Should Trolling Motors Be Allowed in Kayak Tourneys?

ICAST and Outdoor Retailer showed us what the kayak industry is moving to: motorized kayaks.
At least that's what it feels like. So how long will it be until they are allowed to fish along side human powered kayaks in tournaments?

Wilderness Systems is working on the ATAK kayak, Old Town has the Predator XL, Ocean Kayak has made the Torque for several years and more companies are joining the fold every year. Some companies like NuCanoe design their kayaks with the idea you might mount a trolling motor on it.

In the kayak tournament scene, very few tourneys allow kayaks that have trolling motors. It is thought by most to provide a distinct advantage because the angler doesn't tire from propelling the kayak. The ban is often also applied to sailboats and catamaran style kayaks like the Hobie Adventure Island as well.

Should trolling motors be allowed? 

The people for inclusion claim this would allow seniors and people with disabilities to participate which could continue the growth of the sport. With more models of electric motor kayaks becoming available, inclusion would be the natural thought. More people competing means larger purses, more sponsorship which also mean larger purses and wider reach to continue to grow kayak fishing and its eventual national tournament trails.

That sounds good. In theory.

The people against it claim it is a distinct advantage. Fatigue sets in faster when your body is having to propel the kayak. The advantage grows even greater in adverse conditions like high winds. The motor powered kayak would have the ability to cover more water, make more casts and fish longer throughout the day.

 That also makes sense.

In cases where the entry fee is fairly benign (think $25 or less) and the winnings aren't much over a couple of hundred dollars, I can see people being a little more lenient. Let's talk big for a minute.

Large trails are popping up as large events have been attracting more attention and it is only a matter of time before purses of $5,000+ are available. If you pay $100 to enter, $250 on gas and lodging, $100 in food, do you want to compete against someone who can cover three or four times the water as you, make more casts than you and fish more spots because wind and waves effect them less? You have $400-$500 on the line to win $5,000. Are you ok with that knowing you are at a disadvantage?

I'm very curious to see what the kayak community has to say. We are on the precipice and this issue is being decided. It would be nice to have some input. Please comment, share and discuss this so your voice can be heard. Now is the time to speak up and state your case. For or against, help the trails deciding these things know what you think.

How Do I Prepare For a Kayak Fishing Tournament?

When you think about fishing tournaments, from pros to local fishermen, myriad ways of preparation exist. I have my own methods and they differ based on a few factors. Kayak fishing doesn't allow you the running ability a power boat tourney does. When I decide to fish a kayak tourney, I run the details through a question filter that looks something like this:

How far from me is this lake?
How many times will I be able to prefish it?
Have I ever been on the lake?
Do I know anyone who knows the lake?
Are fishing reports available for the lake?
What is the main forage of the lake?
What species of bass are there?
What time of year is the tournament?
What is the typical water clarity?
What is the weather forecast for the week leading up and day of?
What is the moon phase?
What are the water temps?
Is it a power generation lake?


These are not all of the questions but some of the first ones. In just over 30 days from now, the Texas Kayak Bass Fishing Open will be at Houston County Lake near Crockett, TX. This is what the filter looked like for me with answers:


How far from me is this lake? 3.5 hours
How many times will I be able to prefish it? maybe 1
Have I ever been on the lake? Nope
Do I know anyone who knows the lake? 2 people
Are fishing reports available for the lake? Rarely
What is the main forage of the lake? Red ear sunfish
What species of bass are there? Spotted and Largemouth
What time of year is the tournament? Fall
What is the typical water clarity? Clear to slight stain
What is the weather forecast for the week leading up and day of? most likely cloudy
What is the moon phase? New Moon
What are the water temps? Will be Mid to High 70s
Is it a power generation lake? Nope.

So the next step is finding reports. I look at reports from anytime of the year first, taking notes on baits, colors and depths. After I have data from 10 or 12 reports, I'll look specifically at the fall reports. If a report has pictures, I'll pay close attention.

Next I'll get on the Navionics map and checkout the lake for specific spots. If I get to prefish, this is where I will concentrate my efforts. Just because it looks good above the water, doesn't make it a fish hangout. Knowing what is under the water through maps, apps and electronics is a much better indicator.

After scouring the maps, I'll look for pictures on the web. Any scenic shots, Google Map images, anything that can help me get my bearings once I am there. I want points of reference.

Finally, I'll compile a game plan for baits to take. I want to limit myself from taking all of the tackle I own. Narrow it down to a few categories and colors and figure out what will work.

Once the game plan is intact, I'll respool the rods I'll take to prefish, load only the baits I'll take later and hit the water as soon as I can. I'll take my GoPro, digital cameras and shoot lots of pics and video. I'll log all the fish I catch, where and how and then catalog it all for further digestion later.

I'm not saying that a fisherman can't get lucky now and then and win a tournament without any prep work. What I am saying is the odds are a lot longer to do so. With the prizes and cash Bobby Clark and his sponsors have lined up for this tourney, I want to be as prepared as possible.

Kayak Bass Fishing Open Looks to be Largest Ever

Always looking to push the limits, Chad Hoover of HOOK1 and Kayak Bass Fishing may have out done himself already in 2013.

Set to start on March 14, 2013, the Kayak Bass Fishing Open and the Kayak Bass Fishing Invitational following is assumed to be the largest freshwater kayak fishing tournament(s) ever held and before it’s all said and done, will be possibly the largest kayak fishing tournament regardless of water type. The venue is a 100 mile area of the Santee Cooper chain of lakes and is centered in Cross, South Carolina. Black’s Fish Camp will be the host site (1370 Black’s Camp Rd. Cross, SC, 29436) and cater to up to 300 anglers. Not all entrants will stay at Black’s though many of the festivities will be centered there.

The KBF Open is the last qualifier for the KBF Invitational which starts on March 16^th at a different, private water venue nearby. Both the Open and the Invitational have $100 entry fees with approximately 80% of that paying top finishers. The remaining 20% will go to fund future events and charitable contributions to groups like Heroes on the Water, a group that works with disabled service men and women through kayak fishing across the country.

The Open will be a two day event. Day 1 starts at 30 minutes before sunrise and ends at 4:30PM. Standings after Day 1 will be determined by a Catch-Photograph-Release (CPR) format of each angler’s best two fish. The Day 1 leader will get an automatic bid into the KBF Invitational and continue on to fish Day 2 where they will be joined by the other 100 top finishers (depending on ties) for that day. At the start of Day 2, all previous catches are erased and all anglers start at zero. Starting again at 30 minutes before sunrise, Day 2 goes until 5:30PM. The winner of Day 2 (also a CPR format) will win the Open and proceed with the top 10-15 anglers to the Invitational the next day. It is estimated that the top 20 anglers of Day 2 will receive a check though payout is based on percentages and number of entries. For all the official rules of both the Open and Invitational please visit www.kayakbassfishing.com or find Kayak Bass Fishing Open or Kayak Bass Fishing Invitational on Facebook.

The KBF Invitational will also be a two day event but will be held in Summerville, South Carolina at the private waters of VIP Adventures. These waters hold trophy bass and will up the stakes for the grand prize. The champion after two days will receive an estimated $8,000 in prize money, a new Wilderness Systems kayak, a new Bending Branches paddle, a $250 gift certificate to HOOK1 and many other prizes.

Being known as the Grand Champion of the Kayak Bass Fishing Invitational is in the hopes and dreams of many as anglers from Texas, New Jersey and other far away locales are planning caravans and overnight trips to make sure they have a chance to be crowned champion. With one of the most illustrious payouts ever in freshwater kayaking, it’s no wonder so many are cashing in a week of vacation and a year’s worth of kitchen passes to make the journey. It will be a memory none will soon forget.

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If you have further questions please connect with Chad Hoover on Facebook, on Twitter @knotright, on Ustream : KayakFishingGearTV or on kayakbassfishing.com. 

Always Have a Backup Plan

Over the years I have often needed to change from Plan A to Plan B. This weekend may have been the first time I have used Plan C.

The November Tournament for the NTKBF Club was scheduled for Saturday at Mineral Wells State Park. I had been prepping, modifying, tinkering and organizing gear for at least a month though it felt like longer. Of course, Mother Nature decided she would unleash Big Bad Wolf style on the North Texas area Saturday. The tournament directors rightly chose to postpone the tourney to a later named date. I had already planned to drive up to the Dallas area to stay with my brother so I activated Plan B. I called him and we made a plan to fish a south shoreline, somewhat sheltered from the wind, at a local lake. I would load up, follow the same travel schedule, fish and then return home. No big deal. I'm flexible.

Fast forward to a few hours later. I was attempting to load the kayaks on top of my SUV and the Big Bad Wolf made her presence known. I loaded the Coosa and strapped her down which wasn't too bad. Lifting a 70 pound kayak over your head in the wind is never fun but it went fine. The next task was to load the Cobra Tandem on top of the Coosa and strap them both down. I have done this before but never in the wind and especially not in 30+ mph wind. Four times I got the Cobra up and almost in position when out of the south a demon wind would rise up and remove the kayak from its perch. Luckily no damage was sustained but after the fourth time I just sat down in a chair in the yard. The Cobra weighs in at 80 lbs and the angles and wind and spinning and lifting wore me down. My body said no more. My mind told me this was an omen. Mother nature was telling me this trip was a no go. And so died Plan B.

I was mad. Upset. Disappointed. My wife pulled into the driveway and saw the melee in the grass. She saw the disgust in my face. I asked her to help me re-rack the kayaks in the garage and we talked about a conversation she had with my soon to be 8 year old. He really wanted to go fishing. I thought about the Leon River but the strain of the dragging and loading just deflated me. I told her I would think on it and we finished the unload.

I was reading the forums looking for ideas and then a light bulb radiated in the front of my mind so bright I could have lit the block! I know a place! It would take a phone call and a little good luck but I knew a place where my son and I could both go, the wind would be an advantage and we could make a real memory or two. I made the call and it was a go. We were going to do a Father-Son outing with one of my good fishing
buddies and his son. Plan C was alive and well.

We all piled into my small SUV and made the hour trek to a place we call Dave's. It's a lake with a few acres, hungry bass and in a valley where the south wind is a big help in casting. We all four fished for a while and then the two boys went traipsing through the underbrush looking for grasshoppers, Devil's Claws and any other insect that could be caught. We only spent three hours at Dave's but it's some of the best time I've ever spent with my son.

The time was great. Plan C worked. I learned a lesson. We ended the day with over 30 fish, a container full of finds and great times. I couldn't have asked for a better day. Sometimes, a backup plan to your backup plan is the best plan of all.

Rookie Mistakes in a Kayak Fishing Tourney

Yesterday was a first for me. I fished my first official kayak bass fishing tournament with the North Texas Kayak Bass Fishing Club. I had a great time with these guys over the weekend and would do it again in a heart beat. And while these guys are great, this is not a piece on promoting the NTKBF tourneys (though I need to do that). This is a piece to confess mistakes, make some lists and hopefully pass on some knowledge to future tournament kayak anglers.

ACK Hawg Trough

Ruler Board/Hawg Trough

Most kayak tournaments use the Catch-Photograph-Release (CPR) technique to determine a winner. If you buy a hawg trough from one of the many retailers like Austin Canoe and Kayak, they come marked every inch. They do have ridges so you can measure up to 1/4 of an inch but they are the same color as the board. You quickly find out at "weigh-in" that those 1/4" lines are very important and very hard to see in a picture. Take a sharpie and run over those ridges and the judges will never have to guess. But to even get a picture, you have to keep the fish on the board. This is a dexterity challenge while floating in a kayak with a paddle, a fish with hooks in him trying desperately to stab you with the hooks, a trough and camera, not to mention the required identifier that has to be in the picture. A friend, Bryan Row, had a great idea and attached three small bungees to the board so he can strap the floppy slime rockets to the board for a picture. It was ingenious and I had to pass it along. It must work because Bryan placed second this week!

Confidence Baits and Techniques

Hag's F4 Tornado

You know them and use them. They are your go to baits and styles. These are usually the first thing you go to when a new method or bait is failing after the first 10 casts that you tried it. Mine is a drop shot rig with a F4 Hag's Tornado. I can catch fish out of a dry sewer line with this setup and yet I didn't fish it on tournament day until an hour before weigh in. Why? I over thought the lake. I had never fished Purtis Creek before except for pre-fishing the evening preceding the tournament. In that time I tried what people told me would work, different locations, depths I normally didn't fish and it hurt. At 12:30 I had two fish out of five and I caught those in the first 30 minutes of the day. When push came to shove, I switched back to my confidence setup and was rewarded with the three fish I needed to round out my limit. They were not huge by any stretch of the imagination but five fish on tourney day is never a given. The lesson here? Don't deviate. After talking to the winner, rodmaker Walker Nelson, my thoughts were reaffirmed. He said he stuck to his game plan and didn't deviate. Congrats on a great win Walker! 

Planning and Homework

I spent the better part of the last two weeks planning for this event. I scoured what topographical maps I could find and used overlays from satellite maps to determine the most likely places I could catch fish. I prefished the day before and did okay but felt lack luster about it. At dinner that evening I got some tips on where some fish were. After a slow morning I abandoned my plan and spent the next three hours chasing someone else's plan. That did nothing for me. In the time I left my prep work and techniques at the door, not a single fish came into the boat. Not a single, solitary fish. When I abandoned other plans and went back to my own, I caught the rest of my fish for the day. Lesson learned. If you doubt this, go back up a paragraph and read Walker's comments. 

Always Be Prepared

You just never know. It will creep up on you when you least expect it so pack accordingly. Not all of these things happened to me but some unexpected events at the tournament this weekend produced a bit of hilarity, some panic, some disgust and even some hunger. 

Raccoons will steal your food. All of it. 

Branches barely sticking out of the water get caught in scupper holes. Have a plan. And a saw.

The sun doesn't rise until well after 6AM this time of year. Have what you need to be legal on the water.And a light to see the dangers.

You can get sunburned even when it's raining.

Cameras fail. Have a backup plan.

The weather is like a good woman, usually beautiful and complex but she'll lose control every now and again and you should be ready for how you'll handle it. 

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Until next time, keep your food in the car and stick to the game plan.