Getting back into fishing

[monsterdawg725]

It's been years at least 10-15 years since I did any fishing and I'm wanting to get back into it mainly I will be fishing in rivers around where I live in south east to middle Tennessee I used to live bait caster reels and rods and open face reels i know what used to be good equipment but I'm sure there has been improvements in the past years what's some good gear to get started with again ? I'll mainly be doing some smallmouth bass and cat fishing but crappie and bream will be fished for as well .

 

[wolf-man-12]

About the same thing you used to fish with as I still use some of my Rods &Reels I used 12 to 15 years ago plus just added a few new ones along the way ~~ most of my Rods are the old stand by Ugly Stik's ~~ can't beat em.!
I fish Tellico & Melton Hill Dam & Watts Bar mostly and I go to Florida a couple of times a year for Salt Water & fresh water down there ~~ best of both worlds that way.!*
Don't catch em all.**

 

[dipbait]

Do you mean Baitcasting on spincasting gear. Bass pro often have great deals on combos. I bought one of their Pro Qualifier baitcast reel with a im8 graphite rod for a hundred dollars . Ive been happy with it.

 

[Bob W]

I've recently picked up a baitcasting setup, and been doing OK with the learning aspects. But it still seems as if spinning gear is more all-purpose, especially for smaller species like trout and panfish.

For a new general purpose rig I'd suggest mating a lower- mid- range Shimano spinning reel to a medium-light Bass Pro brand rod. Any chance there's a BassPro near you? They sometimes have mix-and-match deals or unadvertised combo specials. The also, in their stores, have every single rod and reel on display, and they'll load a reel you purchase with line for no extra cost.

The Shimano Spirex RD (rear drag) is a great reel, and not too expensive. I'm a huge fan of the trigger mechanisms that aren't found on the more expensive models (more casts = more fish), and have a definite preference for rear drag.
Match that to a Bass Pro Tourney Special rod and you'll got an excellent set of casual gear for a hundred bucks. Need to trim the budget even more, the Shimano Syncopate and Sienna reels felt very nice when I was shopping last week.