Tackle Essentials

[REVO4Life]

Hi guys I've been wondering around this forum and recently joined I just got my first boat a 14-36 Jon and I think it would be cool to get everyone's opinion on essential tackle that I should have in the boat just make sure I haven't missed a must have, I know there has probably been a thread similar to this before but I'm gonna try to list specifics to hopefully dial in on some lures.
Alot of the lakes I will be fishing will be varying but my main lake is a little county park , the lake has a lot of fallen timber, it tends to stay consistently stained/muddy,not a lot of rock mostly more mud banks. the other unique thing about this lake is it has areas with some pretty big shelf off the banks before leading into deeper water. It also has a spill way leading out of the lake the water usually trickles over but can get a decent current after rain. Shore fishing here is pretty limited I was forced to fish limited areas all last summer with mediocre success. This lake also gets a decent amount of pressure from fishermen that don't want to haul there boats all the way to Truman or lake of the Ozarks for the weekend so the fishing can get tough.

I really don't know if this will help at all but you can at least get an idea of the area from the birds eye view.
http://www.bing.com/maps/Default.asp...n-us&FORM=LLDP

[screwballl]

Looking at the info and the map, this is what I would attempt personally (since I also have a 1436 jonboat I recently bought and will be fishing similar lakes):

Start at the nortwestern creek coming in starting shallow and slowly working your way into the main lake, also try those 2 arms at the northern edge, doing the same thing, start shallow and work deeper, tossing towards the shallows and bringing it back deeper.

Also try some of the deeper areas along the bottom channels to the east side that lead to the dam/spillway.

For lures, in the deeper areas I would think trying dark colored jigs and senkos drop shot wacky style, for the shallower areas, try using lighter colored noise makers like 1-6ft rattling cranks, buzzbaits and spinner baits. Also it may be worth trying darker craws or jig with craw trailer in the shallow areas.

[everettvet]

Revo,
First of all, welcome to the forum. You will find a lot of information on here and some of it will even be true and helpful! You have joined, in my opnion, the best forum on bass fishing there is!

Ok, now down to business. You asked for essential tackle. I am going to back up one step and remind you to make sure that you have all the safety equipment that your state requires. There is nothing that will ruin a day faster than getting a ticket for not having something the law requires.

Looking at the map there seems to be a fair amount of deeper water. If you don't have electronics on the boat, I would look into getting something to help you find the deeper water and drops and such. Looking at the map there seems to be a creek channel that runs from the west portion of the lake to the east portion through that narrow area. There is also a lot of lay downs along the bank. I noticed some structure on the north west end that looks like an island or something with trees sticking up that is near deeper water. I would fish that creek or drainage or what ever it is on the northwest end. On the map it looks like it has some lay downs but it maybe way too shallow. I have no idea what quanity or quality of fish are here, but it looks like it would be fun to find out. I love looking at bing maps of places that I have never seen before. Thank you for posting the link!

As far as lures go, I would have a hard time limiting myself in the tackle that I took. I could see where flippin/pitchin would be great, a crankbait would be good, a lipless crank, texas rigged soft plastics, and on some of those points a carolina rig would be good. If there you are fishing and there is a lot of pressure that day, I would throw a lure that is totally away the normal that day. Everyone will toss the lures that are obvious, but if you give them a different lure or presentation, it could pay off.

Best of luck and let us know how it goes. I look forward to seeing other comments from the folks on this site.

[REVO4Life]

Thanks for the help guys it is warming up big time here in Missouri cant wait to test my skills at this lake hopefully with your tips I'll have some pictures of some nice fish coming soon!

[keithdog]

You got some good advice here and I don't really have a lot to add, but I wanted to welcome you to the site. Hope to see some pics of fish from your lake soon!