Fishing tackle

[sodfather]

I would consider myself an inexperienced fisherman. I've fly fished for trout and steelhead a good part of my life but want to take up fishing from the boat this year on bass, pike etc etc..  After looking at my tackle I need to invest some money into lures rubber baits and so on. Looking at cabelas most lures run about the $5-10 range. Instead of buying a ton of crap and not being the right size or color can anyone offer up some advise on what to stock up on and color/sizes. Not asking for honey holes or top secrets just something ideas to get started. Thanks for your response 

[turkeyfeathers]

Oh man , on this. I can get you on bass on Erie. And for cheap. Gulp silver and black minniws , 1/8 ounce jig heads   Easy peasy. Don’t need any $8 lures ! Buddy kills em this way. I fish the same exact way and he and Samantha outfish me everytime. I’m a great net man though. South gap , north gap , water intake , bird island.  Put in at Small boat harbor. 

[moog5050]

No salmon or trout on the big lakes?

[TreeGuy]

Dick's had buy 5 get 5 free clearance lures. I'm ashamed to mention how many I bought.... Why don't u save some money and just come with me. I'll be trying my hand at browns in the spring, kings in the summer and muskie in the late summer/early fall with eyes in between all that.

Kinda depends on what species your after for style... But typically you can't go wrong with natural colors. Perch, goby, shad, fire tigers, red head/chrome etc. Rubber like tf mentioned,brown /purple/white/chartreuse /green.



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[ncountry]

5 months out of the year i spend close to every weekend at camp. I do a lot of bass (large mouth)and crappie fishing Occasionally pike. 

I can catch more bass with a bag of senco style worms and a few hooks than I can with the 100s dollars of lures etc.  That I have collected in my tackle box over the years.. .lol 

In my experience ,if the pike are biting , you cannot go wrong with a white spinner bait..

Crappie . I like a 1/16 oz maribu jig or a 2" flavored/scented  soft plastic minnow or"  squirming squirts" from bass pro..

[TreeGuy]

Another opportunity to show off my kids creativity....

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[TreeGuy]

Try these for panfish...

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[sodfather]

1 hour ago, moog5050 said:

No salmon or trout on the big lakes?

Ive done that and not a fan of just trolling and bringing in dead logs. Getting them on a fly is a blast though. The beer drinking while trolling is fun..

[doebuck1234]

Always had good luck with pike on the white or chartreuse spinnerbait and silver/blue spoons.bass ive had some luck on the yum black/purple ribbontail worm.this past summer i crushed em eith the red/white jitterbug.love the topwater explosion

[moog5050]

4 minutes ago, sodfather said:

Ive done that and not a fan of just trolling and bringing in dead logs. Getting them on a fly is a blast though. The beer drinking while trolling is fun..

Cmon a screaming salmon ain’t no dead log.   Sounds like you focused on lakers.  

[TreeGuy]

Ive done that and not a fan of just trolling and bringing in dead logs. Getting them on a fly is a blast though. The beer drinking while trolling is fun..

I'd challenge you to test that theory this spring, with me... I have a feeling when that "log" rips 200' of line out (on the first run...) You will change your mind. And beer is allowed

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[The_Real_TCIII]

5 months out of the year i spend close to every weekend at camp. I do a lot of bass (large mouth)and crappie fishing Occasionally pike. 
I can catch more bass with a bag of senco style worms and a few hooks than I can with the 100s dollars of lures etc.  That I have collected in my tackle box over the years.. .lol 
In my experience ,if the pike are biting , you cannot go wrong with a white spinner bait..
Crappie . I like a 1/16 oz maribu jig or a 2" flavored/scented  soft plastic minnow or"  squirming squirts" from bass pro..

Senco are AMAZING


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[TreeGuy]

I see a fishing adventure with the buffalo crew in the future...

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[JALA RUT]

Sod, I used to fish quite a bit through high school and college age but not too consistent after that until about three years ago I started to get back into it more, especially really hard last year.  I started keeping a fishing log again last year and ended up catching 93 largemouth bass and 31 pike, all catch and release except 1 pike that swallowed the spinner too deep and wasn't going to make it and 2 largemouth for a nice meal.  The large majority of the pike were caught on spinner baits and the bass were on a combination of plastic PowerWorms Texas rigged, Spinner Baits, and a few on top water soft bodied rubber frogs.

Last year my biggest pike was about 41" (Caught on a Spinner Bait) and my biggest largemouth last year was 4.17 pounds (caught on a Texas rigged PowerWorm). The pike was caught from a kayak and was pretty cool.  He was dragging the kayak around until he hunkered down in the weeds.  Tough to get a perfect measurement on him in the kayak but we did our best before releasing him...the scale showed him at 11 pounds but he weighed a little more because even holding him as high as we could while seated in the kayak to weigh him on the scale, part of him was still dangling in the water.  Can't wait to get back out there fishing this spring and summer!

Good luck out there this year!

[wolc123]

Smallmouth bass are my personal favorite and I catch most of them on hand-tied bucktail jigs.  I use a pattern that I developed which closely resembles their favorite food - the crayfish.   These jigs will consistently outfish real softshell crabs in clear water because they maintain better action and do not get fouled quickly with "moss" like real crabs do.   They also are less attractive to non-target species like sheepshead and gobies.   Best of all, they can be used to take many bass without replacement.   Perhaps better yet, they are almost free with my only significant cost being the hook (I can usually come up with some "free" bucktails and pour my own heads).  

I am not a catch-and release guy, unless the bass are larger than about 18", which are not as good eating.  I prefer those from 12-15".   As a man over 50, I am in the "low-risk" group, when it comes to health advisories for fish consumption, but my wife and girls are not.   Some waters in the state carry more risk than others, with generally those farther to the South-West in NY state having less risk.   Lake Erie and the Upper Niagara River are relatively low risk, while Lake Ontario the St Lawrence river and Adirondack waters are high.   I label the packages in the freezer, eating mostly the St Lawrence, Adirondack, and Lake Ontario stuff myself, while the wife and kids get that from Lake Erie, the upper Niagara, and the Western Finger lakes.

Smallmouth bass are abundant, hard-fighting, and good eating as long as you keep them alive and fresh until the meat is removed, then vacuum seal.  You can not get away with dragging them around dead on a stringer like you can with walleye or perch.  They also have more oil in them than those species which makes them better for broiling, grilling or baking, but not so good for frying.   Largemouth bass may be slightly better eating, but tend to die quicker in the livewell and only produce about half the fight per given weight.   They are my second favorite.  Eating plenty of fish helps keep us from getting sick of venison, which makes up the bulk of our protein.    

Edited February 6, 2018 by wolc123

[corydd7]

I've done well with pike and large pickerel on Saranac Lake among other spots. Five friends from high school camped out with our wife's and girlfriends on an island three years in a row. Has anyone been on an island with five women with no bathroom electric or running water? Needless to say I beat the water up on our three day trips. Jokes aside it was a great experience.

[MPHunter]

I do a lot of bass fishing in the Adirondacks. You can't beat a senko rigged weedless with a 2/O worm hook. I have hundreds of dollars of other lures I've accumulated over the last three decades and they hardly get used over the senkos. I find that any of the dark colors work best. Tip - the bass pro brand knockoffs are just as good as the yamamoto brand originals and a lot less expensive. 

[Robhuntandfish]

gotta go with Senkos for bass as for my #1!!    rig them weedless.  I like the 4" in junebug or baby bass.  Have caught thousands of bass on these in all situations and you can throw them into anything.  Then would also get a Spro - Frog - easy to use and can throw it across about any weeds.  Senkos require a little touch - watch for the line to jump or move or just become heavy and set the hook!  

Spinnerbaits in white are good for pike or bass for sure.  put a curly tail soft plastic on the hook and it seems to help esp with Pike.  Pike will hit most anything you wiz by them.  Colored spinner bait blades are even better for smallies i have found.  The biggest pike I have ever gotten were on perch color stickbaits from 4-7 inches ripped along the weedlines. 

pretty sure I could go on for hours about lures........lol......good luck   

[BizCT]

This thread made me think of the “Banjo Minnow” or the “Bionic Minnow”. Anyone else remember those hilarious informercials back in the day?


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[Robhuntandfish]

4 minutes ago, Biz-R-OWorld said:

This thread made me think of the “Banjo Minnow” or the “Bionic Minnow”. Anyone else remember those hilarious informercials back in the day?


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yes I had a fishing buddy that bought the banjo minnow system and I made fun of him all day on the water!  lol  He actually had a lot of hits on it from bass but couldnt hardly ever hook them.  It required rubber bands and it was too funny.  He used to like to buy weird lures and bring them out fishing .   

[Robhuntandfish]

9 hours ago, TreeGuy said:

Another opportunity to show off my kids creativity....

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love what the kid did on the cover......but ....im a lure junky and was looking at them too. I have all of those from storms, to rapalas to reef runners!  lol  That looks exactly like the boxes I have.  

[Marion]

5 months out of the year i spend close to every weekend at camp. I do a lot of bass (large mouth)and crappie fishing Occasionally pike. 
I can catch more bass with a bag of senco style worms and a few hooks than I can with the 100s dollars of lures etc.  That I have collected in my tackle box over the years.. .lol 
In my experience ,if the pike are biting , you cannot go wrong with a white spinner bait..
Crappie . I like a 1/16 oz maribu jig or a 2" flavored/scented  soft plastic minnow or"  squirming squirts" from bass pro..

Love me a Jersey rig with a senko hooked right through the center. Looks completely retarded and actually we laughed in the bait shop owners face when he told us that was the best bet for bass. We thought he was screwing with us. I'll tell you what though, I have never caught so many bass in one day ever fishing off a point on candlewood lake in CT.

You Can't Beat My Meat!!!

[sodfather]

9 hours ago, TreeGuy said:

I'd challenge you to test that theory this spring, with me... I have a feeling when that "log" rips 200' of line out (on the first run...) You will change your mind. And beer is allowed

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This was last summer was a good time but they fight feels much better on a fly . We still had a blast 

[grampy]

For largemouth bass, try the drop shot, with a finesse worm or whacky Senco. Works great for smallies too. Also the quarter ounce, paddle tail swim baits will catch em just about anywhere too. Pop-R's on top water, still work well. A texas or carolina rigged, worm or craw imatation is always rigged and ready on my boat too. 

[BizCT]

LIVE BAIT and an Okuma Baitfeeder reel.

 

 

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