[wartmanrp]

Hey all, Phantom talked me into fishing in a tournament this saturday on MIL. He even found me a yak to borrow! This will be my first tournament and really the first time I've fished for bass on open water (used to bank fishing). I know the fundamentals of bass fishing but trout has always been my forte. Here's what I'm thinking for initial setup, let me know if I'm doing anything stupid. Again this is just initial setups, I can always switch it up later.

6'6" Med. Action Caster w/ 10 lb. line- Some sort of crank, jerk bait maybe?

I have an Abu 5601 c4 with 30lb. braid I use in the surf I could swap onto this rod instead of the abu silver max its got currently but I'm not really sure which to use.

6'6" med. action caster w/ 12 lb. line- heavier t-rig or c-rig with a lizard/creature to pull through beds?

6'6" med. spinning combo w/ 8 lb. line for flipping wacky rigged senko's to cover (my confidence setup for bass)

5'6" med. spinner w/ 12 lb. (not sure what to put on here)

6'0" med. (fast action) with 6 lb. flouro dropshotting OR shakey head (this is my finesse combo)

I also have another 6' med/light rod, and some ultra light rods but I feel like those are out of place.

Any suggestions you have are appreciated. Weather will be partly cloudy, 81~ degrees, 5mph winds. We're fishing shallower water in Gar Creek on MIL.

Thanks!

 

[Jeffonc]

My 2 cents for tournaments is don't overthink and don't bring the whole garage. More stuff means more time spent messing with stuff and wondering whether something in the box might work better than something on the end of the line. If its in the boat, its an opportunity to stop fishing and tie something else on. You're not going to win using process of elimination to find that one oddball technique or color that nobody else thought about. Pick something you have confidence in that is seasonably appropriate for the water, and do it.

If you're a dedicated plastics fisherman, I say go with the senko rod and the dropshot rod, and maybe a 3rd as backup in case one of those 2 has a problem. Take a mixed bag of plastics and go. Make sure you can cover open water/topwater fish (super flukes), shoreline fish (senkos, lizards), and something a cast out on the ledges, points & ends of downfalls (drop shot worms).

If you're a dedicated hardbaits fisherman, do the same - topwater, shallow/jerk, deep. With a couple of casting rods and a backup spinner for lighter weight baits.

Given what little I know about MIL, and the plan to fish shallow up a creek, I'd lean toward the plastics. Rain & mud might change my mind, but its been clear down here for about a week and I suspect the same up there.

Good luck & stay on the float-y side of the kayak!

 

[Fish_Fiend]

Chart white chatter bait on one black and blue chatter on another. Trig speedcraw with 1/8 oz tungsten on another and a crig speedcraw 3/8 oz tungsten on a fourth.

Tapatalk - Galaxy S4

 

[dbeam]

the first 3 mentioned rods are plenty. spinner bait or chatter bait, - square bill crank, - fluke or trick worm, - and a worm, lizard or craw on a Carolina or t rig to start. whites, grays, maybe with some chartreuse for the cranks, flukes, and spinners. brownish to purple on the worms and craws. Judging from Hickory I would think MIL bass are at or on the bed so anything aggravating in a bream color would be good choice too.

Looking forward to the report.

Darrell

 

[wartmanrp]

the first 3 mentioned rods are plenty. spinner bait or chatter bait, - square bill crank, - fluke or trick worm, - and a worm, lizard or craw on a Carolina or t rig to start. whites, grays, maybe with some chartreuse for the cranks, flukes, and spinners. brownish to purple on the worms and craws. Judging from Hickory I would think MIL bass are at or on the bed so anything aggravating in a bream color would be good choice too.

Looking forward to the report.

Darrell

Report can be found here: http://www.ncangler.com/forums/threads/60970-First-Tournament-AND-First-Kayak-Fishing-Experience

 

[sundrop]

admittedly I am speaking out side of my knowledge base as IM not a bass fisherman , but "fishing cover" and "6- 8lb" test doesn't compute for me.. I would think fishing cover you have to horse the guy out as soon as he hits..