Get an assortment of Aberdeen hooks from 10 to 2, split-shot assortment, some small bobbers, and go for it. The bait can be worms, crickets, bits of shrimp, small minnows or gulp plastic baits in the small sizes. I've done well with the gulp maggots and red worms.

I have not noticed that perch (Bluegills, Sunfish,Crappie) are especially line shy unless the water is crystal clear and they are fished heavily. I generally like 6 lb test mostly because I like to fish with ultralight spinning gear nowadays. that said though, I caught thousands of perch with the 10 lb test that came on Zebcos.

The only other thing you might think about is going with slip bobbers with a bead and knot above it. that allows you to cast to and fish deeper because the bobber rides against your split shot when you cast and then lets the bait drop down to the depth set by the knot. I generally prefer the black aberdine hooks but most people like the gold plated ones. I changed from the gold when I found the light wire aberdines and they were black steel. Eagle Claw 202EL and 216EL.

I fish ponds and small lakes in East Texas for bass a lot and like chartreuse with white spinnerbaits, 4" purple with red fire tail worms, in the spring I like the watermelon green lizards and frog pattern Zara puppies. Bass pattern zoom flukes in 4" work well too.

Bass are great eating. I like them because they have nice firm flesh unlike crappie which tend to be mushy. It is all a matter of taste and knowing how to cook. To me, they taste more like bluegills than anything else except you get more meat with fewer bones.

I use weights from 1/16 to 1/2 oz depending on the size of the worm and the type of rod and reel that I am using and the depths that I am fishing and the type of bottom structure that I'm working. There that was clear as mud! The thing is I use different size worms. I love 4" worms with light lines and small weights for working fairly shallow water especially in ponds and small bodies of water or in bigger places when the bite is slow. I move to 6" worms for the deeper waters and when I am casting farther. A larger weight gives you better contact and feel of what the worm is "crawling" over. Some times in places that I know have some really big bass I will go to 10" worms and the weight depends totally on water depth.

When I am fishing in fairly open water I like to use a spinning rod. I use a 6 lb line for the 4" worms and 10 lb line for the 6" worms. If I am fishing in brush and wood I am going to go to a casting reel with a much heavier line so that when I set the hook I can turn the fish towards me and get it up and out of the cover as fast as possible so that it can't wrap me up and break me off. Heavier lines and casting reels will be easier to cast with more weight so I shift my weight size up. Longer casts need more weight than short casts. Another thing about the weight is where are you getting your hits. Often if the worm makes it to the bottom and doesn't get action in the first couple of hops I just reel it in and cast again. The bite is a response to the falling worm and then some times I want to crawl and hop it all the way back. If the bass are hitting on the drop I like lighter weights for slower falls. I hope that there was some information here that you will find of use.

Which Trinity River do you fish? there is more than one place in the US with rivers called the Trinity and the one in Texas is a long river with all sorts of different types of fishing. I live near the Trinity river where it is in Trinity county. that is above Lake Livingston. the catfishing and white bass fishing here is great and we also have huge gar if you want something that can really stretch a string. I am retired and fish every friday if possible. I love the February catfishing here because the big blues seem to be more active thn the smaller fish and we catch more of the bigger ones than in warmer months. Also the gar aren't as active and stealing bait.

I made it pretty easy to know where I am from. The thing is a lot of questions are really hard to answer unless we have some sort of idea where you are. The techniques for bass fishing are very different from those best used for catfishing, trout fishing, walleye fishing, crappie fishing, perch fishing...ETC. If you live in the North even in the same species the fishing methods are often very different from what works well on or near the Gulf Coast. It doesn't matter where you live if you want to know about certain rods and reels or how to cast but for the best results if you want fishing information you will be best searved to let us know where you willl be fishing. Most people have their location in their profile. If they don't then you can decide whether their advice is applicable to you based off their responses. If you are too afraid to tell me what state or region of the world that you live in then I mostly feel sorry for you. Stop living in fear. Life is to short to be spent hiding.

His loss. Some people age and some just get old and become grumpy old men. I like the old reels. I have a ton of memories in them. I have the fishing reals of three generations of fishermen and occasionally break out my grandfather's old rod and reel just for the memories. It is well over 75 years old with a stainless steel True Temper rod and a jeweled Pfluger knuckle buster reel on it. I have even managed to keep the original line on it. I have my Fathers bass rod. An ABU 5000c on a Lew's Speed Stick.

the debate over casting reels and spinning reels never touches me because I use them all and the zebcos too. I like to match my tackle to the fish and the body of water. In a pond, you don't need a lot of line to get the job done. Actually bass are not much for long runs anyway. I use a lot of the ABU 3600s and the 4500's and cast 1/4 oz baits with them.

Oh well he seemed to be wound a bit tight. We tried...

I remember those old Johnson reels. They were great and top of the line in their time. I like to fish with the old stuff myself at times and while I do own and collect a lot of ABU baitcaster reels I probably fish with Zebcos more often than anything when I am fishing for supper. I have caught bass over 7 lbs with them and catfish to around 15 lbs. Let's be real 99.9% of the fish that you will catch in freshwater will be easily handled with a spincast reel just fine.

The thing is with spincasters is that because they can easily cast lighter lures you can actually catch a lot more fish than you would with the bigger lures you might need to cast with a bait caster without a LOT of practice. Fishing is supposed to be fun. Digging out bird nests isn't fun and I've known a lot of new fishermen that after taking the advice of "experienced" fishermen struggle and give up on fishing. You are trying to learn too many things at the same time and it just doesn't work. Those of us that have fished all of our life most;y didn't learn that way so you shouldn't either. I started with a cane pole with my dad and then graduated to a Zebco 202. We fished for fish that were easier to catch like perch and crappie and mostly used live bait like minnow and worms.

As I learned to catch fish and love fishing I obtained the skills one at a time. I learned where to look for them with that cane pole then learned to cast with that little Zebco 202. We caught ton of little fish with an occasional bass or catfish of more size. This did eventually lead to me learning to use a baitcasting reel and I got an ABU Garcia 5000B for my 15th birthday. I am 66 and still use that reel some times. With it I learned how to fish with lures and caught some bigger fish.

Eventually, I started using smaller lures and caught more fish and that led to me going back to the Zebcos for fishing when I wanted fish for supper. I like to FISH. that means that I don't care what species I am catching. I offer a variety and then will focus on what is being cooperative that day. I'm not a purest and will still use live bait sometimes. I love the challenge of landing a huge bass or catfish with a light line.

Too many people these days only fish in some sort of competitive way. I've fished tournaments and did pretty well but it turned something that I loved into work. I returned, after a few years when I had just lost my interest, to my roots and regained my love of just goin' fishin'. I shared that love with kids and adults alike and did fishing classes in the State Park for the State. We had 35 rods and reels and would take the kids and parents out and trach them the raw basics and then take them fishing. All of the reels were spin casters and all of my kids caught fish.

Enough, advice. Get some live bait and some bobbers. CATCH some fish. This is the easiest way to learn where fish live and what they want. then once you locate some willing fish, if you wish, try tossing them a few artificial baits. I like to use the smaller simpler baits at first with beginners. Beatle spins are great fish getters. Grubs on jug heads also work great. Like the small 1/8 oz sizes and at first you can just cast, let it sink and then slowly real it back. These two types of lures will catch a ton of fish and you will occasionally get a surprise monster that just wanted a small snack.

As your casting accuracy improves you can add other lures. Keep them small. I catch a lot of fish with the 1/4 oz rattle traps and the dirt cheap H&H Spinnerbaits. I love plastic worms but use the 4" size. Texas Rigging makes them weedless and will let you get into the cover better. The nice thing about worms and grubs is that you are not casting a 5 dollar lure and so can be brave and throw it into the places that a hard bait would probably never come out.

When you get so that you are catching a lot of fish THEN you might want to move to a baitcaster for some applications. Bigger lures will catch bigger fish and the stronger drag system will allow you to better handle them. You also can cast live or natural baits out a long way and catch catfish off the bottom. YES I will sully my expensive ABU bass reels by fishing for catfish.

The big thing is have fun. relax and look around at the beauty that surrounds you. I will often stop fishing and explore around and hunt arrowheads and for pretty rocks. I love to go out on the riverbank, build a fire and sit comfortably with a friend or two and wait for a catfish to grab my bait.

As a returning beginner, try all sorts of things and find out not just what works for you but what you enjoy. Find a few fishing buddies and when you feel social that is nice too. If you are just fishing for fun and not to eat don't limit yourself to the common sport fish. A carp or a big alligator gar can be a great fish of the day to fish for and since they don't get a lot of fishing pressure are usually more aggressive and bite faster.

In the 80s when the oil industry crashed I was without work for a year. I was a machinist and had worked in the oil field tool and rig building industry. every place that I had ever worked folded up and went out of business. Once I realized that this wasn't going to change and the oil industry was dead for the foreseeable future I had to decide to either leave and lose everything or stay and probably eventually be evicted. I went and found work in another part of the state and then my wife found work and then we moved. It was hard. We left behind our families and friends and lost our home but it was the right thing to do. We missed the family and stuff but THRIVED in our new home. I started a business and we did well. If we had stayed we would still be struggling because the oil industry has never returned and the unemployment in our old home never improved. Sometimes you just have to grit your teeth and try something new.

I use several different high visibility lines and have not noted that the fish have any preference with one exception. When fishing for redfish on the mudflats I would catch twice as many fish with Stren gold over clear. Over and over until he switched my buddy and I noted this. I think somehow the line made it easier for the fish to spot the bait in the muddy water.

I like High visibility lines for soft plastics but have not noticed any less activity when I use it for a crank or spinnerbaits. I like being able to see my line clearly and believe that if there is any reduction in bites that it is made up for by detecting more of the subtle bites that I might have missed with clear lines.

If the price isn't a factor I would probably go with the Penn. That said all three will offer you decent use and dependable durability. I love the ABU round reels but the only ABU reel that didn't last well for me was a black max so I have an issue with them that might not apply to this reel. Quantum, like Zebco with whom they are associated, they provide good quality for the price. Penn is well known for its not fancy but almost indestructible engineering. I go function over flash and Penns have generally worked well for me. I'm curious what others have to say about this too.

You choose to live where you live. The rules are different in other states. MOVE to someplace that doesn't consider being poor a crime. I don't come to this board for political discussion but decided to offer you an answer. If you don't want to move then you need to become politically active and demand changes in your state's laws. Where I live medical bills can't even be reported on your credit report much less land you in criminal court. You have a choice about most debts but not medical bills.

I have mono on about 80% of my fishing reels. For me, it has a lot of advantages for some types of fishing. I catfish a lot and most of the time-sensitivity just isn't important. The stretch also makes it more forgiving in a lot of ways. I like the way it casts and the backlashes when they happen are not as bad. I have one catfish rod that I have heavy braid on. It is a special purposes rod for flathead catfish that I am going to try and pull out of a log pile and can't afford any give. The down side on that rod is that when you get snagged if is hell to try and break off. I usually end up using the boat to break the line.

For bass fishing braid is great for top water baits. It floats and so your bait when you land it in the perfect spot stays there. I also like it for plastic worm fishing when the bass are biting very gently but most of the time I prefer hi-viz mono and watch the line for twitches.

Mono costs less and for me casts better. I keep a can of reel magic on hand and that keeps the mono relaxed and slick. I also use braid sometimes for crappie. It again offers sensitivity and will straighten out the light hooks when you snag in the brush.

If you fish a lot for several different types of fish and use all sorts of baits and techniques there is no one best line. That said I fished for 45 years with mono and caught thousand of fish.If I could only use one it would be mono but that isn't always the best...

If you are going to fish there are several things that you need to learn how to do for yourself. You need to bait your own hook, tie your own knots and how to extract hooks whether they are in you or someone else. I can assure you that properly done you can do it with less pain that what a doctor will do in the ER and not ruin your fishing day. I have done both several times and it is not a big deal.

https://lifehacker.com/remove-a-fish-hook-from-your-finger-in-three-simple-ste-1775336843

I hooked a big bullfrog on a flyrod one time and thought he was going to tear it UP!!! Things didn't get a lot better even when I got him on shore. that was one pissed off frog!!!