Hello fellow TFF'ers, I bass fished almost everyday when I was 11 years old to about 17 years old from the bank and occasionally a boat. I have fished a dozen times or so the last 20 years.

Now, I have bought a camp or small lake house on Toledo Bend a year or so ago and now looking to get back into bass fishing as much as time will allow...I guess you could say my formidable years are calling me back home as I have always missed fishing. I am shopping for a 20 to 21 foot bass boat and will fish mostly Toledo Bend, Rayburn, and possibly some at Fork as I have family not to far from there.

So my question, or where I need help is that I know I need to buy several hundred dollars of tackle, maybe a thousand or so, but I do not know exactly what to buy. I don't mind spending the money at all as I know that I need to get started. My question is if I could get a general list of tackle, weights, and colors for crank baits, spinners, plastics, etc. to get me started. I generally catch more fish on worms as that is what I grew up fishing.

So if I could get some help with a "shopping" list of tackle to buy it would be extremely helpful and probably save me a lot of money and trial and error. I don't want anyone to go to far out of your way to help but anything you guys or gals want to share would be extremely useful.

Thanks All as this site has been extremely helpful to me in return back to fishing.

must have....yellow magic, before anything else.

brush hogs and baby brush hogs in pumpkin green and watermelon red. punpkin on cloudy days and watermelon in the sun. The hog will work on t-rig or carolina rig. these are a must have bait.

Do yourself a favor and go ahead and buy a few quality rod/reel set-ups. I wouldn't go out and blow your money on tackle, it's really easy to buy stuff you don't need or will not end up using (we all have this bug). Figure out what you really like to fish with and just replenish as needed. Don't buy stuff just because it's on sale. This site is a great resource for info and lots of great people here to help you out. For starters, since you know you like to worm fish. Get a really nice combo (I would buy used) you can save lots of money this way. It's up to you to decide on the manufacturer. I personally like the Shimano 50MG reels paired with a Dobyns Champion Extreme rods. But, you need to decide on what YOU like. Good luck, and welcome back!!

Recall what you were using when you were 11 years old and buy that. In all my fishing adventures these days I have come to realize I'm only chasing that feeling of when I was a kid floating around in a flatbottom and catching fish. Good luck!

For soft plastics for starters
Zoom baby brush hogs, watermelon/red, watermelon/gold or watermelon/candy red, and green pumpkin.
Zoom finesse worms--choose colors you like. Several work well.
Zoom super fluke--watermelon seed
Senko (5 inch) -green pumpkin candy/chartruce tip
Wave worm and Yum Dinger( 5 or 6 inch), watermelon/gold, watermelon/red and any other color you like.
Zoom Ole Monster--big worm--choose a color you like. I like several different colors.
Lake Fork Tackle baby ring fry and baby creature--chartruce pepper and watermelon/red
Berkley 7 and 10 inch power worm in blue fleck and or Lake Fork tackle 8 and 10 inch worm in blue fleck or blue bruiser.
I also like worms in Green pumpkin, Tequila sunrise, red shad, Junebug, Redbug, and Plumb.
Grande Bass baby snake in Trophy Hunter
Haggs Tornado in Storm Chaser and Golden cherry.

A few square bill crank baits in shad, blue gill and craw colors.
Lipless type baits in shad, chrome/blue back and craw colors (red, brown,orange) in the spring.
A few buzz baits and spinner baits in white and chartruce/white and black on the buzz bait also.
Strike King 6XD in Sexy Shad and Chartruce Sexy shad if you want to crank deep. Chartruce/blue back, Citrus shad and Tennessee shad are good colors also.

Jigs 3/8 or 1/2oz Black/blue or black/blue/purple, green pumpkin candy or green pumpkin/purple or green pumpkin/orange and some 3/4oz football head jigs in the same colors.

The soft plastics I listed are good to use with a Tx. rig, Carolina rig, drop shot, and shaky head. Since you like worm fishing, learn those techniques. Then learn to fish a jig.

It took me a couple of years to figure out that the only thing I ever needed on Rayburn was wacky-rigged Christmas Tree Senkos. After that, packing for a trip was easy.

Listen to this ^^^^ wise man...


I love ezbassin's list.....but, you might wanna do a little more investigation into BarryH's suggestion....might save you some coin...

TALL ORDER! Where do we start? Ok, I'll try to help you the best I can.

Rod and reel: since you haven't fished in awhile, I suggest you get a spinning reel. DO NOT WASTE MONEY ON A COMBO. The reel will be ok, but the rod will be low quality and will probably break on first hook set...if your lucky so you can return it. So stay away from this type of bargin all together. Be prepared to spend no less than $75 for a reel like a Shimono and no less than $100 for a rod. Best bet, look for a used rod at that price and you will have a good rod for sure.

Next rod should be a baitcaster and reel. Lots of advise can be found here on the forum, so ask a specific question for each, the rod and the reel. Bait casting rods are broke down per application. There really is not a general purpose rod that works well for everything. There are worm rods, crankbait rod, flipping sticks and so on. First baitcaster rod should be a med/Hvy 7'6" with a fast tip.

Baitcasters take learning how to set them up for different bait weights, casting, and type line.

Line: if you get a baitcaster, you will need to practice and practice before you get the hang of it,so stay away from expensive line because you are going to get many backlashes in the beginning.

Line types: monofilament, fluorocarbon, and braid. Mono floats and is best for top water lures. Flurocarbon sinks, so it's great for crankbaits, braid is ok for both if you tie a mono leader on it.

Best Mono (for you) would be Berkley Big Game. On a baitcaster, get 15-20# test, 10# for your spinning rod. Spinning reels don't like large diameter line. Actually there is a great line for spinning reel called Berkley Nanofil. This year they came out with 14 and 17# test. This stuff is untra thin and cast very well.

Later you can buy Seagaur InvisX Flurocarbon. It is a hi quality line, and best for your money, but expensive. Get the 1000yds roll for best savings! But, not now, stay with the Big Game for practicing. (this line is good stuff and can land quality size fish!)

Get an assortment of crankbaits in different sizes and colors. You need cranks that swim 4-7ft, 8-12ft and deep divers 15-20ft. Fish live in what is known as water columns. Dependly on the thermocline (temperature with most oxygen) look toward Strike King for the majority of these. You will see the depth rating on the package.

You will also need an assortment of lipless crankbaits (Rat L Traps) for swimming above the grass. Most store bought cranks come with round split rings to tie your line to. Replace these with oval rings. This will help prevent tying at the sharp edge of the ring damaging your knot.

Get a few spinnerbaits in different colors or just get a few in white and chartreuse.

Your will need some top water baits like poppers, buzzbaits and frogs. Just get a few of each. Since they all float, you won't loose that many unless you throw them into a tree.

Plastics: there are all types! You need to stock up on worms of differents lengths and colors. Creatures like lizards, brush hogs, and crawfish. Lots of different types here. You also need plastic minnows (refered to as Flukes) look to the Zoom products for the majority of these.

Colors: dark colors like blue and black are for night and muddy waters. Normally stay with variations of watermelon and pumpkinseed, and watermelon with red flake in it. Red imitates wounded fish, but red is also the first color to lose in deep water.

Knots: stay away from swivels! Learn to tie knots.(you tube!) predominant knots are the Palomar for your crankbaits and plastics, Sandiego jam or cinch knot for your spinner and buzzbaits. and a Uni to Uni or Albright knot for tying line and leaders. If you use braid, ALWAYS backfill 1/3 the spool with mono first! Braid likes to slip and dig in on itself. Also when you move to more expensive line, you don't need to waste so much in the core of the reel. always keep your line within a 1/16" from the top for optimum performance. Buy a stray bottle of KVD LINE AND LURE CONDITIONER. This will help the line cast smoothly and help you untangle your bird nest! Stay away from Real Magic. This stuff it bad on the life of your line.

Hooks: there is a hook and size for every application of plastic lure. Get the ones with a screw holder to attach your baits or an offset hook. There are extra wide gap-EWG and straight shank. start out with getting the offset type to help you position your plastics. There are weighted hooks also. Belly weights for your swim baits like flukes and jig heads like Football jigs for your worms. These are good for around rocks but not good in grass so use bullet weights

You will need an assortment of bullets weights. There is lead, steel and tungsten. Lead is ok, tungsten gives you a smaller profile weight at a reduce size from lead and give your greater sensitivity, but are expensive! Stay away from steel, they are junk.

Tackle Bag: Do not get a giant suitcase! Too heavy to haul and the strap will wear out under the stress. But, do get a bag with four or five plastic boxes over the traditional tackle box. Also get an empty bad (speed Bag) to carry your bags of plastics. Don't get to bad with the bags on a ring inside, just keep your plastics in their original bags.

Get a clip on flashlight for your hat, a decent pair of plyers, and two line clippers! Keep an extra one in your bag! AND some wire dykes! You will need these to remove hooks that get caught it stuff like YOU!

Get a digital scale and a tape measure. also get a Berkley line stripper for quickly removing line from your reel.

With all I have suggested, you should be within your $1000 limit for starting out. Look online at www.tackewarehouse.com for pricing without paying sales tax. Over $50 is free shipping. If you have a local tackle shop in your area, i believe in supporting them and their business. Maight cost your more, but information gathered there can be priceless! It will be fall before too long, so, there is probably another $500 in cold weather gear you need to get. Don't be stingie on ensuring you are comfortable in cold wet weather! I love fishing in cold weather provided I'm prepared for it! (I am!)

I have given you basic info to be able to go to any store and ask for these products. Print it out and take with you. As for rod and reel purchase, ask here on the forum for advise, but ensure they validate there reasons for what they suggest. Everyone has an opinion any many are going to suggest the bargain over the quality. My thought is buy once and save over several years of enjoyment. I have over $5k in rod and reels, but I'm a tournament fisherman with a few years experience donating my tournament fees to those that are better fishermen than I am! LOL. You said Bass fishing, which is not a cheap sport if approached properly. If you have a local bass club in your area, you will learn much more quickly, if not, continue to ask questions on the TFF. Most info will be sound advise.

Hope this helps. Send me a private message-PM if you have any questions.

Bent rods and TIGHTLINES! Good Luck!

In the time it took me to type, several others have suggested and I concur with all so far, even Yellow Magic! The lure, not the guy. He is a friend of mine stay away from him! Just kidding!

for basics i would say on your plastics colors, watermelon red and black with blue fleck are always good and can cover most situations. for hard baits stick with shad colors or white, and chartruesse, white for clear water and the dirtier it gets the more chartuesse i'd use. if you want to night fish get some black topwaters and spinnerbaits and those black plastics will be good. as far as what type of plastics there is a lot of good suggestions already posted, must have's would be baby brush hogs and chigger craws for creature baits and senko type baits for sure, i prefer the yum dingers but the senko's have more color variety. but there is a lot of times when those things you fished with years ago will do as good or better than anything else, like regular old curl tail worms and lizards, zoom offers the best product for the price in my opinion. on reels my favorite for the money is the abu garcia black max, smooth reel for $50. lots of quality rods out there i haven't found one brand that i would swear by but something about 6 1/2 ft to 7 ft in med heavy action will be the most versatile, these rods can be adapted to do all techniques. good luck and welcome back.

On Toledo, your wasting your time and money throwing anything other than watermelon red trick worms. Rig em Texas rigged or wacky and start fishing. I'd pick up a couple of square bill crankbaits, a top water plug or 2 that is natural color and call it a day

I sure appreciate all the excellent input. I am going to print out and make a list of all the lures, color, and other recommendations and go from there. Y'all don't know how much I appreciate all of the support.

Thanks again to all my TFF family.

.....and, welcome back!

It's always appreciated when the one that ask a question actually absorbs the advice. It validates our prowess as true fishermen which is different than what they say about football (those that can't play, coach.). We all learn from eachother! All the better sticks will admit that. Those that don't, haven't learned a darn thing!