Help a noob outfit a tackle box?

So, I'm a noob/reentry fisherman & after the ex wife swiped all my gear & tackle (boat, too!) last year, I need to put together a new tackle box. Preferably, without wasting a bunch of money on unnecessary stuff like last time.

We'll be fishing almost exclusively on bigger reservoirs like Perry, Clinton or Hillsdale. I've got size 1000 & 2500 Shimano spinners on 6'2" L/F & 6'6" M/F rods & strung with 4# & 6# mono, respectively. She'll be using primarily a size 20 Zebco Bullet on a 5'6" L/F rod with 6# mono. We also 2 Zebco 33 Micros to hand, one on a 5' UL/F rod & one one a 5'6" L/F with 2# & 4# mono. I've got the Garmin UHD 73 Echomap & MK 70lb trolling motor.

We'll be primarily fishing crappie, though I'll be on constant lookout for bluegill & redear. Would love to have walleye for supper a bit more often & have heard whites & wipers are fun & tasty, as well. Don't care about catfish or bass really, but any stray eaters that end up on the boat are coming home. Don't care about trophies or braggin' rights, just wanna catch some fish & have a nice supper, out camping at the lake.

I think we're good to go on rods & reels. I imagine I'd want something a bit more stout for regular walleye or white/wiper fishing & am considering a baitcaster rig down the road a ways. Depending on the GF's willingness to learn a new "system", I'll either plus her up with the larger Zebco Bullet on a M/F rod or set up with the appropriate spinner or baitcaster rig.

With all that in mind, anyone wanna give me some pointers on bait types & sizes? I see a gojillion plastic baits- all the jig styles, worms, craws, bugs, minnows, etc., but no idea where to start. I'd imagine jig heads in sizes from 1/64oz up to 1/8 or 1/4oz need to be stocked & I can guess at colors, but that's it. I'm more familiar with the panfish & can probably figure that out myself, but I'm at a loss with the other species. I hear whites & wipers like shiny, rattly lures when they're on top, but no idea otherwise & have less than no idea about walleye.

I know about Ned rigging, drop shotting & Texas or Carolina rigs & know I'll need a handful of specialized items for that. No idea about trolling, though. I'd like to try/learn slip bobbers as well.

I know I'll need an assortment of hooks & sinkers & the like, along with needle nose pliers, fish grippers, bump board & landing net.

So, with all that mind, any tips or advice on good, all around baits to set me up for some multi species fun would be hugely appreciated.

Marabou jigs in various sizes will catch panfish, bass, walleyes, trout, salmon.

1/16oz marabou Road Runners .... all white - pink/char - all chartreuse

Blade baits ... your choice of color, size, and brand (White Bass & Wipers ... casting or trolling)

for plastics I'd suggest looking at Slabanator Jigs ( Slabanator jigs - Crappie Jigs, Crappie Baits, Fishing Store )

PM SENT TO YOU

Hard to Beat Bobby Garland Baby Shad as well

Thanks, fellas. Much appreciated. Haven't really fished since I was a kid & that strictly raggedy old farm ponds for stunted bullhead & the odd 'gill & occasionally running bank lines on a local creek for catfish. Always wanted to fish "for real" but family circumstances at the time & a career in the military put the kibosh on that until a couple years ago.

Bought a little 25hp tiller steer 15'er summer of '22 & proceeded to burn copious amounts of gas & daylight, fishing every bait & type of terrain I could think of on Truman & Pomme to catch 3 fish. I caught more fish that year in one morning of dunking jigs & day drinking with my aunt from her dock on LOZ, than I caught all summer on the other 2 lakes. Couldn't tell you if that was due to not finding fish or not offering them anything appetizing, but it was frustrating as all get out.

I definitely appreciate the tips on the maribou jigs. Never used one before in my life (nor seen one used by anyone) & was curious about them.

Slab Sauce, scents & the like? Anything there? Never imagined that would be a thing till I joined up here & just noticed Slabanator offers a few flavors/scents of baits.

Slab sauce, crappie nibbles, and slabinator scent sticks can tip the scales in your favor.

For panfish
Bobbers of choice, along with splitshot, and hooks for live bait
1/32 and 1/16 heads.
Couple colors of 1.5" tubes (black/chart, blue/white)
Couple colors of bobby garland baby shad swimr (blue ice, chartreuse)
A pack of Marabou jigs in 1/32 for under bobbers

If they don't hit that, hit the bar.

For walleye and white bass
1/8, 1/4, 3/8 heads
3" curl tail grub in white and chartreuse
3" paddle tail swimbaits (i like cabelas walleye ones) in white, chartreuse, orange.

If they don't hit that, hit the bar.

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sent you a PM

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Originally Posted by MCG1

Slab sauce, crappie nibbles, and slabinator scent sticks can tip the scales in your favor.

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:hesaid

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With all that in mind, anyone wanna give me some pointers on bait types & sizes? I see a gojillion plastic baits- all the jig styles, worms, craws, bugs, minnows, etc., but no idea where to start. I'd imagine jig heads in sizes from 1/64oz up to 1/8 or 1/4oz need to be stocked & I can guess at colors,

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KISS! though I'm not calling you stupid by any means. I'll address the words in bold.
If you want to exclude fishing for panfish, use larger lures: examples
spinnerbaits and skirted weedless jigs with action trailers, 3/8 oz or larger; large silver or black blades
large crankbaits - shallow and deep dive
large swimbaits on 1/8 oz jigs

Smaller jigs catch most fish in all sizes and species. The variety of soft plastics that catch all fish is enormous. (search my posts regarding soft plastics). Find a few colors in each type of soft plastic and worry no more about color selection. Remember one thing: color and color brightness give a lure its shape and emphasize its action.
Note: I make clear soft plastic lures and do as well as colored ones. Clear hard plastic lures also do well with or without rattles.

Don't fall for sale's pitches. Find fish - #1/catch fish on a huge variety of lures that strike your fancy. Fish are wild, dumb bullies, like all predators, but hyper-sensitive creatures that think not-at-all when it comes to striking moving objects not of their world. (It would be like you or me biting an alien - one from outer space, of course.)

Lures, in general, are unnatural in all respects but get under their scales in a flash - hunger having nothing to do with it generally speaking. Humans eat things they're not supposed to -why not fish attacking something no fish in its right mind would put in its mouth?!But wait, fish don't have minds capable of thinking which makes lure selection so easy.

There are just too many words of wisdom when it comes to tackle and boating. Common sense is basically experience based - the more you try, the more you discover. What you will discover is that keeping it simple catches fish.

Good luck.

Thanks, fellas. I do truly appreciate it. I'm hoping the fish finder will at least rule out the variable of whether or not the fishies are even home & save me the time & aggravation of throwing baits at empty water.

Last go round, I basically bought 4 of every type of lure/bait, one each in a natural-ish color & another in a "flash" color like chart or pink & then both of those in both a small, crappie/panfish size & a bit larger size for bass/walleye/what have you. Of the handful of fish I caught that summer- one eater sized crappie & one eater sized channel cat fell to 1/8oz jigs & the 15" or so drum decided it wanted to eat the 2 1/2" chrome Rat-L-Trap that I was hoping to find some whites with.

I fished a little as a kid, but was limited to fishing my grandparent's .nasty cow ponds for stunted bullheads or occasionally a neighbor's pond for stunted bluegill. Opportunities for "real" fishing were basically nonexistent & I've only ever caught fish on bait (worms, crickets, minnows, chicken liver, etc.) under a bobber, a few with crappie-type jigs & that goofy drum. Otherwise, every single rooster tail, crankbait, spinner, beetlespin, popper, etc. that I've thrown was a complete waste of time & money. Just trying to avoid that this time around.

a handful of pinch on pencil floats from Comal , find them at Walmart
some tiny jigs , some medium jigs and some larger jigs .....
sashy shads for the striped fish , soft small plastics for the lesser size fish ....
i like bright colors most of the time as do the fish most of the time ....
charts , oranges , white and etc.
a handful of natural stuff in the mix too ....
a bottle of Berkley crappie nibbles in Glo white
pm me and I will cover all the panfish plastics you need ...
send me a spot to deliver them with some jigheads too ....
no worries we got this :highfive

Find some auction houses in your area. Never know what a vendor will have. Know the prices of items before bidding/buying. I've got some great deals at the ones in north MS. Some have facebook groups and post photos of items that will be at the auction.
Watch walmarts. They will change their line of tackle. Place items in totes in the sporting goods area sometimes. Dig thru to find what you want at good savings.
ebay and amazon are good for bulk items.

I'm just getting freed up Carl and will packing you some of the stuff I inherited in the next couple of days. Been whirlwind busy around here.

Y'all are much too kind & generous. I can not tell you how much it is appreciated.

Lots of great information. Welcome to the boards.

Fishing checklist:

Boating:
1. anchor heavy enough to hold position; enough rope for the deepest water fished
2. battery charged for trolling motor and sonar
3. if using a motor, check gas level
4. BOAT PLUG IN PLACE!!!!
5. tow vehicle gas, license and reg.

Tackle:
1. file to sharpen hooks, pilars to pull out hooks
2. sharp scissors to cut line
3. lures - soft and hard matched to presentation(s)
4. jigs of the right weigt and hooks of the right size
5. rod(s) of the right length and action
6. bird nest pick
7. ruler to measure fish; fish scale to measure weight.
8. jaw grapper for monster fish and those with sharp teeth

Personal:
1. sunscreen SPF 30-50 (use it even if tan)
2. hat and sunglasses
3. New Skin for inevitable cuts
4. cell phone in case of trouble
5. digital camera to record catches and unusual stuff you'll forget about in a year; good memories and fishing buddies
6. bug spray and fly swatter (damn horse flies and mosquitoes)
7. piss can when too many boats are around
8. note book and pen or pencil to record what you forgot to bring or other useful stuff
9. wallet: fishing license, money, boat reg., etc.
10. life vest(s)
11. rain gear if forecast calls for it
12. rag to wipe off fish slime
13. binoculars (you never know when you'll need them)
14. if fishing alone I bring along my SanDisk mp3 music player. It keeps me focused.

Again, a few lures will do. Shown below are the only jig and lure boxes I carryin the boat:
Attachment 491290


This is a link that has my and others' veiws on lure choice. Start at the top:
Finally connected the dots between lures and the fish they catch

Send me your mailing address! I have some stuff I was going to just store, but I might get a hug from the wife if I get rid of it ! [emoji23][emoji23]

Definitely things you will like and use.


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Will do and if I find lure parts to make hybrids, I'll send them to you rigged on jigs.

I sent you a pm, but I added some slab sauce in there as well. [emoji12]


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I sent Carl a box so full of stuff we almost didn't get it closed. Jigheads & plastics. Someone nearby needs to teach him how to use them.

He’s got another one coming! It ain’t stuffed, but it’s got some good stuff in it!

I love this group of people. Always willing to help out someone new!

Keep it up CDC family!


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All you need is a coffee can with 1/32,1/16, and 1/8 ounce jig heads. Some Bobby garland baby shad jigs. Try these colors monkey milk , mayfly, outlaw special , eclipse, it’s some of your jig heads painted pink or cheutruesse

Thnx for the lures! As soon as I get a reply, I'll make up small bags of my lures with jigs that are guarenteed to catch fish.
48 fish last outing included bass, white & yellow perch, sunfish, crappie and a catfish.
All were caught in different parts of the shallow lake (12' at most) I fish and mostly in water 5' or less.
I only used two lures and jigs. Didn't lose one!
I found out that a small diameter, steel-wire leader with duo lock clip (to prevent pickerel biting me off) actually gave the lure a better action than knots tie directly to the jig heads.

Fish of all sizes slammed lures rigged on 1/24 oz. jigs tie to 8# test braid - spinning and spincast reels. Love braid for light strike detection and hooksets at a distance.

Sonar helped find baitfish in the area BTW.

Y'all are too generous & kind. It is truly appreciated.

Sorry no fishing tales/pics yet- haven't been able to get out as much as we'd like this summer & as noob boat owners we've been more focused on learning our new (& quite expensive to us) boat than chasing fish.

That said, our little town has a small fishing lake/pond on the outskirts of town that is stocked annually with hybrid 'gills, wipers & channel cats & doesn't get a lot of pressure. I intend to give it a whirl in the very near future. There's also a small state fishing lake an hour north that doesn't allow powered boats that's known for its big 'gills & shellcrackers. Google maps shows the entire shoreline/bank as very walkable & I wanna get up there as well, 'fore too terrible long.