Bass Tackle

I know its a bit early and that this isn't a simple question but....I am looking to do some bass fishing this year and I'd like to get a head start on getting my tackle together. Can you bass experts give me basic shopping list. I am not married to any style of bass fishing so a good 'all around' set of tackle is desired. The more info the better (size, color, etc)

Are you fishing Local lakes or the Delta?

Ideally both....but lets say Delta for this thread.

This is what I generally bring with me when I go.

 - 3/8 oz spinner bait. 1 with gold willow leaf blades and one with silver. Chart/white is my favorite color.

 - I also find that if the water is especially muddy, I use the colorado blades for more thump.

 - 1/2 oz rattle traps in red and one in silver with the blue top and red on the bottom. I think that this one is called "bleeding shad".

- I mostly fish plastics in when I am in the Delta and this is what I bring with me.
- 7in curly tail worms in red/black, junebug.
 - I normally use a 1/4 oz worm sinker and always use a 3/0 worm hook.
- Senkos are great and I usually only bring along Junebug. I am not sure of this size but it is the larger version. 5in? I have fished them with a worm weight(in current) and weightless out of the current.

- I have done great (in the summertime) with chart buzzbaits as well as the storm popper in the frog looking pattern.
 
I know a lot of guys fish jigs in the black/blue pattern and have great success with that as well.

Note - Some of the baits listed will only be used during certain times(topwater) of the year.

I hope that this helps.

I used to fish the delta nearly daily, I kept my bassboat at Orwoods Marina and would go before and/or after work. The fun thing about the delta is you never know whether your next fish will be a 1 lb shaker LMB or a 30lb Striper. I have caught 40 lb King Salmon in franks Tract on Shad-Rap's, steelhead on Senko's on Old River, and 100+ fish days fishing the weedmats with rubber frogs ( my favorite style).

To fish the delta in a kayak I have to pare my gear down a lot. I used to carry more stuff than some tackle stores. All the below fits in my T-15, In 6 Planos 3700 series boxes and 4 Loomis or Shimano worm binders, all which fit either below deck or behind the seat.
 
I won't fish the delta with out the following:

rods and reels:

• 7.5 foot MH flippin stick with 65 lb Power Pro
• 7 ' crankbait rod 12 lb florocarbon
• 7' worm/jig casting rod MH 17 lb florocarbon
• 7' spinning rod for skipping under docks, weightless worms with 8 lb mono
  
• 10' 8 weight flyrod with a floating line for topwater action ( popper flies, deerhair frogs, bubbleheads, skipping flies, Taco Pescado
• 9' 9 weight flyrod with a shooting head system, usually rigged with 28' of t-13 for Clousers, whistlers,
• 7' dropshot rod with 6 lb florocarbon
• 7 '11" frog rod Heavy with 80 lb Power Pro

Revenge footbal or flippin jigs in 3/8, 1/2/, 3/4 and 1 ounce jigs in Black, blue/black, chameleon /Chartrese, crawdad , watermelon/red. The bigger jigs are for mashing thru the weed mats later in the summer. I usually put a Sweet Beaver or a Boom Boom Tube on as a trailer. Also during the spawn, I use a white 3/8 oz. football jig with a chartruese curly tail  ZOOm worm when fishing bedded fish.

Mattlures Male Bluegill (must have) Swimbait ( yep- it's like $25 but worth every nickel and you won't loose it fishing 65lb Power Pro unless you tie crummy knots)

Snag Proof Bobby Barrack's Perfect Frogs (must have in the summer) black, tweetie, White, Wild Bullfrog, sparrow (for walking the dog in open water between weed patches and over submerged sandbars)

Reaction Inovations:
 Sweet Beavers in Hematoma, Calif 420, and Junebug on a 1/4 oz - 1/2 oz jighead

Zara Spook , Mini, reg. and Super Spook in Chrome/ Black, Clear, White, Chart/Black, Bleeding Shad

Lucky Craft Sammy, G-Splash and Spalshtail in Shad colors, also Gold, and Skeets Magic on the Sammy.

Senkos in 4" and 5" in Pearl/ blue colors, Oxblood, pumpkin, ... you are either imitating shad/baitfish or worms/snakes/crawdads. I used to have 4 dropshot rods all rigged with Senkos, and work a rockwall with each color phase until I found which one the fish were keyed on that day.

3:16 Mighty Minnow in shad, rainbow trout and Bluegill

Spro BBZ 4" shad slow sink. 

Shad Raps, Lucky Craft SKT Mini MR, DB9 DB7 DB3, all in silver, gold, shad crawdad and some handpainted black and glow in the dark.

I fish a bunch of Berkeley Gulp 6 " worms, mostly dark colors , a 10" floating worm in white.

 Megastrike Cavltron Buzzbaits in 3/8 and 1/4 oz in black/red/with  black blades ( night) , white with chrome, chart with gold blades, and Ghost minnow with red blades, chart. with red blades.

Yakattack covered the spinner baits great, I do like Mega Baits one white with red . i also fish black spinnerbaits a lot. 

An over looked lures for the delta is the Johnsons Silver Minnow in 3/4 oz with a Sweet Beaver tail.

I fish Rattle-traps or Lucky Craft LV-300  in 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and 1 oz in about every color range. I probably carry 50+ assorted lipless crankbaits at a time.

Boy that is an impressive list of gear troutnut.  I'd hate to think of what you might bring for trout.

Michael

Uuhhh, yup.  What they said. 

But, here is my K.I.S.S. (Keep it simple, stupid) version. 

--Two rods: one spinning 6'6'' medium with 10-12 pound test, one casting 7' medium heavy, 15-20 pound test.

--Bottom baits: texas-rigged 7 inch worms.  Weedless 1/2 ounce jigs.  Natural dark colors. 

--Mid-level baits: spinner baits and crankbaits.  White/chartruse and red/orange versions.

--Topwater baits: buzzbaits and poppers: white or shad colored.

Tight lines.

That is my plan...and considering your avatar I'm inclined to print out your reply as a shopping list. Keep the suggestions coming. Ideally I am looking to get it all in one plano box. Considering I'll also be looking for stripers, etc. when I make the trip to the delta

I'm very suprized that no one has mentioned the   
 Luhr Jensen Speed Trap Crankbaits in orange crawfish
Trust me you can't go wrong with this lure on the Delta.  I live in Bakersfield and the local store's always sell out before tournaments on the Delta.

Sorry I have also personally witnessed this lure in action.  Last time I was there it was cold and very few people I talked to caught anything.  The person that took me and myself had an excellent week catching many stripers and largemouth.

I guess I am in the same school as HobieBlue. Except my baits are smaller.

6'6" Berkeley Lighting Rod Medium light with upgraded guides.
6'6" Berkeley Tactix, Medium light with upgraded guides.
2x Daiwa SS 1300
10 braid
6#-8# top shot
2/0 EWG hooks for Senkos
#2 EWG hooks for finese worms
!/16 oz split shots
4" Senko knock offs
5" Senko knock offs
5" Zoom finese worms