longtime trout /steelhead/salmon fishing.  and i love bottom fisshing.  fished inshore and deep sea.  spin fishing mostly.  new to bass/panfish.  Do I really need 100.00 reel?  Local sporting goods store has 1 entire wall of soft baits.. which pattern/color/style?

Willamette valley, Or.    Not exactly BASS CENTRAL.  

I would say no. What I would do is go check out a pawn shop and see if they have a cheap used reel you might get more for your money. If your new at bass fishing I would get a spinning reel and spinning rod because you can use it for any species of fish. For worms I would think that dropshot is big in your area so 4"-6" worms might be the norm. Most guys use a straight tail worm. If your rigging it texas style then 6"-8" colors redshad, redbug, blue blue flake, greenpumkin, junebug, or watermelon color is what I use.

Clear/stain: redshad, redbug, watermelon, blue blue flake, greenpumkin, junebug

Heavy stain/Muddy:blue blue flake, Black/blue, black/chart

*if this is something your going to be doing alot get the best reel you can afford you would be better off in the long run.

There are many reels under $50 that you can enjoy.

A spinning reel can cost from $20 and up so you should not have any problems with this type of reel.  Try Wal-Mart or a local sporting goods store for "off the rack" spinning reels.

Go for a 10 LB. test line; green if possible.

Use a 3/0 wide gap hook.

Get a pack of 4 inch red curly tail worms.

Pick up a pack of 1/8 bullet sinkers.

Now go out and have some fun!

If you can't get everything, buy lots of jigs.

Learn to fish a jig, and you're ready anytime, anywhere.

There are days the pull baits (cranks, blades, etc) will beat us, but by the end of the year, a good jig fisherman will have more, and almost always, bigger fish.

Number two bait would have to be a tube. Same thing. A tube will almost always catch a fish or two.

Get black/blue and watermelon seed in both baits and you're set for life.

At least 3/4 of the time, that's the one-two punch my partner and I throw. He chunks the tube, and I chunk a jig.

We'll fish something else if we have to, but we aren't happy about it.

Here's a fellow from Lakeside, OR which may or may not be close to you. However, in any case I am sure he would be glad to help steer you right for your area.

Ron Buchwald

RBuch999@aol.com

"Do I really need 100.00 reel?"

Noooooooooo, but..............you usually get what you pay for in reels IMO. Yes, you can learn to cast a $xx reel and you can land Bass with one but the cheaper ones will be harder for you to master baitcasting. They may be noisy/sloppy when casting and retrieving, may not be serviceable(no parts available, etc.) and most of all, they will have an inferior drag system.................

I'd get a Shimano Curado or a Daiwa Procaster at minimum. I use to use a Curado and it's a fine reel. I've not used that particular Daiwa but I have several of their other models. Their "Mag-force" brakeing system is easier to adjust than the Shimano but both are excellant reels for the price.

For a basic Bass bait, you can't go wrong using a 5" Senko--color #222 rigged weightless, Texas-skin-on-top style with a GY Sugoi 4/0 hook. I've caught scores of Bass over the last 6 years using just that combo, up to 6 lbs. My best friend throws that bait/rig 98% of the time and he's caught many Bass(from the shore) including an 8 lb, 13 ouncer.

Dan

Welcome to bass fishing! I fished saltwater both inshore and up to 100 miles offshore on the Texas gulf coast. As most will tell you the better reels cost more but the most expensive are not always the best deal for the price.

I still have one of my saltwater rigs I use for big stripers. It is a Penn International 12LT fully raced out by Larry Cofe. The reel has been modified for casting and the drag up graded to handle up to 50lb. line. The rod it's on is a custom Calstar Whopper Stopper that is 4 feet long with six light weight rollers on it. Not much for casting but will whip most anything including tuna. Yes it is overkill for anything but big stripers or big open water catfish but then it is a blast to fish with. I really get some looks with that rig.

As with most fishing it takes time to master new techniques. You will find some techniques you will like more than others for the conditions you fish. That learning experience is part of the fun. Best of luck and again welcome!

HI,

       I am from Olympia, WA. So we fish fairly the same types of waters.

1. You Dont need a $100.00, though like lightnin rod said, you get what you paid for.

2. Here are some staple Baits to Get you on track

   1. YAMAMOTO DT HULA GRUB #176/  AND sUPER gRUB IN SMAE COLOR ON fOOTBALL HEAD JIGS

   2. Ghost Baits G-Sticks weightless/ Color #18 www.ghostbaits.com

   3. Ghost Baits 3.5 and 4.2 Split Tail Bait on a jighead or on a drop shot

   4. Ghost baits AND/OR Poor boy's Baits  DROPSHOT GOBIES  www.poorboysbaits.com

Hope This helps!!!!!

Howdy and welcome to bass fishing and the best bass fishing fourm on the web.  

As far as NEEDING a $100.00 reel.  Of course you don't.  But as you will see if you stick around here for any length of time there is this critter called the bait monkey and he will tell you that you actually need a $300.00 reel.  Of course deciding which of the soft plastics to buy on that wall is also very easy.  Buy them all, then look for another wall. This is said all in good fun, but if you really "join the club" so to speak, your going to see how realistic it actually is.

No.......you dont need a $100 reel to get started...........I would suggest in getting a cheaper Shimano spinning reel........even the cheaper Shimano products are very high quality............when i was little the only reels i would buy would be the $25-$30 Shimano reels..........Then to get started with a rod i would pick a 6'6" Medium-Medium Heavy action rod.  There are a wide variety of affordable, high quality rods to choose from........i wouldnt buy anything less tan a nice graphite rod.........even for a beginner.

As for lures to use.............I would make a slow transition.........as a salmon/trout fisherman you probably didnt use many plastic worms........but you probably used spinners and small crankbaits.  In that case i would start out with using spinnerbaits or crankbaits....buy the clothspin style spinnerbaits and inline baits.  Then when you gain confidence in your ability to catch fish with these move on to another style bait.

But if you insist on starting out on plastics..............I would recomend using soft jerkbaits such as fluke style baits, slug-o style baits or other plastics which immatate an injured baitfish.  

The lure company called Zoom makes a Super Fluke which is my lure of choice.  With these lures you want a Wide Gap style hook.........Like the style which is made by Gamakatsu.  You want to rig in Texas style without weight..........go to your local tackle shop and ask for a demonstration on how to texas rig.  

You want to use about 10lb test monofilamant.

These baits are good for clearer water not muddy water.  What you want to do is after you cast these baits out you let them drop to about a foot or more under the water......then you make sharp erratic jerks towards the water or to the side with youre rod tip.  After each jerk reel in the slack.......but do not move the lure with the reel....just the rod tip............you will find that the lure will move very erratically darting up down, sidways, and so on.

This technique is a visual technique........most of the time you can see the fish hit the lure........or come up to inspect it and refuse the offer.

The reason i preffer to teach people this technique as their first one is that i belive that learning to impart the correct combination of actions into a lure to make a fish bite is the best way to learn the feeding habbits of the bass.  by being able to see what actions make bass bite.........you will grow a sixth sense which will help you find bass and be able to predict the correct technique to catch fish.

Dont take everyones advice and forgett your own on the water experience.......it is important to formulate your own confidence baits..........and as a angler for another species you have a feel for the way fish feed and their behavior.........do not believe that the bass is so different from a trout or a catfish or a redfish.............they have many differences yes.......however they are not as different as most people belive............i once fished for everything.......until i found my real passion......bass fishing.......but i did not throw away all my knowledge from my past experiences with other fish........i used them to enhance my bass fishing abilities.

Good luck.