Report from Congamond Lakes:

It’s early in the season here in New England and our events are just starting up. Every year to start the season off is one of the more prestigious charity events, The nationally affiliated D.A.R.E. Tournament  that helps kids stay of drugs.

I really like this event, it’s a great charity and the lake it’s held on is #41 in Bass Master Magazine’s newest edition of the Top 100 lakes in the USA. That being said though the lake is small ( 465 Acers )and it receives a lot of tournament pressure so the bite can be tough. When the tournament ended I would up in 6th place with a 19.9 lb limit, 22.04 was 1st place

IRod’s Fred’s Finesse and “Fishin’ with a Mission” rods gave me an advantage! Like other areas of the country our region had a mild winter and waters warmed quickly this spring and it is hard to believe its late April and water in the low 60′s had the fish coming up on the beds. A front was coming through though and water temps were dropping through the tournament sending many of the fish just off the beds or had them skittish.

I used Fred’s 7′ 1″ IRG712S Finesse spinning rod to work a split shot rigged Missile Baits drop shot craw. This is a bit of a challenging set up as the bait is small and light and makes it tough to cast even on spinning gear with only a light split shot for weight. Fred’s IRod was the perfect tool for doing this because the length and soft tip made long casts possible which were needed for the heavily pressured fish and the frontal conditions. Once a fish bit though having a rod capable of handling the quality fish in this lake is important and this rod dose that even with 4+ pound fish on light line.

When I wasn’t using the Fred’s finesse rod I used the new soon to be released “Fishin’ with a Mission” 6′ 9″ Spinning rod I designed for shakey heads and Senko fishing to skip a proto type shakey head worm. When skip casting this slightly shorter rod makes accurate casting a bit easier and also has a good amount of backbone to help drive hooks home and keep fish coming towards the boat between the dock pilings etc. I really wanted this rod to be a very versatile rod that a pro angler could skip a light shakey head or Senko like bait in the tightest spots, have enough power to get the hook home BUT also be a rod a younger child could use and feel comfortable with. Rods these days are getting longer and for many tactics that’s good but in close or in a child’s hands I think shorter is better. Matt and I came up with this idea last year and I worked on this rods design. With some tweaks from Matt and Fred I think we have something every angler from the seasoned pro to the father or mother looking for a comfortable sized rod for their child will enjoy using. I want to thank Matt and IRod for letting me design my own rod it was a total surprise when Matt asked me and I want to further highlight that aside from this rod being a great fishing tool Matt and IRod will be donating a portion of the proceeds from the sales of this rod to “Autism Awareness”.This makes Matt and IRod the first rod builder to specifically develop a rod to honor and benefit the one in every 88 children in the USA now being affected by Autism. Thank you Matt and IRod for leading the way and recognizing the severity of this national epidemic!

More information about the “Fishin’ with a Mission” Rod will be available soon.

Eli Delany

IRod Pro Staffer