Ok I'm not an expert but I spent my whole childhood fishing for largies with my dad. You have a basic rod with spinning gear and monofilament line, right?
For cheap lake fishing, I recommend senkos (big plastic worms). Buy some Texas rig hooks and a pack of senkos, and you can catch fish all season with them. There are basically two ways you'll want to rig them. Wacky rig is very simple, you just stick the hook through the middle of the worm with any hook. It's bad in weedy spots though. Texas rig is the weedless one, and needs special hooks. You stick the hook in the top of the worm, then push it out again half an inch down, then stick the end back in towards the middle. Watch a video if that didn't make sense.
For the ultra weedy spots, like in the middle of a bunch of pads, you could try a top water bait. My favorite top water are plastic frogs. The only really work on some species, and are better in late summer. You cast it way in the pads, and work it back, trying to make it seem like your bait is a drunk and stupid frog. This kind of fishing is a lot of fun, because you'll usually see the fish coming before it strikes, and sometimes they come right up to the boat.
Both Texas rigged senkos and top water baits can be tricky because it is hard to set the hook. The key is to be patient. When the fish strikes, you need to wait a couple seconds before you pull. Imagine it's a stop sign and you're on your driving test.
I'm pretty sure you can catch all those kinds of fish with what I mentioned. However, the pike may be a problem because they have sharp teeth and can bite through line. If there are big pike in your lake, you can buy wire leaders with hooks on the end that attach to a snap swivel, and that the pike can't bite through. It's probably only worth doing this is you actually notice that you're losing bait though, I have some and never use them.
You can use your spinning tackle in the river too. If it's slower or deeper the senkos will work. If not, buy some golden spoons, online spinners, or swim baits, which IMO work well in fast water.
Ok I'm not an expert but I spent my whole childhood fishing for largies with my dad. You have a basic rod with spinning gear and monofilament line, right?
For cheap lake fishing, I recommend senkos (big plastic worms). Buy some Texas rig hooks and a pack of senkos, and you can catch fish all season with them. There are basically two ways you'll want to rig them. Wacky rig is very simple, you just stick the hook through the middle of the worm with any hook. It's bad in weedy spots though. Texas rig is the weedless one, and needs special hooks. You stick the hook in the top of the worm, then push it out again half an inch down, then stick the end back in towards the middle. Watch a video if that didn't make sense.
For the ultra weedy spots, like in the middle of a bunch of pads, you could try a top water bait. My favorite top water are plastic frogs. The only really work on some species, and are better in late summer. You cast it way in the pads, and work it back, trying to make it seem like your bait is a drunk and stupid frog. This kind of fishing is a lot of fun, because you'll usually see the fish coming before it strikes, and sometimes they come right up to the boat.
Both Texas rigged senkos and top water baits can be tricky because it is hard to set the hook. The key is to be patient. When the fish strikes, you need to wait a couple seconds before you pull. Imagine it's a stop sign and you're on your driving test.
I'm pretty sure you can catch all those kinds of fish with what I mentioned. However, the pike may be a problem because they have sharp teeth and can bite through line. If there are big pike in your lake, you can buy wire leaders with hooks on the end that attach to a snap swivel, and that the pike can't bite through. It's probably only worth doing this is you actually notice that you're losing bait though, I have some and never use them.
You can use your spinning tackle in the river too. If it's slower or deeper the senkos will work. If not, buy some golden spoons, online spinners, or swim baits, which IMO work well in fast water.
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