Gear

This page is dedicated to gear. I will be posting videos and listings of gear choices that are quality options at affordable prices, when available. Fishing gear is expensive, and it takes a lot of gear to be properly prepared for tournaments. Finding high quality options at affordable prices is not an easy task.

Rod and Reels

Below are some rod and reel combos that are quality options at reasonable prices. I will not be linking these items because many of these items are available on multiple site and you should spend some time looking for the best deal. Just google each item you are interested in and look for the best deal you can find.

Rods

I want to begin this section by discussing the types of rods that anglers should be using at the high school level. A typical high school setup would include up to 5-6 rods in total. Four or five of those rods should be casting rods, and one rod should be a spinning rod for more finesse style of baits. A typical arsenal should include the following types of rods.

1) Anglers should have a dedicated flipping rod. This would be somewhere between 7' and 7' 3" in length and should be heavy power and fast action. These rods have a stout backbone and are great for pulling bass out of heavy cover, where you would be using the flipping technique. This rod will work for flipping, pitching, punching, frogging, jigging

2) Anglers should have two or three all around rods. These would be around 7' - 7'3" in length, medium heavy power, and fast action. These rods are very versatile and allow you to use a number of different techniques. You can use this rod for almost any technique, but it really shines with spinnerbaits, chatterbaits, deep cranks, swimbaits, texas rigs in lighter cover, carolina rigs, and topwater walking baits.

3) Anglers should have a dedicated cranking rod. This rod would be around 7' in length, medium power, with moderate action. This rod will be used only for crankbaits with treble hooks, such as squarebills, lipless cranks, jerkbaits, etc.

4) Anglers should have a dedicated finesse spinning rod. This rod would be between 6'6" and 7'3" in length, medium or medium heavy power, with fast action. This rod will be used for finesse techniques like weightless senkos, drop shots, ned rigs, etc.

A few of the best brands of rods at reasonable prices that I would recommend are listed below:

Dobyns Fury Series

Dobyns Sierra Series - more expensive than the Fury series, but worth the upgrade.

St. Croix Bass X Series

Shimano SLX Series

Reels

There are a number of very good reels at reasonable prices that you can choose from when purchasing baitcasting reels. There are also different gear ratios that each model offers. A good all around gear ratio is around 7.1:1. In my experience, this is good for most of the techniques I use in lakes around central Illinois. A lower gear ratio (5.5 - 6.5) is useful for a dedicated cranking rod in which you are using deep crankbaits that have a lot of resistance in the water. A good rule for gear ratios is just what feels good to you while you are fishing. For me, I find that somewhere around 7:1 works best for me. That is probably not the case for some people. Just find a reel that feels good to you and enjoy!

A few of the best brands of reels at reasonable prices that I would recommend are listed below:

Lews BB1

Lews BB1 Pro

Diawa Tatula

Shimano SLX 150 XT

Shimano SLX

Bass Pro Shops Pro Qualifier 2

Rain Gear

Rain gear is one of the most expensive and important purchases that you will make as a high school angler. This gear is not cheap but serves dual purposes. First, it keeps you dry when it rains, and it rains a lot in the spring. Second, insulated rain gear keeps you warm, and more importantly, keeps the wind from penetrating your clothing and holds your body heat in. This allows you to stay warm for long periods of time when exposed to the cold weather. During a fishing tournament, we are exposed to the cold and wind the entire time we are on the boat. If not properly equipped, an angler will get cold very quickly and remain cold the entire tournament. A quality set of rain gear will keep you warm and dry in cold or rainy conditions and is a MUST. Unfortunately, a set of rain gear is expensive, but will last for years and years.

IF you are purchasing for a freshman and you know he or she will still grow over the next couple of years, please buy the rain gear big enough that they can grow into it. This will prevent you from having to make an expensive purchase like this more than once.

Below are a few of the rain gear options that are high quality and last a long time:

Bass Pro Shops 100 MPH Gore-Tex Rain Jacket and Bibs

Grundens has a lot of rain gear options. Check out their website.

Huk has a few options as well. Check their website.

Simms Challenger series is very good quality.

Hodgman All Weather series is very good quality.

Cabela's has some very good options.

Baits

We use a wide variety of baits during tournaments to catch fish. There are so many varieties of baits and options within each variety that it would take forever to create a comprehensive list. I will list the type of baits we typically use and colors that would be good to have in your arsenal. I will also list a few popular brands. There are many brands that create quality options. You can choose the brands that fit within your price range. There are a number of retailers that sell quality baits.

Crankbaits

Colors (red craw, shad imitation, Black/Chartreuse, Bluegill imitation, Purple/silver)

Squarebill crankbaits - Strike King 1.5, 6th Sense Crush, Rapala DT Fat

Deep cranks - Rapala DT 10, Strike King 5XD

Medium divers - Rapala BX Brat, Rapala dt6, or Azuma Claud Hopper are great options

Lipless Crankbaits - Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap, Strike King Red Eye Shad, Azuma Shaker Z

Spinnerbaits

Colors (white, white/chartreuse, shad imitation, red, orange/black, bluegill)

Double willow blade spinnerbaits are great for most situations when the water is warmer.

Colorado blade spinnerbaits are better for slower presentations in colder water.

Brands - JET Custom and War Eagle are my favorites, Angler Assets, Picasso Invizwire

Chatterbaits (bladed jigs)

Colors (White, White/Chartreuse, Black/Blue, Green Pumpkin, Orange, Red Craw)

Brands - Z-Man Evergreen Chatterbait Jack Hammer, Z-Man Project Z Weedless Chatterbait, Strike King Thunder Cricket, JET CUSTOM Chatterbait

Flipping Jigs

Colors (Black/Blue, Green Pumpkin, Brown Craw)

Brands - Dirty Jigs, JET Custom, Strike King Tour Grade Skipping Jig

Swim Jigs

Colors - White (Shad), White/Chartreuse, Green Pumpkin, White/Silver, Black/Blue

Brands - JET Custom, Dirty Jigs California Swim Jig, Dirty Jigs Finesse, Strike King Tour Grade

Swimbaits

Colors - (Shad imitation colors, bluegill imitation)

Size - 4.75" is most common, 3.75" for a smaller presentation

Brands - Keitech Swing Impact FAT, Strike King Rage Swimmer, Zoom Z Swim

Hooks- Gamakatsu Weighted Superline Spring Lock Hook, Lazer Trokar Magnum Weighted Swimbait Hook

Sizes - For 3.75" Swimbait use 3/0, for 4.74" Swimbait use 4/0 or 5/0

Worms/Craws/Creature (Soft Plastics)

Colors - (Watermelon Red Flake, Black/Blue, Green Pumpkin, June Bug)

There are a lot of different styles of worms. Here I will break it down into a few types of worms that we use.

Senkos- We usually wacky rig senkos. Some popular brands are: Yum Dingers and Yamamoto Senkos.

Finesse Worms - Zoom Finesse Worms, Zoom Trick Worm, Z Man Finesse Worm, Strike King KVD Fat Baby Finesse Worm, Big Bite Baits Finesse Worm

Curly Tail Worms - Berkley Powerbait 7" Power Worm, Roboworm Curly Tail Worm, Strike King Rage Thumper, Yum Ribbon Tail Worm, Zoom Curly Tail Worm

Craws - Strike King Rage Craw, Yum Christie Craw, Strike King Rage Twin Tail Menace Grub

Beaver Style Baits - Reaction Innovations Sweet Beaver, Googan Baits Bandito Bug, Jackall Archelon

Ned Rigs - Z Man Finesse TRD, Zoom Beatdown Worm, Yum Ned Dinger