re: just bought my first boat

Start off building your tackle box with soft plastics and various jig heads. These are the cheapest baits to start with and can be used year around in just about every type of environment or conditions.

Everyone has their preferences for soft plastics. I really don't think that there is that much o me a difference between them. Lots of people like the Matrix shad. Which I like along with the deadly Dudley's. I think Matrix only has about 8-9 color options so just get a couple bags of each color.

1/4 and 3/8 ounce are your most common size jig heads for basic saltwater fishing but you will need bigger 1/2 and 3/4 ounce sizes at least for fishing Pontratrain.