If your going on your first Bass fishing trip and you haven't done any fishing ever before it can be a bit daunting to try and find the right fishing tackle. The moment you step in to a shop that sells fishing tackle, or better yet a shop that specializes in fishing, you will see that there are thousands of items to choose from. Things like lures, reels and rods are there in so many forms and variations and they exist because each one is needed in its own situation. For a beginner this can be shocking and even a reason not to go fishing but you should not let this huge assortment of fishing items to choose from get you down. As a beginner you don't have to know what all the different items are for just try and get the basics.

A Rod

We begin with the most difficult item in your bass fishing tackle, the decision which rod you need to buy. You already know that there are a lot of rods you can choose from. One can get a special rod for every type of fish you can catch or for the special lures that are available. The choice of rod largely depends on the type of lure you will be using.

Looking at them you would not say so, but a fishing rod is a complex piece of tackle. When we talk about bass fishing rods there are four points to look for and these are tip action, length, power and sensitivity.

Tip Action

This tells you if the tip is soft or maybe more stiff. When the tip of your rod is soft then you will be able to make a more accurate cast, but on the other hand it will make the choice of lures a lot smaller.

Length

The type of fishing you are going to do and the type of lures you will be using will dictate the length of the rod.

Power

When we talk about power what this means is the weight of the rod, is it heavy or light. When you are going for bigger fish then you will need a heavier rod.

Sensitivity

This specifies how much the rod will let you feel. The more sensitive the fishing rod is the more you will be able to feel what the bait or lure is doing under water and of course when the fish are starting to take little bites.

So what does this mean for the choice you have to make. When you are going to fish with worms the best rod of choice would be the one which is sensitive because you want to feel what is going on at the bottom of the water. But the rod also needs to be fairly heavy and have a soft tip so you can do some accurate casting.

On the other hand when you will be using a spinner as bait then the rod needs to be a bit lightweight. This is because you will be casting a lot and a heavy rod would be costing your arms. When you get a short rod this will help in making those very accurate casts and with a medium to soft tip this will only get better.

These are only a simple and very basic examples of the type of rods and what the differences are, we haven't even touched the subject of reels, lines, lures etc. etc. We don't want to scare you away from fishing. Talk to someone that has done some fishing and who can tell you what type of rod you will need to take with you. Make sure you take the right bass fishing tackle with you. You could even talk to the people in the tackle shop, they can give you some good advice.

Once you start fishing you will see what the differences are and will no longer be in shock the moment you step in to a store to buy new tackle.