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I'm Fine |
I would agree to the ultra-light spinning reel to start with. Keep the hooks and lures small or use crickets or earthworms, etc. You'll catch more fish and have more fun than spending hours waiting on one big bass to come through the cove... And if you do happen to catch a good bass, you'll have a blast playing him on that smaller pole. 6 pound test should be plenty; and it's also easier to break off if you get hung on a stump. Crickets or worms and a tiny lead weight above a small hook will bring bluegill most of the time. You just have to figure out whether they are near the surface or nearer the bottom and let the cricket sink accordingly. ------------------ SBrooks | |||
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| Savor the limelight |
We base our hook sizes for bass on the size of the plastic or live bait we are casting, usually 3/0 - 5/0. We do the same for inshore near shore saltwater which is typically 1/0 - 5/0. | |||
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| Victim of Life's Circumstances  |
Buy a couple of Zebco 33 packages like this 6' on Amazon and go have fun. https://www.amazon.com/Zebco-S...33%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-9 ________________________ God spelled backwards is dog | |||
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Equal Opportunity Mocker |
Some great input here. My .02: Don't overspend on gear for this type of fishing. You'll catch just as many on a Shakespeare as you will on a Shimano right now. If you're willing to fish live bait, you can catch a butt load of crappie on minnows, etc. Tons of fun, too. Look on youtube for "Richard Gene the Fishing Machine." He can teach a monkey how to fish... I like a 2500 or 3000 spinning reel with a 7' rod for a good all around setup, and I use 6lb line for the crappie. For Bass I move the weight up a bit, and for heavy fishing for Bass (i.e., throwing a frog into heavy cover) I won't hesitate to put on some braided line. That said, I enjoy catching on the lighter tackle if able, as it's a challenge. Having caught some good fish on 6X tippet when fly fishing, I've learned that fish can be handled carefully with light tackle and still get landed. Enjoy and have a great time. For around $100 if you are patient you can be fishing with all the gear you must have. Now, for fishing with all the gear you WANT? Different story! That Zebco 33 setup Doublesharp posted for you is a solid first setup for cheap!! ________________________________________________ "You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving." -Dr. Adrian Rogers | |||
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| Member |
Learn how to fish for bass with a wacky worm rig. Use your favorite plastic worm- cheapos work fine, a package of #1 wide gap worm hooks, and some o-rings that fit snugly on the worm. You don’t have to use o rings, but your worms will last longer. No weight needed.Use a small swivel if you don’t want line twist. A spinning rig works great for these. Throw this rig at rocks, stumps, drop offs. Just let it drop, twitch it every now and then. Not much $$$ outlay involved with these. https://www.wired2fish.com/bas...acky-rig-how-to-rig/ | |||
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posting without pants |
Thanks all. We went and picked up some inexpensive rods yesterday, including one of the Zebco 33s mentioned. About 30 bucks at the old Walmart. Grabbed a tackle box and some basics (hooks, weights, bombers, etc) and some lures to try out. I am not anticipating catching much more than a buzz while I sip a few beers sitting on the dock, but should be some quality time with the Mrs. I will keep you updated. Keep any tips/suggestions coming. Strive to live your life so when you wake up in the morning and your feet hit the floor, the devil says "Oh crap, he's up." | |||
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| Member |
I have a cheap Zebco Rhino ultralight 2-6lb spinning rod and a Mitchell 2-6 lb ultralight reel. I use 6 lb line. It is my go to combo for crappie or white bass. I fish mostly Smithville lake in northern Missouri and Stockton lake near Springfield. It also works great at Roaring River for trout. __________________________ | |||
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PopeDaddy |
Shakespeare Ugly stick prepackaged spinning reel combos are hard to beat. The spin cast reel you bought is, however, the 30-30 of the fishing world. I agree with the previous poster’s description. You did just fine. For bait fishing, a longer shank “cricket” hook may be easier to remove and also harder for the fish to swallow…which is a pain when it happens. Particularly for the fish. Might want to pick up a couple pair of appropriately sized needle nose pliers to assist in hook removal from panfish. 0:01 | |||
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| Member |
Penn spinnfisher IV combo's at west marine. | |||
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| Member |
I caught Bluegills with a canepole when I was a kid in the sixties. Don't need to go overboard, a Zebco is great! | |||
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| Savor the limelight |
I’m not an expert, but Penn is on to the Spinfisher VI and the 2500 combo is $190 at West Marine. We have three Penn Spinfisher reels and I really like them, more than the Shimano NASCI which my son forgot to rinse once and there’s corrosion on the line roller as well as the drag knob. The Penns didn’t do this and are IPX5 rated waterproof. They cost 50% more though. What does this mean for KevinCW who asked to be talked to like a COMPLETE novice? Again, not an expert, but I believe Lake of the Ozarks to be freshwater and a great saltwater reel could be overkill. I’m also guessing based on his second post about his trip to WalMart that he’s all in he’s all in with three combos, basic supplies, and a cooler full of ice and beer for right around $190. Which seems to meet his request to not break the bank. If he decides to give saltwater a try, don’t fish the Zebcos. The line will pickup the saltwater and splash it all inside the reel because of the closed face design. Rinse the other reels with freshwater. Unless you are going to be doing it a lot, charter and use someone else’s gear, boat, and knowledge. Tip for Kevin, pick your lures and plastic baits based on what the fish in your area eat. For example, one river we fish is full of crayfish and the bass hit the Berkley Cray Fatty like crazy. I tried it in one of the lakes we fish and got nothing. There it’s topwater frogs and perch like plastics. Small live perch work as well. We catch them with a jig then hook them on another rod. I left one out once for about 15 minutes and my son wanted to try another spot, so I started to reel it in. The way it reeled I figured the perch had wrapped the line around a branch or something. As it got closer to the boat, I could see the perch more than a foot up the line away from a nice bass which is when the fight started. The rod never moved when the bass grabbed the bait in the first place. For the record, that was with the Zebco 33 combo. | |||
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| Little ray of sunshine  |
Post up some photos. Here's me with the last bass I caught. This male was guarding the bed - I got him on a Texas rigged plastic crawdad. He went right back in to keep guarding the bed. I tried to get his girlfriend to bite, but she wasn't as aggressive and wouldn't pick up the bait. She was probably twice his weight. The females are bigger, but the males are more vigorous defenders of the nest.  My son caught this fat girl on a white swimbait as they were feeding on spawning shad, right against the bank.  The fish is mute, expressionless. The fish doesn't think because the fish knows everything. | |||
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MAGA |
I like ultra-lite gear for pan fish. Some fish get hooked with the bait held in their lips, others swallow hook, bait nearly to their tail, take alone some needle nose pliers or some other tool for retrieving the hook. _____________________ | |||
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| Equal Opportunity Mocker |
What you need, jhe888, is some more friggin' sonar equipment for the boat!!  Dang son, I think we put men on the moon with less technology! But nice fish(es). ________________________________________________ "You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom. What one person receives without working for, another person must work for without receiving." -Dr. Adrian Rogers | |||
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| Member |
Kevin, what part of the lake is your condo? | |||
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| posting without pants |
Off of HH. About the 5 mile marker. Four seasons area. Strive to live your life so when you wake up in the morning and your feet hit the floor, the devil says "Oh crap, he's up." | |||
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| Member |
I haven’t been up that way on the water in ages. Usually spend my time down on the Niangua. For bass on LOZ, I’ve had really good luck over the years in the summer throwing a Texas rigged 10” worm. Berkley Power Worm in Blue Fleck. That is, of course, if you are wanting something other than live bait. Either way, you’ll have fun. I don’t find much more relaxing than sitting on a dock with a cold beverage and a line in the water. | |||
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| Little ray of sunshine |
That is the guide's boat. But he did have the latest and greatest. Plus another unit on the console. The fish is mute, expressionless. The fish doesn't think because the fish knows everything. | |||
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| Savor the limelight |
I know you bought gear, but I thought I’d post this as support for the Zebco 33 recommendations:  He caught this this morning with just a hook, live worm, and the Zebco 33 combo. He’s got better gear including the nice baitcaster he received for his birthday last year, but he grabbed the Zebco because it was already rigged with a hook and he wanted to use the worms he dug out of the woods. | |||
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| Member |
Yeah Spinnfisher VI. I'm from the buy once cry once crowd. I bought my wife a $60 Okuma combo because she's a novice and she happened to hook a nice 30 lb snook on it.......guess what, after fighting it for 15 minutes, the gears in the reel stripped and just like that, there went her big snook. | |||
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