Basic Bass tackle recommendations for beginner?

What are considered the essentials for Bass fishing? Crank baits, worms, lizards, tubes, buzz baits, Mr twister, colors, weights, sizes, etc????

The lake close to my house is only about 12' deep and has lilly pads all around the bank. It is difficult to fish from the bank due to the lilly pads.

Last year I caught some bass on Mr Twister twin tail grub chartreuse and a silver/blue crank bait. Had no bites on skum frogs, mice, buzz baits, and few bites (caught none) on plastic worms, crawfish & lizzards. Didn't try tubes.

I thought I'd try to get a jump on it this spring by stocking up on more types of lures, weights, colors, & tubes. I'd like to make sure I have a good beginners selection of tackle to start the year out right! I don't want to have to buy every type of lure in every color and every weight to find a half dozen that work well.

For the lilly pads, I'm thinking about 30lb spider wire braid and dropping skum frogs, mice, tubes, and whatever recommendations I get here. Any recommendations?

Thanks!

Spinnerbaits, a single colorado will get you through most situations when you are beginning (some would say a single willow or double willow , or colorado indiana combo, but I would save that for later as you gain experience). The beauty of the spinnerbait is that you cannot really fish it wrong, some presentations are more effective than others at given times, but that will also come with experience. I would also watch the "bass location secrets" video by in-fisherman. The nice thing they do in that video is break down different baits, basic baits for given situations (topwaters, middepth, deep) , as well as (vertical , and horizontal baits). Because Vandam throws a gold diamond shad doesn't mean you couldn't substitute a gold Cordell Spot or Rattl trap. Try to not get caught up in the latest and greatest baits, and tackle store can overwhelm you in a hurry.

Let your cover dictate your presentation, for instance you said you had pads. I would try the scum frogs (or horny toads that are popular in this group) as well as a texas rigged plastic worm.

If for some reason the lake you are fishing has a deep hump somewhere maybe you could start experimenting with a carolina rigged lizard, or maybe a deep crankbait, but once again let the cover help you decide what you should be throwing. Then once you establish the cover available, then you let the season determine how you present your baits.

If I was to start today, from ground zero, I would probably grab a plastic worm, they can be fished anywhere, and everywhere. As for colors, have a selection that are visible in many different colors of waters, from gin clear (pink, white,naturals, brown, green , crawdad) to slight stain (black, blue, black/blue) to stained water (orange, chartreuse, white, yellow, pink).

Hopefully this gives you a good start. I am sorry I couldn't sum it up in a couple sentances, but there really is so much more to it, it would be easier to go over in person :-)

Chris

The best all-around lure available in my opinion, is the plastic worm. If you can master the worm, you can catch fish in many different areas under different conditions. Make sure you're familiar with texas rigging, wacky worming, and using a worm weightless, and you've got a great tool in your toolbox.

Spinnerbaits are pretty weedless, especially if you leave off the trailer hook, though that will cost you some fish. Roland Martin has said that his favorite colors are chartruse and chart./white, and they will in fact get fish in the boat in lots of conditions. There's a hundred ways to fish a spinnerbait, so it's worthy of some serious study.

Tubes will catch almost any gamefish that swims, and Bass are at the top of the list. Ask around in your area as to what brands and colors are considered fish-getters, and start there. There's a number of ways to rig and fish a tube, so check out tube jigs (standard and weedless), texposed rigging with a EWG hook and weight, or the EWG hook texposed with a small worm weight inserted inside the cavity. They all fish differently, giving the bass different views of the bait.

Other must haves: topwaters, buzzbaits, shallow, medium and deep crankbaits, blade baits, Rattle traps, spoons, etc. etc. Just depends on how far you're going to get into the sport.

There's a million more types/styles of lures, and many have an important role in any basser's box; however, until you really know what works in the type of waters you are fishing, you'll likely just be spending lots of money and stockpiling gear that may not be used.

But the two most important things in your tackle box, are experience and knowledge. Given the choice between 40 pounds of tackle or the knowledge of the habits of the fish, the knowledge will likely get you bit more often than any particular lure...

Have fun this year, remember to set the hook and crank 'em in!

Welcome to the newsgroup and most of all welcome to the wonderful, sometimes frustrating, adictive, and lifelong world of bass fishing. Be warned though, once you hook into your first quality bass, your're hooked for life. (pun intended) LOL.

I definitely agree with Chris in what he advised as far as tackle selection. Start out with a selection of basic types of lures in about 5 different basic colors. I assure you, from experience, that it won't be long before you begin to add to this basic selection as you learn what lures and colors work best for the conditions that your're fishing. Oh boy, another and bigger tackle box, more rods and reels, more trips to Bass Pro Shops, a bass boat, and ect, ect, and ect! God, don't ya just love bass fishing? LOL!

If you don't learn anything else this season, learn to fish the plastic worm. It is another of those baits that is so versatile in that it can be fished in so many different ways from topwater to bottom dragging. Learn to fish it Texas rigged, wacky rigged, weightless, and perhaps, most popular and easiest to master, the ever popular Carolina rigged. Don't be afraid to experiment, it can hardly be fished wrong. Heck, my 7 year old granddaughter caught a 6 and half pounder this past fall just throwing it out and reeling it back in with a steady retrieve. Who knew? Ha!

The way I learned to fish it, way back when they were not the soft, natural looking, and full of action baits they are today, was to not take anything else except plastic worms. No spinnerbaits, no crankbaits, no topwaters, no nothing except plastic worms. That way, I was not tempted to change baits if the fish were not readily biting the worm as I was fishing it. I was forced to learn to fish it weightless and swim it across the pads if I found that bass were busting bait fish in the pads. I was forced to learn what technique was best if the bass were in heavy cover or burried in the weedbeds, rock piles or whatever the cover and conditions were at the time. I must have fished it one entire season. Could I have caught more bass using another type bait or technique? Without a doubt, but what I learned just fishing the plastic worm has lasted me a lifetime. I have caught more, and on the average, larger bass on the plastic worm, by far, than any of the other type baits that graces my tackle boxes today. It is my go to bait. When all else fails, I reach for the worm rod because I know that hunk of plastic will produce for me day in and day out.

Again welcome to the newsgroup. Don't hesitate to ask any questions that you may have concerning anything having to do with bass fishing, from recomendations on tackle, rods, reels, line, boats, and ect. There are some of the most knowledgeable, helpful, and nicest bassers in the country in this newsgroup. There is always someone here that has expertise in any given area of bass fishing. So fire away with your questions.

Have fun and good bassin,

I'd work those pads with soft plastics (worms, tubes, Senkos, jerkbaits), bringing the lures over, around and through the pads, and let them sink into holes and at edges. And use those topwaters during the lower light periods.

Naturally there are basic lure types that most guys own and use, but I'd try and use what you have until you start catching a few fish before going out and spending money on a whole bunch of stuff.

Good luck.