Jammer

My first tournament was a tough start. It stayed well below freezing all day on Lake Cumberland, and the main lake got very rough in the afternoon when the wind picked up. Having good cold weather gear made a full day of fishing achievable for both of us. Rod guides icing up, and even reels were locking up occasionally for both myself and my boat captain. We both zeroed. There were only 6 bass weighed in for the whole tournament and 3 of those were caught by the winner. Only three anglers had scorable bass. Every co-angler zeroed. I did take 4 total setups, and used them all. The additional setup I chose was a MH-F with 15# flouro and 7.1-1 baitcaster. I think I will stick to this lineup until I get more experience from the back of the boat. I did discover that I need to improve my casting accuracy. My boat captain wanted me to join him casting to the front of the boat. Often this left me with a very narrow lane to cast to and a much shorter distance than I would normal cast. Trying to control the distance by altering my normal cast mechanics caused all kinds of azimuth problems. In golf terms, I was hooking and slicing all my casts whenever I altered my normal cast mechanics. I ended up going back to my normal cast mechanics and just thumbed the spool earlier and harder than normal to control the cast distance. Thank you, again, for all the inputs.

Thank you to all who provided inputs. The links to prior articles and videos were very helpful. My boat captain for the day is actually the club President, and he suggested I bring 4 rods -- so I am still deciding what to add. It will only be 22-44 degrees air temp tomorrow, so I am thinking of adding another lighter spinning rig for more finesse options. If I don't freeze to death, next week I'll let you know how I fared. Thank you, again, for all the inputs.

Now that I am retired, I finally joined a local Bass Club. My first tournament is this weekend and I will fish this season as a Co-Angler. I want to keep my footprint small but efficient. After much thought, this is the three Rod/Reel/Line setup I will use for now. Comments? Suggestions? All Rods are St Croix / All Reels are Quantum / All Lines are Seaguar 1.) Treble Hook Baitcaster: 7' MH-M (AXC70MHM) / Tour-S3 (6.1-1) / 12# Mono 2.) Single Hook Baitcaster: 7' H-F (MJC70HF) / Smoke-S3 (8.1-1) / 20# Flouro 3.) Finesse Hook Spinning: 7' M-F (AXS70MF) / Smoke-S3 30 / 20# Braid to 6# Flouro Leader

I'm getting the same feedback from other sources, too. I will try to post a review after a few months use from a rookie angler's perspective. Is this recommended before first use of the reel, or as normal semi-annual cleanup and maintenance? I'm leaning toward the 7:1 over the 6:1 for this setup too. I'm a 2 setup fisherman now -- one casting and one spinning. I'm trying to branch out and purchase a few new setups I can use with lures and presentations I tend to use often. I can't afford a specific setup for every presentation, but I would like to maybe get a little more dialed in with a few setups. Good to hear as that is what I am looking for in a new reel. Thanks to all who replied.

Looking to assemble a single new rod, reel, line setup for three of my favorite lure presentations -- Lipless Crankbait, Swim Jig & Paddletail Swimbait. Thinking about a 7' 4" Medium-Heavy, Fast action St Croix Avid-X rod pared with a Quantum Tour S3 6.1:1 spooled with Seaguar Abrazx 12# or 15# fluorocarbon. Grass and vegetation are not a prime concern, so no need for braid. I'm 6'3" and will be fishing from a boat, so prefer a longer rod to gain casting distance over casting accuracy. Any concerns, hints, modifications, or other recommendations would be appreciated before I pull the trigger on this setup when it is scheduled to be back in inventory for purchase around mid-June, 2020. Thank you in advance. JM