Hanna Robbins and Jennifer Combs with a cooler full of crappie from Lake Sam Rayburn

The Outdoor Gear We Recommend

We may have a little bit of a hoarding problem. Good gear need not be expensive, but it has to improve the experience in some way. Whether it’s the right rod, a certain bait, or the world’s best rainsuit, we’ll give unfiltered opinions on what we use and why we use it.


No tackle shop on earth provides more specialized gear for bass than Tackle Warehouse. If you want it, they've got it in stock — whether it's a proven winner or the newest items on the market — and their service is exceptional.

Pete Robbins Pete Robbins

Keeping in Touch at El Salto

One of Lake El Salto’s best features is also often one of its most maddening: the sheer variety of ways that you can catch big bass down there. On our most recent trip, we caught fish that were ankle deep, and others that were 30 feet deep, and in every case both slow-moving and fast-moving lures came into play. For an ADD-afflicted tackle junkie like me, that presents a hellish temptation.

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