First Tournament of the Year!

I recently competed in my first tournament of the year this past weekend. I was fortunate enough to win it with 5 largemouth weighing 18.01 lbs! The tournament was on a small natural lake that has both largemouth and smallmouth. I focused on the largemouth. My main weapon was a 1/2 oz Bluegill color V&M Pacemaker Pulse Swim Jig paired with a V&M Greenpumpkin Thunder Shad Jr. as a trailer. I threw the jig on a 7' MH rod with a 6.4:1 reel spooled with 16 lbs fluorocarbon line. I was targeting the emerging pad stems that are starting to grow. With the water temperature in the low 50's the fish where really getting up shallow in the 1-4' range and that V&M Swim Jig was the ticket!! I was fishing the jig with a slow steady retrieve, making the jig hit as many emerging pad stems as I could. When I would come in contact with a stem I would pop my rod tip and make the jig dart and shoot off to the side before continuing my retrieve. That triggered a reaction strike form the fish. Every fish I caught, bite right after I hit a stem and then popped the jig. I caught 15 fish throughout the day and culled 5 times. Its always fun to get out and do good in the first tournament of the year! I am really looking forward to the second one and cant wait to get it started! "Do Whatever It Takes" Nik Autrey