Suggestions for a good starter set for fresh water fishing

[smithmal]

Total newb at using artificial lures. My fishing experience has been using worms and squid on the bay with my Dad (an not being very successful most of the time). I started looking on Amazon and before I knew it, I had $120 of lures in my cart. I thought I'd ask you guys if there is an all encompassing fresh water lure set that would get me started. If not a set, would would you suggest me start with? Hoping for decent quality lures (i.e. better than you'd give your teenager, but not pro level quality).

Thanks,

smithmal

[Yakman35]

Well you don't have to put 100's into it but a few packs of soft plastics a few crank baits and a few top waters and a spinner bait or 2 would be a good start.


Yakman35
Perception striker 11.5

[Yakman35]

In the way of plastics I recommend some senkos some brush hogs or similar creature style bait and some worm styles that can double as a drop shot bait. Mix up your crank bait selection to some shallow and some deep runners and your spinner baits a mix of Colorado blades and Willow blades.


Yakman35
Perception striker 11.5

[Yakman35]

That should get you on the water and fishing while you build your tackle arsenal. Also can't go wrong with a skirted jig


Yakman35
Perception striker 11.5

[Big Mike]

Definetly some Senko type lures in green/pumpkin or black paired with 3/0 or 4/0 wide gap worm hooks, some jig heads with 4" curly tail grubs, a top water or two and you'll handle a heck of a lot of largemouth situations.

[Yakman35]

Well said. Forgot to include hook selections in my post. To give you some names for the plastics zoom baby brush hogs yum dingers(my favorite senko) trick worms flukes tube jigs for rivers just buy a small selection from local stores and see what works for you


Yakman35
Perception striker 11.5

[Yakman35]

Walmart clearance rack a good place to start for cheap start up


Yakman35
Perception striker 11.5

[Slackdaddy]

I have been fishing fresh water (way upper Potomac, Doah, South Branch) for 15 years.
I typ have 4 rods, they are all $39.00 light/med Ugly sticks and $49.00 Pflueger President spinning reels.
One has a soft frog, one has a mini buzz bait, one a senco worm, and the UL has a 1/8 Roadrunner and grub tail.

Good, Solid, economical setups.

Slack

[smithmal]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys. In terms of crank baits, do you have any suggestions? I was looking at the following but I have no knowledge on this:

Heddon Tiny Crazy Crawler Fishing Lures
Jackall Pompadour Jr Junior Topwater Lure
Rose Kuli Multi Jointed Life-like Swimbait Hard Fishing Lure Bass Bait
River2Sea Whopper Plopper 90 Larry Dahlberg Topwater Lure
Fishing Eyes Popper Crankbait Vibe Sinking Lure for Bass Trout Walleye Redfish
Rapala X-Rap Jerkbait XR10 Fishing Lure

In terms of soft frogs, would this one work or would this be better?

Thanks,

smithmal

[Mark]

I've never used any of the hard plastic lures you mentioned. However, I know from ample experience that certain tried and proven lures work consistently. You can have outstanding success with just these three:

Heddon Zara Puppy -- This is a 3 inch top water lure that allows you to "walk the dog". Its perfect when bass want a subtle top water bait that creates action on the surface with minimal water disturbance.

Rebel Pop R -- This a 1/4 oz. 2.5 inch traditional popper. It's good when bass prefer a significant disturbance of the surface of the water over the quieter approach of the Zara Puppy.

Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap -- This is a subsurface bait that is perhaps the most effective crank bait ever. It will catch anything that swims and it comes in enough sizes to do just that making it good for many species. I use 1/2 oz. versions for stripers, but on fresh water I carry "Mini" (2.5 inches) and "Tiny" (1.75 inches) traps which are 1/4 and 1/8 oz. respectively.

None of these are trendy baits, but again they have been successfully used by anglers for a very long time. They are also usually less expensive than newer baits.

I cannot address soft frogs. I've only used them with a guide on a snakehead trip and I have no clue what brand they were. However, I will say he switched me to a Rebel Pop R when we got to open water and bass became my target.

Anyway, I would suggest that you not succumb to the idea that you need a lot of different kinds of lures to catch fish. I strongly believe it's better to carry just a few kinds of lures but to learn how to use each of them effectively. You would not go wrong concentrating on the three I mentioned.

[chimo]

As others have mentioned, Senko style plastics are great and can be rigged/fished in multiple ways to handle just about anything. Weightless on an offset worm hook for shallow and around cover, add a bullet sinker for deeper cover, use a jig head in open water for a diff presentation, wacky rigged, wacky rigged on a jig head for deeper water, drop shot rigs, etc.

The original floating rapala is another personal favorite and a proven fish catcher. Just cast and retrieve, retrieve with some pauses/twitches of the rod tip, or fish similar to a top water twitching the bait on the surface.

[smithmal]

Mark,

Thanks for your suggestions. Gonna try the following:

1. Senko worms with 3/0 hooks
2. Heddon Zara Puppy
3. Rebel Pop R
4. Rat-L-Trap
5. Z-man diezel minnowz with variety of jig heads
6. Zoom Bait Baby Brush Hog

In terms of installing the 3/0 hooks into the Senko baits, I'm going to use the process noted in this video (unless you guys think this is a bad idea). Though the video poster didn't discuss it, I'm assuming you attach the line to the hook before setting it into the Senko bait correct?

Finally, is there a knot that is the standard lure knot that most use when attaching the lures to a leader?

Thanks,

smithmal

[willf650]

Polomar knot is the simplest and strongest to tie


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[smithmal]

Polomar knot is the simplest and strongest to tie


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Thanks... will,try and master that knot.

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[Mark]

I use two knots regularly.

One is Lefty's Loop.

There are several ways to tie it, but this link shows the precise way I do:

http://www.garyborger.com/2011/09/18...lip-loop-knot/

The advantage of a loop knot is that it gives your lure or fly a little more freedom of movement on the end of your line. Here's a jig fastened to my leader with Lefty's Loop:

A.jpg

Perhaps you can see from the photo how using a loop can provide more movement to the jig. The loop knot is a favored technique of many charter captains and fishing guides.

However, note that crank baits and poppers often have a split ring at the tying point. In that case I don't need a loop knot. I use a knot that cinches down tightly on the split ring because the ring itself performs the same function as a loop knot -- it allows the lure to move freely. Therefore, the second knot I use is an Improved Clinch Knot. You can find plenty of links showing how to tie that knot on-line by searching that term.

Here's a clinch knot tied to split ring on a popper:

IMG_0374 (2).jpg

As you can see, it's tight to the split ring unlike the loop knot. A Palomar Knot would also be tight to the split ring. But I have difficulty getting lures larger than hooks through the loop on the final step. That's why I use the Improved Clinch Knot although the Palomar may indeed be a stronger connection.

Whichever knots you use, learn to tie them well. Don't be sparse with your leader or tippet. If you cheat by being cheap with the length of line of you use, you will eventually cheat yourself with a lost fish. Use enough line to create a strong, tight knot. Also, moistening your mono or fluoro line with saliva as you pull the knot tight will create a stronger bond.