Ok, I want to start fishing, but I know this is a hobby you acquire equipment as you go. I feel I do not need to make a huge initial investment to get started, but want to have the necessary equipment. I have a rod & reel, and a few plastic worms and hooks. I will be getting my fishing license in a few days if all goes well. I figure a tackle box of some sort, and probably a few more lures wouldn't hurt. Anything else that is essential that I should look at getting right away?
Thanks,
Brandon

Seems like your well on your way to me. Grab a couple of spinner baits, crank baits, and top waters and you'll be slamming em' in no time.

What are you fishing for?

Mainly bass and catfish. I'm near canyon lake and the guadalupe river, so will probably be hitting up those spots but might make a trek to calavaras after I get up to speed.

Here we go again!!!!, casting or spinning reels and rods.Is a good start.

I would get some tungsten weights 1/8 is a good all around weight and I would get some senkos black and blue or anything watermelon. You can go to Academy and get the Big Bite brand senko they work really good and run about 3 a bag, you can catch bass on any lake in Texas with those 2 colors.

Look up dropshot online and use those worms. AMAZING !! I just learned about it recently. Works.

Get a decent 6'6'' medium light spinning rig, some small ratt-l-traps, a silver pop-r, some red shad culprit worms, 3/0 hooks and light worm weights. also get some hooks in different sizes some floats and wieghts. That should set you up with a decent starter kit. That is what I got a friend who moved here from Israel and he now catches more fish than I do. Also rig it with 8lb line. You will have to work for the giants.....but most people don't learn catching giants.

Get some polarixed sunglasses. That's clear water in your area and a good pair of polarized sunglasses will be a great help once you know what to look for. I would get a multi-tool (I like Gerbers) also. With that clear water, make sure you wear a lot of earth tones. Fish in clear water have pretty good eye sight and don't need a reason to spook off. Good Luck! You're definitely in the right place to get advice and get you're questions answered. Hope you do well on your angling ventures. Post reports, pics and questions whenever you can. We love to hear them! to the TFF!

Cool, yeah i'll need some more lures/tackle and a bag to put it all in.
If anyone is interested, I this is my rod/reel combo. I'll upgrade when I learn what I'm doing...
http://www.sportsmansguide.com/net/cb/mitchell-56-phazer-spinning-rod-reel-combo.aspx?a=527572
Anyway, thanks for the welcome and all the info! I'm sure I'll have lots more questions as I go!
Thanks,
Brandon

I'd go with a Medium 1-piece spinning rod and a medium sized spinning reel. Pflueger Spinning Combo This is a nice one to get you started IMHO.

Before you go buying a tackle "box", let me offer this tip. Go to the hardware section of walmart, and get a couple to a few of the plastic boxes with the adjustable compartments. They're made by rubbermaid, and are much cheaper than the big name stuff, and do the exact same thing. Find an old backpack, and there you go! A "pro quality" tackle bag for less than 30 bucks, depending on how many boxes you buy. While you're there, grab a couple of the multi-packs of worms, and stuff.
That's how I started, and from there, I look through the trading post, and pawn shops for "lots" of lures. I've got around $100-$150 in my tackle bag, It may take a couple of posts, but I'll copy/paste a thread from another forum showing the contents of my bag. Just calmly smile at the "pros" on here that blow big dollars on this sport. I've never met a fish that complained one bit about being caught on a walmart rod, or a pawnshop reel.

Here's a link to the entire thread, if you want to go read it. For this, I'm only copying my posts.

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=976945

So, it's time to up-size my tackle box. I figured I'd post it here, for the PBB fishermen to comment on. I tend to buy "lots" of lures. When someone is getting rid of tackle, I buy the lot. This has gotten me some interesting lures, as well as some "WTF?" lures. It works out well, because I have fished some lures that I wouldn't have ordinarily bought.
So, here it goes. I moved out of a very small box. I was carrying a couple of plastic totes along with it.
So, I went to Academy and looked at tackle boxes. I looked at several, all about a hundred bucks. So, I said to hell with that, I can toss this together for about 20 bucks. So I did. Wnt to walmart, and spent 3 or 4 bucks apeice on some plastic tote trays, dragged out an old backpack, and here we are!





And here's the contents disgorged.

Next post coming right up![/QUOTE]

Oh, believe me I'm a bargain shopper! My rod was a freebie anniversary gift from my job. I've been searching craigslist and ebay. I was looking at mister twisters discontinued line of lures too. I don't think I need to make a huge investment upfront, I just don't want to not have a "must have" item!
Brandon

This is a small box that came with one of the rods that I bought. I rarely use any of that stuff, but I always make sure I'm ready to "hook a kid up", if I happen to have suprize tagalongs.


This little box I found in a shed. Took a few minutes to clean up, but it's handy for weights and hooks.


The old rusty hooks on the right were in there when I found it. They're trot line hooks, but they have a huge eye on them, so I'll be using them for trailer hooks.

More post in a minute![/QUOTE]