acoustic is always great to start, especially on normal guitar, but bass would be fine, although what i have noticed is that their necks are a lot longer, or just stick out more, so its a bit of a reach sometimes.
as for the pick situation, if you need to use one, thats all good, i have had to when my band played Solitary Shell, i couldnt nail those last unisons with my fingers at the time.
although in a contest, i would choose no pick any day. the tone you get from your fingers is so smooth, not to mention its much easier to control the tone and sound of the instrument that way.