My Rods

[Bassin.Drew]

I have:

a shakespheare 6'6" ml spinning rod with 10 lb mono that I use for drop shots

a 6'6" m black max combo with 12 lb mono for jerkbaits and poppers

a 7' mh mod fast abu vengeance and black max rod for chatter baits and spinnerbaits with 15 lb mono

a 7' mh (heavier rod) lews speed stick im8 for jigs and frogs

 

what do you think I should get rod/reel wise to upgrade my arsenal? I was thinking a newer spinning combo.

 

Edit: forgot to mention that I want to fish in tournaments for my college so having a few more and nicer rods is needed. Otherwise I would be fine with what I have.

[softwateronly]

I'm not that familiar with some of your combos, but you seem set up pretty well.  I'm older and have had the bait monkey rob me blind on a bunch of new combos that I can't wait to use more, but finances aren't as tight as they were for me when I was younger.  My advice would be to upgrade a rod for your most successful bottom contact presentation or move into a new area, ie glide baits, cranks, etc.  I will say that I've seen the biggest improvement in gear around the $200-$300 range.  I really love both my St Croix Avid AVS70 ML and M Fast, but Shimano, Diawa, Dobyns, etc all offer excellent rods in that range.  I've gotten away from dropshotting the last few years, but I still have a St Croix mojo 6'10" drop shot rod that needs a new tip(insert popped off on a cast after 5+ years running braid-to-leader) and reel.  I personally think the Avid is worth saving up for over the mojo, some for sensitivity and a lot for the more comfortable full handle.  Also, the dobyns fury casting rods have blown me away in terms of value.  Best of luck!

 

scott

[Michigander]

If you're wanting a spinning setup, a medium for wacky worms, tubes, and finesse jigs would be useful.

 

I don't know your water, but if you're fishing tournaments you'll probably want to have at least a Heavy for pitching soft plastics into thick cover. I got owned quite a few times trying to do that with a MH. Losing a big fish during a tournament because you don't have the appropriate gear really stings. You can get a Heavy bait caster which is the norm (and my preferred) but my heavy spinning served faithfully for years before I switched over due to the weight of the combo becoming too much for me to enjoy using it all day.

[Fishes in trees]

If you're fishing college tournaments are you front of the boat or back of the boat?  I'm not so certain that cost of gear really matters, for instance, - rods.   I've come across a number of rods on close out at Academy - All Stars & their house brand for less than  $50 each and they fish great.  Just for the record I also have an assortment of Fenwick AETOS rods, a few Falcon rods and a few Loomis rods.  I think the rule on rods is to pick & choose, buy different brands & price points according to what you think might work.   For instance - I experimented for a few years on what was the right rig for me to throw Biffle Bugs.  After trying different rods in the  $100 to $180 range, I found an All Star Carolina rig rod close out at Academy for $50 and it hands down is more responsive & throws the bait better than my comparable Mojo's or Castaways or Fenwick AETOS.   Reels - I think that they are more a case of you get what you pay for.   Most of my reels are an assortment of Shimano reels, Chronarch, Curado & Calcuttas.  They were good quality - medium of the line quality when I bought them and now years later they still work more or less like they were new.   The Calcutta are better - I think that there is a break in period on Calcuttas and they start out pretty smooth and when you fish them for a while they get very smooth.

 

If I was college tournament fishing from the back of the boat I'd be spending quite a bit of time throwing a shakey head/trick worm.   What I'd do different from the norm would be to throw it on a 7' or so MH/ extra fast tip bait caster/15 lb flurorcarbon and a 3/8 or half ounce jig head.   The purpose of the heavy jig head would be to get to the bottom asap.

 

Good luck in your college fishing season - try to work as a team.  That doesn't always happen in blind draw tournaments like the FLW.