After fishing the NorthernLakes Bassmaster's Open on LakeTomahawk on Saturday, September 17, we knew what our game plan would be for the Angler's Choice Tournament on Sunday, September 18.
Late in the tournament day Saturday, we were fortunate enough to learn what presentation the smallmouth wanted, and since the Angler's Choice was also on the Minocqua/Tomahawk chain, we knew that some subtle equipment adjustments needed to be made.
The rod choices would be the same – let me review those here:
- The G.Loomis NRX 852s JWR - This is a 7'1" Extra Fast action Medium power spinning rod that I chose as a drop-shot rod. This is the lightest, most sensitive spinning rod I have ever have ever handled, but yet the extra fast taper lets you maintain complete control of the fish from the deepest depths, all the way to the boat!
- The G.Loomis NRX 873C CRR - This is a 7'3" Fast action Medium-Heavy power casting rod that I chose as a Carolina rig rod when using leaders shorter than 36". Once again, this is a super light rod with which you can feel every rock or pebble that the sinker drags over - you can also feel a transition from gravel to sand, sand to muck, etc. Equally important is the backbone that the rod has to sink a hook in the hard bone of a fish's mouth even with 100' of line out.
- The G.Loomis NRX 893C JWR - This is a 7'5" Extra-Fast action Medium-Heavy power casting rod that I chose as a Carolina rig rod when using leaders longer than 40". This rod has all of the characteristics of the 7'3" rod I chose, but the extra-fast action helped me pick up bite transmissions when using extremely long leaders.
Since the fish were suspended, I decided to add one rod/reel to the mix – that rod was the G.Loomis NRX 853C JWR – This is a 7'1" Extra-Fast action Medium-Heavy power casting rod that I chose as a jigging spoon rod. Often times a fish will hit a jigging spoon on the fall, right after you quickly sweep the bait. This rod is ultra light weight, so you can feel the slightest tap of the bait, but it has all the power in the world to wrestle a fish out of the deepest water. This rod was rigged with a Shimano Curado 200 E7. You need a reel that will cast a country mile when using a jigging spoon – it also must have a superior drag system and a fast retrieve to pick up slack in the line quickly. This reel far exceeds all of my expectations and needs!
The last equipment adjustment I made for this tournament, was fishing line. The technique that I used on Saturday was a Carolina rig with a one ounce sinker and a long monofilament leader. What mono does well, is float – when used in conjunction with buoyant bait, you can keep the bait moving horizontally through a school of suspended fish. You can cover a lot of water per retrieve and stay in the strike zone. The down side of mono line is stretch. For Sunday's tournament, I respooled my main line to 40 lb. Power Pro braid. Power Pro has virtually no stretch which offsets the stretch factor of the mono leader. Power Pro is extremely strong and the 40 lb size is the diameter of 10 lb mono or fluorocarbon line. When fishing deep, "feel" is the key to boating fish - this rod/reel/line combination left no stones unturned in regards to feeling the bite!
