Newbie here.  37 years old.  I live in Athens, AL and will be fishing Wheeler Lake on the Tennessee river.  I grew up here, and caught some bass using Johnson spoons back then, but I really had no idea what I was doing.  I moved to Arkansas after college and did a lot of fly fishing for trout there.  Now that I'm back home Trout fishing is really out of the question.  I have 2 boys (4 and 7) that I would like to take fishing, plus my parents live here too.  My wife even says she wants to fish.   So I have quite a few potential fishing partners.  I bought a 19' aluminum Triton Bass Boat last week with a 90 hp Merc.  Not exactly a Ranger, but it's a lot of boat for the money.  It holds me, my dad, and the two boys comfortably.  

I'm pretty much stuck at Wheeler for fishing since our family cars are a Honda minivan and a Honda CRV - not exactly towing material.  I actually store my boat at a marina so I don't have to deal with the towing.

Now that I have a boat I need to start fishing.  I basically have no equipment for bass fishing.  I know G Loomis to be a good name from fly fishing, but what would y'all recommend?  I thought a good worm and jig rod with some fluorocarbon line would be a good start.  I'm still clueless about the reel.  Any advice would be appreciated.  

I probably also need to upgrade my depthfinder since all I have is the low end Lowrance than came with the boat.  Advice?

I wouldn't say money is no object, but if I'm convinced it will help me catch more fish then I can probably try it.

Welcome!  I'm sure you have a number of questions.  I would suggest you begin by clicking the Fishing Articles tab in the upper left of the screen.  There are articles for beginners and just about every topic you can think of.  For your specific questions on rods, reels, and depth finders you can use the search tab in the forum menus above, or you can start a topic regarding your specific question in the forums provided for that purpose.

Welcome aboard!

Start a thread in the Rod, Reel & Line section and give us

a budget or just go back through that section for tons of

advice.

My #1 suggestion is to hire a Wheeler guide for a day.

Go with your dad and don't take the kids on this trip.

You will learn more in a day than an entire season fishing

on your own.

8-)

Welcome.

Thanks for the ideas.  I've read A LOT of the articles over the past few weeks.  I've also posted in the equipment forum for ideas.  The guide service is an excellent idea that I will do.  I already sent an email to a guide tonight.

I'm really excited.

David

Welcome to BR! It is a great resource. You're gonna like it here.

WELCOME To the BR Family.....Hope you enjoy yourself here, we sure do  

Big O

www.ragetail.com

Welcome! I have a lot of luck with the largemouths on a zoom junebug trickworm down south. Good luck!

golf n fish

Greetings & Welcome To The Most Informative Site On The Net

Tight Lines!!!  

Welcome.Everybody is great here.Need tips,this is your place.

Welcome home!

HELLO AND  

Welcome to BR!