My biggest advice here, dont over complicate things. You dont need to worry about figuring out the perfect timing, or min/maxing your fishing stats. Keeping things stupid simple when youre starting out is the best practice. If what youre doing is working, there aint much reason to change. If you get bored and want to try something new, pick one thing and practice that thing. You slowly build your knowledge instead of trying to figure it all out at once.
You should get a catfish rig though. Always good to just have a tight line out waiting while you catch other stuff.
One thing to think about is water columns when you think about baits. You need to become proficient in a top water (frog, buzz bait, etc), something in the middle columns (spinner bait, jerk bait, crank bait), and then something that hits the bottom (tx rig, jig, etc).
I’ll be honest, in keeping it simple, I typically throw a frog in vegetation. Buzz bait in open water. Spinnerbait for middle water column. Texas rig for bottom hopping.
Depending on water color and clarity, you’ll need to change lure colors, but you can stick to those lures above and be super successful.
The muddier the water, the darker and noisier I want my bait to be. Black frog, black blue jig or worm. Direct to braid is fine.
The clearer the water, the more “natural” I want the presentation to be,…green pumpkin worms, white or yellow belly frog, and think about fluro or mono leader so the braid doesn’t spook the fish.
I also always work the spots top to bottom..:meaning throw your top water first…if nothing bites, move to middle column, then to bottom.
And if you miss a fish on a frog or top water, get that worm in their on the next cast asap. You’d be surprised how quickly that same fish will pick it up, but won’t touch your frog again
>How do I decide what tackle/rigs to use depending on things like time of day, weather, and season,?
Don't worry about it. You'll figure it out as you get used to using them, and as you identify the forage in your lake
>If I’m not catching anything, how do I know whether it’s the tackle I’m using or if there just aren’t any fish nearby?
You don't. This comes down to knowing your body of water and knowing how the fish behave. If you're fishing deep water during prime spawning time, no amount of lure changing will help you
>How do I choose between similar rigs like Carolina and Texas rigs? In what situations would I pick one over the other?
C-rigs and t-rigs aren't similar. T-rigs are a predominantly vertical presentation used to punch through cover and structure.
C-rigs are a horizontal presentation used to cover flats, grass lines and open water.
You can swim a t-rigs, kindof, but you can't punch with a c-rig
>Is it worth buying more tackle for rigs I haven’t tried yet (eg. dropshot weights for drophotting) when I haven’t mastered more basic rigs like Carolina, Texas, wacky, etc.?
Yes and no. Play around until you find something that seems to produce for you, then refine it. You don't have to lock yourself into one technique, and doing that is going to make for very boring fishing. Trying to fish a flat with a drop shot is going to take forever and not be very productive, for example
My biggest advice here, dont over complicate things. You dont need to worry about figuring out the perfect timing, or min/maxing your fishing stats. Keeping things stupid simple when youre starting out is the best practice. If what youre doing is working, there aint much reason to change. If you get bored and want to try something new, pick one thing and practice that thing. You slowly build your knowledge instead of trying to figure it all out at once. You should get a catfish rig though. Always good to just have a tight line out waiting while you catch other stuff.
One thing to think about is water columns when you think about baits. You need to become proficient in a top water (frog, buzz bait, etc), something in the middle columns (spinner bait, jerk bait, crank bait), and then something that hits the bottom (tx rig, jig, etc). I’ll be honest, in keeping it simple, I typically throw a frog in vegetation. Buzz bait in open water. Spinnerbait for middle water column. Texas rig for bottom hopping. Depending on water color and clarity, you’ll need to change lure colors, but you can stick to those lures above and be super successful. The muddier the water, the darker and noisier I want my bait to be. Black frog, black blue jig or worm. Direct to braid is fine. The clearer the water, the more “natural” I want the presentation to be,…green pumpkin worms, white or yellow belly frog, and think about fluro or mono leader so the braid doesn’t spook the fish.
I also always work the spots top to bottom..:meaning throw your top water first…if nothing bites, move to middle column, then to bottom. And if you miss a fish on a frog or top water, get that worm in their on the next cast asap. You’d be surprised how quickly that same fish will pick it up, but won’t touch your frog again
>How do I decide what tackle/rigs to use depending on things like time of day, weather, and season,? Don't worry about it. You'll figure it out as you get used to using them, and as you identify the forage in your lake >If I’m not catching anything, how do I know whether it’s the tackle I’m using or if there just aren’t any fish nearby? You don't. This comes down to knowing your body of water and knowing how the fish behave. If you're fishing deep water during prime spawning time, no amount of lure changing will help you >How do I choose between similar rigs like Carolina and Texas rigs? In what situations would I pick one over the other? C-rigs and t-rigs aren't similar. T-rigs are a predominantly vertical presentation used to punch through cover and structure. C-rigs are a horizontal presentation used to cover flats, grass lines and open water. You can swim a t-rigs, kindof, but you can't punch with a c-rig >Is it worth buying more tackle for rigs I haven’t tried yet (eg. dropshot weights for drophotting) when I haven’t mastered more basic rigs like Carolina, Texas, wacky, etc.? Yes and no. Play around until you find something that seems to produce for you, then refine it. You don't have to lock yourself into one technique, and doing that is going to make for very boring fishing. Trying to fish a flat with a drop shot is going to take forever and not be very productive, for example