Tournament Rods

This is my second year fishing a tournament circuit. I was wondering, on average, how many rods you bring for your tournaments? Being a college student, I’m not exactly rolling in the dough. This is what I have now and I’m thinking about adding another technique rod, any suggestions? Current set up:
7′ MH w/ revo s for Pitching Jigs
7′ M w/ revo s for Cranks
6’6″ MH w/ revo sx for Frogs and creatures

Spinning: 7′ MH with symetre for skipping docks

What is another technique rod that I could really benefit from? A dropshot rod, heavy jig rod, or maybe Carolina rig rod? I mostly fish metro lakes which is usually docks or deep water. Thanks!

When I used to fish tournaments, here was my lineup

7′ MH baitcaster fast gear ratio reel
7′ MH baitcaster slow gear ratio reel
7’10” Heavy slop rod with braid
6’8″ spinning drop shot rod
5′ Dock rod with a well tuned baitcaster
6’6″ Med for fishing spinnerbaits deeper doubles as a light plastic rod.

I always brought a few back up rods as well. You never know what situation you are going to get in.

Buy a Dobyns Savvy series rod. Or even a different series of theirs. I also am in college and fish for Winona State. I have 9 rods I think that I use, with that being said I have fished tournaments for a while and put a lot of time into it. To answer your question though you can’t go wrong with a Dobyns rod. http://www.dobynsrods.com

I would look to add either a dropshot or jigworm rod. I do alot of both in the Metro area. For the Jigworm rod I’d go with a 7″ Medium action or MH rod with a fast or extra fast tip. For the dropshot rod I’d also go with 7″ rod in Medium action. You could probably use the same rod for double duty. Another rod I’d think about getting is one for throwing swimjigs. For that I like a 7Ft MH fast action. I fish a Spinning rod for my Jigworm. Most fish a spinning rod for dropshotting. I prefer a baitcaster. For the swimjig I’d go with a baitcater for sure.

No finesse rod? A 7′ M F spinning rod for senkos, shaky head, and drop shot. Also would work for tubes.

your 7′ MH is your most versatile rods and while it won’t do everything great, it can work as a rigging rod, dragging jig or plastics around, pitching and chucking swim jigs (among other things).

I’d personally ditch the 6’6″ for frogs in favor of longer stronger rod. I prefer a 7’10 or 7’11 for frogs, but you could pull double duty with a flippin stick loaded up with 50 lb braid that should definitely be added to your arsenal for punching milfoil. Assuming your fishing in the back of the boat, I’d also opt for a shorter spinning rod for skipping docks. It will give you better control for skipping into tight quarters. Obviously a 7′ will work, but give a 5’9-6’3″ a try and I’ll think you’ll quickly find it’s a better size rod for the application. While you’ll get a lot of different opinons regarding this, when it comes to dropshotting I think a 6’3″ is the perfect length for a drop shot rod. However, I ALWAYS fish braid and I rarely make more than a 10 foot flip from the boat when drop shotting so I don’t need the extra leverage of a longer rod. Add a 6’3″ spinning rod and you’ve covered 2 more bases.

On that same note, if I were going co and had no idea what we were going to be doing but knew we could fish anything from frogs to rocks to weeds to docks, I’d have along

7’10” XH frog rod
7’6″ H flippin stick
7’3″ MH rigging rod
7’0 MH general purpose
7’2″ MH crankin rod
6’8 M spinning
6’3″ M docks and dropshot

7 rods should be your absolute max for bringing into someone else’s boat. A quick conversation to get a feel for what your boater is fishing should easily allow you to pare down the selection to 5 before the tournament.

I keep about 15 rods in the boat, but to limit it down to 5, here’s a suggestion. First, spend your money on the rods, less on the reels. $100 shimano will get you through until you get some checks. Rods can be the difference in fish caught.

2 – 7′ Fiberglass crankbait rods (17 lb fluoro) sq. bill & mid-diver

1 – 7’11” Flippin rod (can throw your frog too) 65lb yellow PP

1 – 7′ spinnerbait rod (swim jigs and bladed jigs)15 fluoro

1 – 7′ spinning rod for dropshots, small jigs and small cranks 12 lb.

If you can throw in one more, a good 12lb mono 7′ MH for topwater (love my sammy 85!)

Good luck and I wish that was available when I was in school, although I fished most of the time vs going to classes anyway!!!

I’ve been doing more thinking and I’m leaning towards a 7’6″ H for flippin and frogs. I could benefit from a 6’6″-7′ spinning rod for finesse fishing but I am more of a power fisherman anyway. I should also mention that the tournaments are only 4 hours, its a weeknight series that I’m fishing. I feel like covering water and power fishing are gonna be my go to tactics.

I pretty much agree with phisherman except…the type of water you fish makes a big difference. I am fishing gin clear northern inland lakes, Lake Superior and Northern Green Bay (Lake Michigan). The only heavy line I use is on the Flip/Punch/Frog rods

7’0″ MHXF Dean Rojas frog rod
7’9″ H flippin stick
7’6″ MH Carolina rod/ T rigs/Senkos
7’4″ MHF general use, swim jigs
7’4 HF jig/big creatures
7’6″ MH crankin rod
6’8 M crankin rod/top water
7’4″ MLXF spinning dropshot/small grubs/hair jigs

For tourney’s I currently have

7′ MH with a 7.1:1 with fluorocarbon for jerk baits, spinner baits and jigs & texas rigs in in clear water.

7′ MH with 7.3:1 with 50 lb braid for jigs, texas rigs in heavier cover/ stained water

7’11” heavy w/ 7.1:1 flipping and pitching, swimbaits.

7’2″ MH for cranks has a 6.3:1.

6’8″ spinning for shakey heads etc (Braid or Fluro).

6′ spinning for weightless baits around docks w/ braid.

Going to add a 7’3″ MH w/ 6.3:1 for square bills and multi purpose (Fluro)

have a 6’6″ Glass casting for square bills when accurate casts are needed

also going to add 7’1″ spinning for drop shot and other finesse fishing..

I usually can catch fish with the rods I have.

Always playing around with other stuff.

Look at 13 Fishing rods.. I really like the OMEN series. for 100$ cant go wrong. The new rods I get will be OMENS.

I also am a College angler.. My big advice is use what you have and if you need to.. add a combo a year. It takes a little time to get everything on a tight budget.. But it seems like you have a good start and should be able to cover a lot of techniques with what you have.

You get something a little more stout for your frog rod 7’6″ MH Fast Action and a reel with a high gear ratio 7:1. Use at least 40 lb braid. Abu Garcia Veritas is a great rod for the price, they’re about $100.

<p><a href=”http://www.powerteamlures.com/?Click=1531″><img border=0 src=”http://www.powerteamlures.com/v/vspfiles/templates/215/images/banners/banner3.gif”></a></p&gt;