what you need to start bass fishing

So, you’re a beginner looking for what you need to start bass fishing. We are going to cover the basics you will need to start bass fishing from shore. We will cover in depth more about the different ways to bass fish in another post. This is just to get you started.

There are so many ways to bass fish, there really isn’t a wrong way. But to get you started in the bass fishing sport you only need really the basics. Here is what you need to start bass fishing:

Fishing Rod
Fishing Reel
Hooks
Weights
Bobber
Bait

Fishing Rod

One of the most important pieces of your gear when fishing for anything is the fishing rod. There are a variety of fishing rods out there today on the market. All designed for specific fishing applications. However, in this article we are assuming you are just getting into the sport of bass fishing. In this case, the recommendation would be something of the medium fast action category. You can check out our other posts for the finer details of a fishing rod. For a beginner, a rod in the 7ft range with medium power and fast action will allow you the most variety of bait choices so it is a good place to start.

Fishing Reel

Next we want to find a fishing reel for bass fishing. There are two route you can go into here. A spinning reel or a bait caster. Both have their pros and cons, but if you are just starting and never fished a bait caster before, you may want to consider using a spinning reel. The learning curve is much simpler than a bait caster. But either work when bass fishing. There are finer details that will help you decide which is better for a particular application, but that will come as you learn more techniques. Most professional anglers and even amateurs will carry a variety of rods and reels when bass fishing. When looking into a spinning reel, or reels in general, you will notice the term gear ratio. This depicts how many times the spool winds to 1 rotation of the reel handle. A higher ratio like 1:7 will reel in faster than a reel gear ratio of say 1:5. Again, if you are just starting out, don’t worry about the gear ratio. You can always reel faster 😉

Hooks

There are a variety of hooks on the fishing market today. All made for different applications or sizes of baits. I wont get into too many details here but if you are using a stick bait, or paddle tail bait you will want to use an EWG (Extra Wide Gap) hook. If you are using live bait you will want just a regular worm/bait hook. There are hooks made for all applications, so if you have a specific method in mind, research the hook to see what works best. They also make different sizes of each hook. Most companies mark the size by something like a 1/0 (read 1 aught), 5/0 or anything in between. The bigger the first number, the bigger the size of the hook. Some companies also will just use 1 or 5 without the aught piece. So when deciding on a hook to use, think what type of bait and the size of the bait

Weights

I’m sure you can see a pattern. There are different ways to bass fish so there are varieties of each category depending on the technique used. Weights are no different. There are drop shot weights, bullet weights, and bead weights among other things. The applications or the weights depend on how you are fishing. For example, when using a lure you most likely wont even use baits. If you are using an earth worth you may use a bead weight to keep the worm down in the water column. If using a Texas rigged Senko, you may choose to use a bullet weight to make it sink faster. Some weights are even built in to the jig so there is no extra weights needed.

Bobber

There are a few types of bobbers, but in this case we are talking about the regular old bobbers that are a perfect sphere. There are usually used as a visual marker for when a fish takes a live bait like an earth worm. Floating normally until the pressure of the fish taking the bait bring it under the surface of the water indicating a fish is on the line.

Bait

Last but of course not least, we have the bait. You cant catch bass without bait! There are a lot of options here but most fall under a few categories. Live bait like shiners or earth worms. Lures like crank baits or swim baits. Jigs like a shaky head. And the list just goes on. Live bait is probably the easiest way to get started. You can throw the bait on a hook, just cast it out and then leave it.

As you can see, the only thing complicated about starting bass fishing are the choices. There are so many ways to fish for bass and this means we keep getting more and more varieties of gear to target a specific technique of fishing for bass. If you are just getting started, live bait like an earth worm is probably the easiest method. Just a rod, reel, bobber, weight, hooks and bait is all you need to enjoy a day of bass fishing. But don’t be afraid to search our site for more methods to catch you next personal best bass!