Had my first kayak tournament of the season Saturday on Big Hill Lake in Cherryvale, KS. It was a combination Kansas Kayak Anglers and Kansas Bass Nation tournament so it was quite a few fishermen on a not so big lake that was also 5' low, so even smaller than normal. Big Hill isn't a place I have fished much, and I haven't had much fun the times I've been there.
I got the the lake Thursday evening an hour before dark and made a few cast before dark from the bank by the dam. Caught a couple largemouth, a smallmouth, and this thing.
That was a mistake because I ended up staying up past midnight chasing spawning walleye and catching nothing but spawning white bass.
Friday I launched in the creek in the only small access point. I hurried dropping my stuff but there was still a kayak and a boat waiting for me even with me just throwing my stuff in a pile on the ground next to the kayak. Jumped back in my truck, dead battery ?. Thankfully I had cables and the other kayaker gave a quick jump. I helped him launch and let the boat launch before I finished putting my stuff together and started fishing. The bridge by the launch had spawning crappie on it, so it was crawling with bank fishermen, boats, even people hauling crappie 20' up to the bridge. I really wasn't sure what to start with, I thought it was going to be a prespawn bite but the low 60* water and full moon had me second guessing. I started with a spinnerbait and swimbait and quickly had a few short strikes but not hookups. It seemed way too early in the year still, but the little voice in my head was screaming at me that these fish are spawning. I cut off my jig and switched to a black and blue Zman Bang Stick with a very light 1/8oz tungsten weight and 4/0 Owner Cover Shot hook. The water was too dirty to sight fish, so I started super slowly dragging it around likely areas. I pulled it past 1 stump, them recast a foot to the right and caught a nice 16.5" fish when I was dragging it back, I knew then, they're spawning. I caught a couple more, it seemed every time I'd pick up that rod, I'd catch another. Not knowing how many there were to be caught, I went way up the creek and started catching spawning white bass and a few catfish.
Late in the afternoon, I pulled into a little pocket and caught a small one and a 19" fish real quick. There was big shad everywhere in there, I had my starting spot. I left the creek and caught a few small ones on the main lake and called it a day early.
Tournament morning, I wasn't surprised when a majority of the anglers were launching in the creek. I headed straight to my little pocket and 1 other angler joined me. It was a very small spot, but we talked, he was going to fish the south bank and I was going to fish the north. Lines in was 6:30, I sailed my cast into a tree on the shore, shook it loose, and there was a fish on it immediately. My first cast curse fish was 15.25" on the Bang Stick. 20 minutes later, I was dragging my bait back and it felt like it just hung in the trees, but it didn't feel quite right, so I swung on it. Turned out to be a 17.5" fish that looked like she was about to pop.
Maybe 5 minutes later, same bite, almost same results, but this fish looked like it had already spawned and it was 17.75"
I fished down my side and picked up my other rod that had a Strike King Rodent in Okeechobee Craw and a little 1/4oz weight and started dragging that. Right at the entrance to the pocket, I got a very light tap. It turned out to be a 19.50" fish and the hook fell out in the net.
My next cast, I caught a 14.5" (the male I assume), so I had a limit and it wasn't 8am. A few cast later, I caught a 15.50" to cull the 14.50". I fished that pocket for a long time, caught several more small fish, before I moved across the creek. I caught a small one immediately. 10 minutes later, I made a cast with the Bang Stick and got a small backlash. I cleared it and when I got my line tight, it was moving off the bank. That fish was 16.50 to cull the 15.25.
After that was a long dry spell. I caught a few dinks but nothing even close to helping. Around noon, I moved to a bank that leads up to the pocket I'd fished, between it and the bridge. I had missed a big one on a glide bait the day before on practice, so I knew they were there. I fished the Bang Stick super slow and I started getting bit way further off the bank, almost straight under the kayak, but they were still small. One cast I timed on the video at almost 50 seconds from splashdown to hookset, was finally the fish I was looking for. She streaked off and made it know she wasn't another dink like the rest. No this was a beautiful 18.25" fish that bumped me up to 89.50" on the day.
I caught several more, but nothing that helped. I had terrible service, so I didn't have any idea how anyone had done except the guy fishing the pocket with me, he had around 75". Everyone at awards was grumbling about tough fishing, but there's always a couple that found them. Well it turned out, I was that guy this day.
I won both the tournaments, took home 2 cool plaques, enough money to cover my entry fees the rest of the year, and qualified for state the first tournament of the year!
