Quantum’s TourMg magnesium reel is the brand’s lightest reel ever for under $300, but its little 5.4-ounce body was hugely instrumental to Casey Ashley reeling in 50 pounds of bass, the 35-pound Bassmaster Classic trophy, and $300,000.

“The school of fish that I won on at Hartwell were really skittish, and if I got the boat too close to them, or over top of them, they wouldn’t bite,” explained Ashley. “So I had to make extremely long casts to catch them, and that’s why a super-high quality reel that’s so light and smooth-casting like our TourMg was critical.”

Not only were the fish shy, but they were also extremely deep, cold, and slow to react in Hartwell’s frigid waters. “My winning lure was a 3/8-ounce homemade horsehead spinner that my dad made. I was barely creeping it along the bottom on 10-pound line in 40’ of water with the 6.3:1 TourMg on a real sensitive 7’ medium action Smoke rod. And at times, I’d use a 5.3:1 EXO reel. I used slower gear ratios to help me retrieve it as slow as possible,” explained Ashley.

Casey’s newest Quantum team member, Bassmaster Rookie of the Year, Jacob Powroznik, finished 5th and actually warned of the Tour Mg’s potential goodness the week before the Classic started. “It’s going be super cold, so we’ll be wearing a ton of clothes, which makes you appreciate holding a reel all day that only weighs 5.4 ounces and casts like a bullet,” said “J Proz”.

There’s nothing cold about Quantum in recent months. Greg Hackney was quick to credit the advantage of fishing with oversized EXO 200 and 300 reels in the wake of earning his current Bassmaster Angler of the Year crown, factor in Powroznik’s Rookie of the Year title, and Casey Ashley’s Classic win, and there’s no arguing Quantum is home to fishing’s hottest brand of high-quality rods and reels.