A return to bass fishing after a 10+ year hiatus.

[DergaSmash]

Hello everyone-

I'm brand new to the forum and would like to say hi. I have quite a few questions for you guys. I grew up in Minnesota, which basically means I grew up fishing. Fishing took a backseat when I was in junior high when my dad passed away. My mom was never the outdoor type and we lived in the metro area of the twin cities, while when my dad was alive, he lived on South Center lake. Anyways, with graduating high school then working and going to school, I never really had the time to go. Then I got married and joined the Army. So other than a few scattered opportunities, I haven't really been fishing in a long time.
Well now that things have settled down a bit and I have had the opportunity to meet some people here at Fort Polk where I am stationed, a buddy of mine is taking me fishing next Saturday night at Vernon Lake. It's pretty big lake, a resevoir for the area, and I'm told the fishing is usually pretty good. My bass fishing experience is limited to freshwater lakes in Minnesota, where the average size largemouth is a bit smaller than here in Louisiana, or so I am told.
My gear is very general purpose, but has worked well the few times I have used it. I have an Abu Garcia Cardinal 104 reel on a 6' Med/Light Rhino indestructible glow tip rod, and 10lb Trilene XL. Now I have only used my rig a few times since I bought it but I did well when I got to fish back home. I caught a few bass but I was mostly after Crappies/Walleye.
So here come the questions.
1. Can I fish for Louisiana largemouth with the rig I have?
2. If so, what type of lure/bait would you recommend?

I have a few spinnerbaits that worked well when I was younger. I'm a big fan of inline spinners as there is nothing in a Minnesota lake that won't take em except for Sunfish. I've never fished a plastic worm in my life. If I wasn't using a spinner/inline spinner, I was using nightcrawlers/waxworms/leeches/shiners. Please help, I know that this Saturday will be a learning experience anyway, but I would like to be prepared a bit for it.