Kayak Koz

My personal opinion is that the rod is more important than the reel. Most of my reels cost between $150 - $350. I choose them based upon how they feel in my hand as well as the gear ratio, then pair them up with a rod. During the course of a season I may swap up the rod/reel combos for one reason or another.

I always have a trailer on chatterbaits. The only time I use a trailer on a spinnerbait is during the pre spawn feeding frenzy and then it’s always a white paddle tail or white pin tail bait.

Other than taking a few casts off my dock, I haven’t been out on a lake in nearly a month. I caught one little one, but the baitfish all but disappear from the waters around me in the winter. I rarely catch anything fishing from the bank in my backyard in the winter. It’s actually supposed to be in the 70’s the next few days, but I have to work. I have no idea when I will have time to get out on the lake.

I’m not much of a drinker at all, but with the cold nights and potential large heating bills I have enjoyed a dink wile sitting in front of the fireplace. Right now I have been partaking in an Uncle Nearest 1856 which I rather enjoy. I’d like to try a Knobel whiskey next, but ai can’t find it around here.

I heard the shut down the series for 2025, but they will still hold their Classic event. I heard this on the Kayak Bass Nation podcast.

I bought a Striker jacket back in January and it’s a superb value. It definitely keeps me warm and dry and the wind doesn’t run through it.

I disagree that bass tournaments don’t draw spectators. Elite and BPT weigh ins draw thousands. Heck, I fished on BFL where we had about 300 people at the weigh in. I’m sure most of them are from the region, but so are most of the people that go see a Yankee or Dodger game. What makes it hard for Chambers and CVBs nowadays is the proliferation of AirBnB type rentals, especially the illegal ones. It’s harder to calculate economic impact. But there’s no doubt that California’s regulations make it difficult as tours have discussed this before.

That would be great. I’ve met with and fished with a bunch of BR members over the years. I have never fished Marion or Moultrie and can’t wait to fish there.

I don’t know. My minimum starting salary is $150k. Can you make that work? 😀

My 2025 is up in the air right now.I plan to quit my job, but I need to find a new one first. I have a second interview next week and a tour of the hotels that I would be managing. If it works out, I will be near the Santee Cooper lakes. Wherever I wind up, I’d like to fish as many Bass Nation kayak events as possible. With a new job I don’t think I will be able to fish any Bassmaster events as that requires considerable time off. My main focus is getting out of here and finding a new job.

I just saw that there will be no Hobie Bass Open Series in 2025. This is huge news as Hobie was the first to put together national events. I never fished one of those events, but I heard that attendance had dropped significantly. In their press release, Hobie did state this was not a factor. I think this drives a few more people to the Bassmaster events simply because of economics. Because of costs, many people who fished in both series had to pick and choose events.

No, this is how all bigger tournaments work. For example, when Fishers of Men wanted to hold a boat tournament here on Lake Oconee they wanted our Chamber to give them $20k. We ran the numbers and found out they would not bring near that value to our county (lodging, food and beverage, publicity, etc). We passed on that so they chose another venue. If I remember correctly, BASS looks for something like $100k - $200k to bring an Elite tournament to a lake. I have no idea if that has increased for 2025 since there are no more entry fees for Elites. But they have other requirements regarding hotel beds, weigh in venues, etc. I’m not sure what MLF requires from Chambers and Visitor Bureaus.

See one of my earlier posts. Entry fees are not enough to finance these events. Local Chambers / Visitor Bureaus get financing from local accommodations taxes and by charter they have to invest much of that in bringing more tourism to the market. There’s more including acquiring a venue for on site registration, awards, travel for BASS personnel, promotions and advertising, etc. And of course, I’m sure B.A.S.S. is trying to turn a bit of a profit.

They tried to schedule Clear Lake or another California fishery but they ran into headache after headache including environmental issues. It was mentioned that California was not friendly to these types of events.

Rumor has it there will be a Native No Limits tournament there, but it’s just a rumor. That schedule is supposed to be released by Christmas. Steve Owen’s indicated it was a lot of boat tournaments there next year.

Many states have their own Bass Nation Kayak series and the top finishers in those series qualify for the Bassmaster Kayak Series Championship. That’s the kayak version of the Bassmaster Classic. This year, Bassmaster averaged over 200 anglers at each kayak event. That’s incredible. They might do that in 2025 as well, but I think a lot of those will be new anglers as the events are so far apart. But I still think that BASS is using this to gauge popularity. I think by 2026 it’s up to 10 events and the championship will be televised. There are also rumblings of an Elite kayak series. It really stinks - for me - that I don’t have multiple tournaments near me. If I accept this new job offer I would be with a branded hotel group and that means I can stay in their hotel brands from $0 - $29 a night instead of $100 - $200 a night. That’s a huge annual savings. Anyway, all indications are that this series is really going to grow in the next 3 - 5 years. If anyone is interested in kayak tournament fishing without all of this ridiculous travel, check to see if your state has a Bass Nation Kayak Series. Entry fees are reasonable and you can fish them all or pick and choose events.

Chambers of Commerce actually allocate money to help finance these events. They get their money from local hospitality taxes and by charter are required to invest a percentage of those tax revenues back into tourism. I have served as a Chamber board member in multiple regions. Tournament registration fees simply cannot cover the costs of marketing the events, administrative fees and travel, etc.

I live right on a big lake and can launch in my backyard. I get plenty of opportunity for zen moments, especially if I take out my pedal drive instead of my Autopilot.

Steve Owen’s (Bassmaster TD) said there were already a number of tournaments there next year and the Chamber of Commerce / Visitor’s Bureau didn’t have the funding for more tournaments.

The schedule dropped tonight: January: Lake Havasu, AZ February: Kissimee Chain of Lakes, FL April: Dale Hollow, TN May: Lake Tenkiller, OK July: Lake Champlain, NY September: Toledo Bend, TX All great fisheries but the general consensus is that it's too spread out. Your top 3 finishes count towards AOY, but it will be tough for most to make even three tournaments with all of that travel. If I'm still living in GA (which is doubtful), both Dale Hollow and Kissimmee are 6 hours away. Tenkiller is 13 hours away, Champlain is 18 hours away, Toled0 Bend is 12 hours away, and Havasu might as well be on another planet (29 hours away). If I'm SC, Kissimmee is about the same but add two hours or more for the others. I'd like to fish Kissimmee, but I doubt that happens if I take a new job in January. It looks like I'll just be fishing Bass Nation events in SC and maybe GA next year. That's too bad, because I really was hoping to fish 3-4 Bassmaster events in 2025. The Bassmaster TD did say that in 2026 he expects much tighter groupings of events. I think they want to see if they can still get 220+ anglers at some of these western events and my guess is that of they do, they end up with an East Series and West Series within the next three years.

No, I love my kayak. But in real life I'm a problem solver. I have an engineering degree and my mind is always looking for ways to make things more efficient. That could be things like ease of use, saving time, saving money, etc. Just wait until you see the mods I'm working on for my kayak! In tournament kayak fishing, I have found that saving time is important. For example, in a bass boat you can run wide open throttle and cover a lot of water to get to your next fishing spot. But in a kayak tournament, many anglers head back to the ramp, load up their kayak, and then drive to another ramp. Every minute you save is another minute you could be fishing. That's the same reason why many boaters ditch their 75 HP motors for a 200 HP motor. This 100% I know there are some bass boat guys that don't get that, and there's nothing wrong with that. I can't really explain it, but it's a zen like feeling where brain clears of all of the noise and stress and I just connect with my surroundings.

Christmas is about the only time of year that I DON’T buy fishing or kayak gear.

For the 2025 season, Native Watercraft / Newport takes over the title sponsorship. I guess I’ll need some new decals for my kayak. Also, the schedule is supposed to drop today. The TD gave us a hint the other day stating there would be an event “out west” that was not California. My guess is Arizona. There’s no way I’m making that trek. I’m hoping for events in SC, GA, FL, and AL that will be manageable trips for me. They also added an event this season. As always, your best three events count towards AOY. Stay tuned for the schedule drop.

It seems that everyone on BR wants me to buy a pickup truck and a boat🤣🤣 And that’s another thing I have to consider. My Bronco Sport is less than 2 years old and has a towing capacity of only 2,200 pounds. So if I buy a boat, I also need a new vehicle. So that’s between $60k and $150k. I’m right side up on my Bronco, but that’s a lot of debt at this stage of my life.

I just turned 60 last month, and while I’m in good health now and still have a bit of strength, I know that can all go downhill rather quickly. If and when that does happen, I don’t want to have to give up fishing if and when my physical abilities deteriorate.