Good gear for beginner shore fisher?

Buy a spinning rod and reel. Spend the most you can afford. Cheap tackle will turn you off of the sport.

6'6" medium action rod, spinning reel 2500/3000 series.

Fish Senko's from shore with light line 6 to 8lb test with this setup and you will have some sport...

Best advice I've seen on this thread, way to go Johnny

My two cents:

First off, definitely use a spincasting reel. Unless you're going to be fishing in heavy cover or doing frog flipping, a baitcaster is just going to be headaches. I like Shimano.

Stick with a medium action rod with a fast tip. A longer rod will allow you to sling your lure out further, which can be very important for shore fisherman.

For line, I like just a basic 10lb mono. You will have to deal with line twist but it is easiest to work with if you're new to knots.

For terminal tackle, it will depend on your style. You're definitely going to want some barrel swivels and some egg weights.

Get yourself some 5" Senkos in the Baby Bass pattern.

Gamakatsu hooks, 3/0 is a good size.

Then learn how to do a Texas Rig (google it)

A 7' rod with 10lb mono on a spincasting reel set up with a Texas rig is a solid go-to. It is reliable, repeatable, and provides results.

I started out as a shore fisherman (as most of us did) and this was my go-to set up. If you're on the South Shore, hit me up and we can go together. I have a couple of good spots.

You can get all of that for under $100 if your budget is tight.

One last piece of advice: Amazon SUCKS for fishing gear. Don't know why, it just does. Stick with Bass Pro Shops, Tackle Warehouse, or Cabelas.

Hope this helps!

I saw a video about hollow frogs earlier today and really want to try one!
Do I go with 3/4 ounce or 5/8 ounce? Green tan yellow or black?

No doubt, hollow frogs are fun. Especially on a baitcaster. But these are NOT spring lures. The bass have slow metabolisms and will not be actively hunting. Wait until the pads come in, then pitch on them.

Buy a spinning rod and reel. Spend the most you can afford. Cheap tackle will turn you off of the sport.

6'6" medium action rod, spinning reel 2500/3000 series.

Fish Senko's from shore with light line 6 to 8lb test with this setup and you will have some sport...

Best advice I've seen on this thread, way to go Johnny

I agree fully. Also, don't use bobbers unless you're fishing live bait.

Spincaster? U mean spinning ? Spincaster are like zebcos and stuff

Yes, sorry, spinning reals.

I'd recommend picking up some single tails grubs. I like Zoom salty fat albert and Kalin's lunker grubs. Some people put them on jigheads but I like to texas rig them with a 1/0 worm hook and a 1/8 oz ultra steel worm weight. A smoke colored grub can be retrieved like a little swimbait and the color mimics all kinds of minnows. A pumpkin or green pumpkin colored one can be crawled and popped off the cottom like a little crayfish. They're great for multispecies fishing and I think Field & Stream proclaimed it the #1 fishing lure of all time. They are also really inexpensive.

Tight lines!

I would suggest that you get a net.

A net will help you land the fish that you catch and it will subdue them so that they don't thrash too much. Thrashing fish=hook in the hand and I can tell you from painful experience that is something you want to avoid.

Make sure that the mesh of the net is not too "fine" otherwise the treble hooks on some lures will get tangled in the mesh.

Since you are hunting bass I suggest that you get yourself a Black 3/8th oz Jitterbug.

I also recommend getting a 1/8 oz gold Johnsons silver spoon. however you will need to get a hook hone for this lure because out of the package they are dull.

Good luck

Lot of advice in this thread, but the most important thing about fishing is to have fun. In the end it doesn't matter what rod, reel, or lure your using if your not having fun. Don't worry about how many or how big of a fish you catch. Fish with no expectation and enjoy nature. The catching part will eventually come.

My two cents:

First off, definitely use a spincasting reel. Unless you're going to be fishing in heavy cover or doing frog flipping, a baitcaster is just going to be headaches. I like Shimano.

Stick with a medium action rod with a fast tip. A longer rod will allow you to sling your lure out further, which can be very important for shore fisherman.

For line, I like just a basic 10lb mono. You will have to deal with line twist but it is easiest to work with if you're new to knots.

For terminal tackle, it will depend on your style. You're definitely going to want some barrel swivels and some egg weights.

Get yourself some 5" Senkos in the Baby Bass pattern.

Gamakatsu hooks, 3/0 is a good size.

Then learn how to do a Texas Rig (google it)

A 7' rod with 10lb mono on a spincasting reel set up with a Texas rig is a solid go-to. It is reliable, repeatable, and provides results.

I started out as a shore fisherman (as most of us did) and this was my go-to set up. If you're on the South Shore, hit me up and we can go together. I have a couple of good spots.

You can get all of that for under $100 if your budget is tight.

One last piece of advice: Amazon SUCKS for fishing gear. Don't know why, it just does. Stick with Bass Pro Shops, Tackle Warehouse, or Cabelas.

Hope this helps!

Agree 100% with above, well written. Would add to grab some 3 inch senkos and 3 inch "fat" senkos to get more bites (the 5 inch may push off small-medium fish) so you can get some feel for your new setup.

just my two scents : 10 pound test line senkos wacky rigged and shaky heads just what worked for me fishing of shore most of the time

ftmbasshunter, The Kalin grub excellent choice it was my go to plastic for years before the Senko's ever hit the market . I used a 1/4oz jighead.
The 3"tube bait must be added with this spinning gear weight class.... All the baits mentioned will work perfectly on a spinning setup...

What do I do here?

I would say the 8lb.test reel would be best choice of that cheap model you selected.
I use Shimano but my least expensive reel from them is $120. You get what you pay for. Buy quality and it will last for years.

Thanks Sinista