I need tackle advice

I WILL buy what seems to be the popular answers on here. I've always been a bait fisherman (and I still will) but I would like to build tackle bags for the various fishing I will be doing more of this year. Fish I fish for: smallies, cats, I want to catch an EYE this year (never have), and maybe a muskie or two. I am going to build two tackle bags. I just want good ideas on what to buy, specific sizes and colors would be a plus not just the word X-rap or watever. I will be mostly fishing the three rivers, the yough, and various other lakes, ponds, etc... Thanks for the help.... I want to take advantage of the fishusa.com free shipping while I can.

if you want eyes fish below dams on the mon...... 3/4 - 1oz jig heads. white twisters or green sometimes... flukes..... if you cant catch em with that then try somewhere else cause they arent where you are fishin.... smallies are everywhere on the mon just gotta find em and the same things will catch em or some rapalas or anything like that

I make sure I have these on hand every year ready to go, 1/8 oz. white rooster tails with silver blade, Berkley power worms in purple, Rapala's floating minnows size 9 gold/silver, black/silver, & fire tiger, a few jig heads in red, green and white, and a few floating jig heads. You should also have a few spinner baits in your box for bass.

Terminal gear- variety pack of split shot, bullet sinkers (for the worms), and bobbers.

If you have anything in your box, definitely go with the Rooster Tail spinners, you can't go wrong. 

Good idea on the various bags. Although, not sure how litteral you mean by various bags. I know this isn't likely the response you were looking for, but hope it helps. It sounds like you are wading, although could be just assuming. If you are, then make your bags small enough to be able to carry and access on the water. It's kind of a pain to wade back and forth, especially if you see a nice fish break and wonder over to cast at it, then realize you are 100 yards down stream of your gear...

I'd suggest a chest pouch or what I use are those "sling" type bags. I fish with it on my back, and sling it around to my chest to get into it. Most fishing you will do, besides musky, salt water or fresh water stripers, you can get away with the smaller tackle boxes. I think they are like 5"x8". There are smaller and larger boxes too. I have a saltwater sling bag, that I bought at the Red, White & Blue Thrift Shop for $2, that holds the medium size 8"x12" (I think) boxes. I also have a bunch of the smaller boxes for smaller water stuff, that fit in vest pockets.

What I am getting at, is I have a ton of small - medium sized boxes, that I have narrowed down to species and type of water. If I am going to the Mon, I grab the ones with the Mon stuff. When I am going to Arthur, targetting crappie, I grab the appropriate stuff. When going to Arthur for wipers, I grab that box.

With the side pockets, I put soft plastics in. I'll get a zip lock bag, and have all of my twister bodies in one, jerk baits in another, tube jigs in another and shad bodies in another. All are seperated in bags inside my zip locks.

Here is a bit of a breakdown of some boxes. Note - all boxes have a few jig heads, bare hooks and multiple sized weights in case I buy some bait or find some bait.

3 Rivers - various species
(mostly use the jig heads and twister or shad bodies)
swim shad
Rapala originals, shad raps, or jerk shad
Clouser minnows
various other jerk baits
poppers
River fish seem to like white, black, chartruese, fire tiger, or clown.

Yough - various species
Similar to the 3 rivers, but would add more smaller water type lures.
Rooster tails & other spinners
Small spoons
Rebel Craws (work in the 3 Rivers too)

With lakes, I usually do more specific targetting of species than in the rivers. Colors vary per time of year and lake fished, same with rivers. If I know the specific forage, I will try to match appropriately. If not, the colors above seem to be pretty good just about anywhere. White or silver with blue back, somehow seems to resemble an alewife. Not sure how, but seems to work.

Pan fish -
small hair jigs
small jig heads
bobbers (slip, pin and clip)
split shots

Bass -
larger jerk baits
weedless variety
poppers
swim shad
bucktails
Sonars

The heavier baits, are ones that I use on the boats in deeper waters.

This might not be as specific as you are asking, but hopefully gets you on an easy to use, switch out type system.

+1 on the rivers eating tackle.

I would only use the others in areas that I knew were relatively snag free, and wadable (to retrieve). 80%+ of my river fishing is jigs. That said, I would always carry the others too. Nothing deep diving (unless on a boat). If it dives more than 2'-3', I wouldn't use from shore. Nothing beats getting active fish on top water, so having a popper or two is a must about anywhere I fish.

I fish exclusively from shore...unless I fall in...
1/4oz jig with grubs in various colors are cheap and almost always work.
The rebel crawfish is lethal for smallies around shoreline. A bit pricier than jigs but worth it.

Why bother to buy plugs if you are gonna be too skeered to use em  Losing a plug here and there is part of the game.

I fish both the Allegheny and Ohio very frequently and I have never, ever seen a need to use a jig heavier than a 1/2 oz for eyes.  Even the 1/2 oz would be for very heavy flows or vertical jigging from the boat, like pork mentioned.   

Rivers eat tackle?  (That's an absurd statement and something that NEVER happens lol...)  But, they aren't lying jig heads with twisters mostly in white and I found up on the middle Allegheny that salt/pepper and green work fairly well for eyes... I myself stick to live bait on the river... You can't go wrong especially if fishing from shore seeing as most debris and snags are very close to shore unless you're running at 7-10' in the middle then I could see it possible... As for lures that beats me I wouldn't throw them on the river especially since it's nearly impossible to fish as where I do with a lure on the Allegheny...  I wouldn't throw any of my lures on the river to lose but hey that's just me... =/