Soft plastics...Zoom super fluke, Zoom baby brush hog, Senko type baits (5inch), Grande Bass rattle snake and baby snake, some straight tail and ribon tail worms. Berkley power worm 7 inch blue fleck is a good ribon tail worm, Zoom and Robo are good strait tail worms. Then you will want a couple of spinner baits, chartruce/white or all white, lipless crank baits, chrome blue back, and red ones. From there the choices are endless depending on what technique you like best, like throwing crank baits, fishing a tx. rig, or a jig or a C rig, Alabama rig, spoon, swim baits, ect. It goes on and on and on.
Owner or Gamakatsu hooks. I like Owner J hooks and rigging hooks.


Start off with a good rod and reel and a couple of spinner baits, buzz baits a couple of square bill crank baits and a few soft plastic baits and go fish and see what happens, see what you like to fish with.

Ever hear Guns & Roses "Patience" ? A good way to start is buy a spinning rod and reel. Buy a few spinners, hooks and plastics. Get a book about bass and read up. Go to a lake that has a marina and try fishing there. A few beers help with that patience. XD

Hi Powered binoculars
I hear you can make a living with them.

http://wired2fish.scout.com/story/1465944-6-rod-and-reel-bass-fishing-system-rods

I bet you know how to fish.... Don't try to buy talent...