Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Beginners Guide To Bass Fishing Tackle

By Lawson Q. Miles

Fishing sees new members coming into the field all the time. It's hard to say what attracts a person to fishing, especially Bass fishing. Yet, each year, numerous noobs go out and buy their first fishing rod and reel in hopes of landing a stringer full of tasty Bass.

Should you find yourself in this circumstance, then I'm here to share some fishing tackle tips you'll want to follow before running out and buying every piece of glittery fishing tackle that catches your eye. Learning how to become a successful fisherman is not difficult or expensive.

Fist off, get the notion that fishing gear has to be expensive or complicated to catch fish out of your head. Remember, fish are predators. They're not overly smart and anything that resembles a baitfish gets put on their menu. This point was drove home early in my fishing career. Me and a buddy had been out Bass fishing on a local lake. We hadn't had much success. Back at the boat ramp, an Old Man and a young kid came motoring up. They each had a stringer full of Black Bass.

This Old Man and boy proved a very simple point. That it doesn't take the latest and greatest lures or fishing equipment to catch Bass. You can get started for less than $100 and have just as good of chance of catching the biggest Bass as anyone so long as you find where the Bass are hiding.

The Zebco 33 has probably caught more Bass and other fish than any other reel in history. It's a spincast reel and you can find these matched with rods at your local Wal-Mart. I would start out with a spincast reel as they are by far the easiest to use. Level wind reels take a lot of time and experience to master. You want to spend your time fishing, not untangling a bird nest in your reel.

Level wind reels take quite a bit of experience and practice to use properly. Spinning reels are not as difficult to use, but you do need to know how to properly cast one or you'll end up with a mess on your hands.

If your rod and reel didn't come with line, then you'll need to get you a spool. Your spincast reel needs what they call a limp line. Both Trilene and Stren make excellent limp lines, just make sure you read the box and make sure it's a limp line. Most lines designed for spinning reels will work well in a spincast reel. Just remember, not all fishing line is created equal and some have specific purposes. If you get a line that is too stiff, it will not work well in your spincast reel.

Don't get complicated with your lure selection. If you're just wanting to catch a stringer of Bass, then live bait is your best option. Most bait stores will sell large minnows. These are generally called Bass Minnows or Bass Shiners. As for lures, keep it simple. A silver spoon such as a Johnson's Silver Weedless Spoon is great. Also, Crappie type jigs work very well on Bass, especially the ones with action tails. Tried and true Rapala floating minnow lures have accounted for countless Bass and other Gamefish.

Believe it or not, that's it. Sure, you may need a minnow bucket, a stringer and a tackle box, but those are cheap. Just make sure you don't go overboard! This set up will catch many types of fish from Bass to Catfish. Once you get some experience under your belt, you can then start trying other things like level wind reels, plastic worms or crank baits.

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