Stephen joined the team today and I need ideas on where to start. I haven’t really fished much in 15 years till this year so I’m needing to update. What couple of rods would y’all get and what lures to start out with? I mainly worm fish so I have a little bit in that area and a couple of spinning rods but most of my bait casters bit the dust. since I didn’t fish much never got new ones. I need to pick up a couple of combos and start buying some stuff. I’m not looking for expensive stuff for him just something decent he can fish with. Any ideas are appreciated and I’m sure I’ll be asking for tips from y’all before he fishes a tournament cause I’m worthless. Lol

You ever in the Lake Martin/Hwy280 or Birmingham area? I’d be glad to donate a couple Shimano Citicas and rods. Maybe set him up one for flipping/pitching and the other for crankbaits/spinnerbaits.

Not much Rachel works in homewood on 280 but I don’t get up there much. I’ll be coming over to Phil’s in a month or so to pick up Stephen and Rachel’s deer probably. I’ll be happy to pay you for them.

You don’t owe me anything for them. I’ve got more rod n reels than a fella needs and they’re just collecting dust. If he won’t need them before you come pick up the mounts I can meet you with them. If he wants to fish before then I’d be glad to drop them off in Homewood one day. I’m gonna shoot you a PM with my cell and we can work out the details later.

Can't beat that 👍...btw perch has spoken highly of your boys manners to me turkey neck I wish him well fishing these tourns...

pm me your name and address. Im rounding up some stuff from a few guys up here to donate!!

We really appreciate this guys! Stephen is really excited about this! When I talked to him this morning, he said he is more excited about fishing then he is about baseball, and that's saying a lot coming from him.

Also guys, the team is looking for sponsors. Any company willing to sponsor will have their logo on the jersey if more than $100 is donated. Any money received goes straight to his team (him and his friend) for any tournament that they enter into. This pays for entry fees and anything else the boys may need. Entry fees are $90 a boat and a boat will have 2 students and a parent (team captain). The team will be fishing the Airport Marine Trails, there is a total of 9 tournaments. If interested, PM me your email and I can send out the form. And again, thanks for supporting our son, it means more than you know!

I can round up some baits and probably a tackle bag if yall want to come up and fish one weekend

This post sums up what aldeer is about.
Great people doing things for others when they have nothing to gain.

I will see what I can come up with Brandon.

The Fishin' Hole is actually fairly reasonable on their prices, considering they pretty much have a monopoly in town. The gray-haired guy that works there always knows what's working and what's not.

You’re in for a good time. Our high school finally got its first team together last year after several years of talking about it. Too bad my oldest son was a senior and only got to participate for one year. One thing we really liked about it was that it gave us a reason to go to other lakes to fish. Several of these were totally new to us and it was fun to try something different. I will tell you this, every fish counts, and catching just any old limit will put your boys above a good bit of the field. There were times where just one more fish would’ve really helped my boat. We learned some new lakes and some new techniques, but the biggest thing, and the hardest, was to fish hard til the very end. In our last regular event, my boys had not yet qualified for the state tournament. By staying determined and not giving up, they made 2 culls in the last 5 minutes that got em above the cut-off by less than a pound. It was a mad dash to make it to the weigh in on time, but if we had given in earlier, they wouldn’t have qualified to go further. One of our teams qualified to fish the national championship on KY Lake this past weekend and they finished 7th overall. Both those boys have already been offered sizable scholarships to fish in college. Not bad for a couple 9th graders. I get to do it all over again with my youngest son this year. He’s an 8th grader and will be in the junior division. Good luck!

I bought Stephen a rod and some baits the other day in there.

Thanks to bclc looks like I just need ideas on baits. What baits would y’all recommend or just buy a little of everything?

What’s hot will change lake to lake and season to season. The old standbys like jigs, plastics, top waters and cranks will always have a place, but practice with Ned rigs, drop shots and small swim baits. Those three pulled us out of a pinch a few times.

When they fish Logan I know some spots they will start with a crappie jig and catch keepers then fish for bigger ones. Better then going in empty handed anyway.

If you are a worm guy keep it simple. Worms will catch them year round so start with that since it will be your strength. Black or green pumpkin dont get fancy

These baits, some 1/8 ounce jigs with 2/0 hooks and a good spinning rod/reel setup would be all a guy would need in any tournament. I've tried to tell AC870 but he don't listen. LOL

https://jenkofishing.com/collections/jigs/products/big-t-fry-daddy-3?variant=12985204867166

Last year was my daughters first year on fishing team. She was on the junior level last year and now moved up to high school level. She did good last year, but this year is going to be tough against the high schoolers. Casting I believe is the biggest difference in the kids. The ones that can cast good seem to do the best. My daughter isn’t very good at that yet. She’s good to n detecting bites, but casting is weak. What area you fishing in?

Chad