Bassmaster AOY | Keith Combs | Curado K | curado bass slam challenge | Mille Lacs

Shimano pro Keith Combs can catch big smallmouths too

MWO|
Sep 19, 2017
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Best known for cranking up big largemouths in Texas, Shimano pro Keith Combs can catch big smallmouths, too.

At last weekend’s Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year Championship on Minnesota’s Mille Lacs Lake,  Keith Combs led wire-to-wire.

He bested the 50-angler field with 15 smallies that weighed 72-pounds, 5-ounces. He won $52,500 and qualified for the 2018 Bassmaster Classic next March on Lake Hartwell in South Carolina.

“While I’ll always be proud of my big wins in Texas, I was able to prove something to myself,” said Keith Combs. “I can compete—and win—on any lake I fish. On Mille Lacs, making extra long casts with the new Shimano Curado K was key to my success. I could work lots of water while dragging big, 1-ounce jigs and craw trailers deep.”

Combs Completes Bass Slam

Prior to the Mille Lacs tournament,  Keith Combs spent two weeks on a 5,000-mile trek tackling the Curado ‘Bass Slam’ Challenge. He and Shimano’s Kurt Mazurek caught all nine species of black bass to show the versatility of Shimano’s new baitcasting reel. The Bass Slam Challenge enabled Combs to dial in the right Curado for techniques to catch everything from 7-pound largemouths to finicky Guadalupe and Suwannee bass. He relied on a Curado 200HGK with a 7.4:1 gear ratio paired to a heavy power, fast action G. Loomis GLX 894C rod for his Mille Lacs smallies.

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Bassmaster AOY | Keith Combs | Curado K | curado bass slam challenge | Mille Lacs
The new, award-winning Curado K uses the same technology as much pricier Shimano baitcasters, while retaining the $179.95 suggested retail price.

Other Shimano Pros Do Well

Other Shimano and G. Loomis pros did well on Mille Lacs, too. Oklahoma pro James Elam finished less than 2-pounds behind Combs and finished second. Michigan pro Jonathon Van Dam placed eighth. Van Dam’s finish qualified him for this week’s Bassmaster Classic Bracket tournament on Pokegama Lake in Minnesota. A win lands him in the Bassmaster Classic field. His smallmouth expertise makes him one of the favorites.

Anglers nationwide are invited to compete in Shimano’s ‘Curado Bass Slam Challenge’ to win a Curado reel and more, or the Curado ‘3 Bass Combo’ challenge through December. Visit the Shimano Facebook page at www.facebook.com/FishShimano , or Shimano’s web site at http://fish.shimano.com, for all the details.

Learn more about the Curado Bass Slam Challenge!