New addict looks for pointers

[Nightfyre]

Greetings all!

I recently went out lake fishing with my father in law for rainbow trout. Went trolling all the day, great day for fishing, not a great day for fish lol. We managed to land 3 good sized trout. And I'm addicted lol. Here's my "problem" I won't be able to always go fishing with my father in law due to conflicting work schedules so until I can afford a boat I will be doing a lot of shore fishing. I currently have a shakespeare ugly stik gx2 7' medium pole with a Pflueger President 6940 Spinning Reel. Eventually I will move up to a baitcaster when I get more comfortable with the basics. I'm looking for help with a rig setup for catching bass from shore with what I have if possible. I plan on buying spare spools for my reel and having line on them depending on the fish I'm aiming for. I live in the San Joaquin Valley of California, with in an easy drive of many waterways and lakes. Also any pointers on general freshwater fishing much appreciated as well. Thanks for your time.

NF
[signature]

[tubeN2]

Hi and welcome to the site as well as the California boards.

Bass fishing can be complex yet it can be simple at the same time. You will need to make a small investment in some plastic worms of various colors, sliding weights, dead weights and hooks of various sizes.

I would suggest getting some books to learn from since there are hundreds of aspects to cover and they cannot all be covered in this post.

Water temperature, clarity, outside air temperature, structure, moon phase and barometric pressure all play a key role in what rig you will need to use and how fast of slow you should retrieve it.

Plastic worms (generic term) may consist of Worms, Crawdads, Frogs or even leaches that are all made of plastic.

Colors will vary depending on the water clarity.

Colder water will slow the fish down. Warmer water will increase fish activity as well as surrounding baitfish.

You may need to find some lure that imitate what the Bass are feeding on.

There is no single lure nor color that will be a constant all year. You may want to start your collection off slowly or as your personal budget permits because it will require some investing.

Plastics can come in different sizes and lengths along with the different colors. You may want to take a look at a color chart for the Yamamoto stick baits. There are tons to choose from. Pick some that resemble what is in your area.

You may also want to check out videos on YouTube that can teach you how to do the basic Bass rigs such as Carolina Rig, Texas Rig, Whacky Rig and others. They will teach you how to tie and use them as well as some of the techniques for retrieval.

You may want to learn how to dropshot too. It is a different technique altogether.

We do have a Bass forum here as well. I do believe that some of the riggings are written there. [cool]
[signature]

[aquaman]

My favorite go to bass bait is a wacky rigged senko cast weightless along the bank reeds rocks tree etc keep in mind when fishing from the bank fan cast always get nothing move 50 feet or so and repeat good luck
[signature]

[Facecarver]

I've done a lot of Bass fishing here in Canada and I prefer top water. There are many great hard baits out there, favorites are torpedo, poppers and a few others. When a bass smashes a top water it really gets your attention.
[signature]