PARK FALLS, WIS. – “Ol’ Bob Downey” will be competing in his fourth Bassmaster Classic when he splashes his Bass Cat in the waters of the Tennessee River this March. He has a history of success there, including a 17th-place finish when the Classic was last held in Knoxville in 2023.

“I fished the Tennessee River a decent amount in the spring – all up and down from Guntersville to Pickwick to Chickamauga,” Downey says. “I love it in the springtime. I just feel more comfortable there at that time of year than I do in those summertime tournaments. The Tennessee River in Knoxville is not an easy place to fish and, historically, it doesn't take a lot of weight to win there.”

One of the things it does take to win there – or at any high-level fishing tournament – is reliable equipment. Entering his seventh year on the St. Croix Elite pro staff, Downey has announced he’ll be swapping all of the reels on his St. Croix rods with SEVIIN reels moving forward.

“I mean, for me, it's a reliability factor,” Downey says. “Reels are a tool for me to perform my job, so I look at it no different than a contractor who needs the right tools to do his or her job. You need to have reels to do what we do on the water and I need to have reels that perform reliably at the highest level. Whether it's a drag system or a breaking system, you can’t worry about them in the moments you need them. If you are, you’re wasting valuable time and mental capacity.”

Downey says he’s had his eyes on SEVIIN and has been fishing some of their reels here and there since the brand was launched nearly three years ago.

“Even though these reels came out of the gate as a St. Croix product, I wanted to really see how they performed, how they held up, and how the SEVIIN range might expand,” Downey says. “I like the reels I got my hands on, but at the time I didn’t feel they offered all of the reels I needed in order to be successful on tour. Now, with three separate freshwater reel families that encompass 15 different spinning reels and 18 casting reels, that has definitely changed. More anglers have noticed the same thing and, going forward, I feel like now was the right time for me to dive in, get behind the brand, and help it grow even more than it already has.”

Downey says his seven-year relationship with St. Croix also played a key role in his decision to switch to SEVIIN Reels.

“Every time you decide to work with a new brand, you're also deciding to build a new relationship with people, and you're never quite sure how that's going to go,” he says. “But from this perspective, it's super seamless. I know everybody there, so I know who I'm working with. I know how they operate. As I’ve done with St. Croix Rods, I’m really looking forward to helping with product development for the SEVIIN Team going forward while also giving feedback and sharing good and honest information with anglers and fans.”

St. Croix and SEVIIN Vice President of Innovation, Ryan Teach, agrees.

“We’ve leaned on Bob a lot over the past several years on many of our Analytical Pro Teams,” Teach says. “He’s consistently given us solid feedback on specific ideas and directions we’ve specifically asked about, but on more than one occasion he’s also caused our design and product teams to think about things we didn’t particularly have on our radar screens. We rely on this kind of feedback to be angler-driven, and Bob is an exceptional example of the kind of angler we most want feedback from. He’s one of the best minds in the bass-fishing industry, and also one of the kindest and most-genuine people you could hope to work with… in any industry. We’re thrilled that he’s coming on board with the SEVIIN Reels Team.”

SEVIIN's all-new aluminum GXC will be available to anglers on January 1.

Back to the immediate task at hand, Downey says he expects this year’s Classic to be a great one for the fans.

“It'll for sure be a pre- spawn tournament,” he says. “I don't know that we'll see a spawn happen unless we get a crazy warm. The last time we were there it was primarily pre-spawn and I think it was two or three weeks later than this year. So yeah, I expect a full-blown pre-spawn bite. I know how I’ll approach it, but it will be really interesting because we have a whole new crop of young anglers that just look at things different than then some of the older generation. So, that always makes for some intriguing tournaments. What happened from a particular pattern and technique standpoint even five years ago is entirely different than it’ll be today. So, yeah, it'll be a fun one to follow.

Downey joins fellow SEVIIN Reels staffer, John Crews, as well as St. Croix teammates Caleb Kuphall, Trey McKinney, and Pat Schlapper in the field at this year’s Bassmaster Classic.

About SEVIIN Reels
Wherever and however you fish, the reel in your hand should help create better experiences. Born from St. Croix Rod’s seven decades of design and manufacturing expertise, industry-leading customer service, and unbroken private ownership by the Schluter family dating back to 1977, SEVIIN reels are meticulously engineered and purpose-built to help anglers conquer every species on every piece of water on the planet. SEVIIN focuses on reels and reels only, designing and marketing products that improve the angling experience, regardless of the rods anglers choose. Seven seas, seven continents, seven days a week, SEVIIN reels are fueled by a collective love of fishing surpassed only by our passionate desire to deliver the most reliable reels on the water. The St. Croix Family of Brands includes St. Croix Rod, SEVIIN Reels, St. Croix Fly, Rod Geeks, and the St. Croix Factory Store.