KISS! though I'm not calling you stupid by any means. I'll address the words in bold.Quote:
With all that in mind, anyone wanna give me some pointers on bait types & sizes? I see a gojillion plastic baits- all the jig styles, worms, craws, bugs, minnows, etc., but no idea where to start. I'd imagine jig heads in sizes from 1/64oz up to 1/8 or 1/4oz need to be stocked & I can guess at colors,
If you want to exclude fishing for panfish, use larger lures: examples
spinnerbaits and skirted weedless jigs with action trailers, 3/8 oz or larger; large silver or black blades
large crankbaits - shallow and deep dive
large swimbaits on 1/8 oz jigs
Smaller jigs catch most fish in all sizes and species. The variety of soft plastics that catch all fish is enormous. (search my posts regarding soft plastics). Find a few colors in each type of soft plastic and worry no more about color selection. Remember one thing: color and color brightness give a lure its shape and emphasize its action.
Note: I make clear soft plastic lures and do as well as colored ones. Clear hard plastic lures also do well with or without rattles.
Don't fall for sale's pitches. Find fish - #1/catch fish on a huge variety of lures that strike your fancy. Fish are wild, dumb bullies, like all predators, but hyper-sensitive creatures that think not-at-all when it comes to striking moving objects not of their world. (It would be like you or me biting an alien - one from outer space, of course.)
Lures, in general, are unnatural in all respects but get under their scales in a flash - hunger having nothing to do with it generally speaking. Humans eat things they're not supposed to -why not fish attacking something no fish in its right mind would put in its mouth?!But wait, fish don't have minds capable of thinking which makes lure selection so easy.
There are just too many words of wisdom when it comes to tackle and boating. Common sense is basically experience based - the more you try, the more you discover. What you will discover is that keeping it simple catches fish.
Good luck.