Words: Guillermo Gonzalez | @guillermo_gonzalez_outdoors
Photos: Mark Cisneros | @mark_cisneros
The Road to the Big Stage
When March rolls around, every competitive kayak angler begins their preparation for the pinnacle of our sport; The Bassmaster Kayak Championship. Anglers from across the country strive to qualify for this prestigious event through both the local BASS nation series and by finishing at the top of the Bass opens AOY.
Tournament Waters
This year was a little unique, as tournament waters included two massive Tennessee River impoundments; Chickamauga Lake and Nickajack Lake. I knew this meant efficiency would be key in covering and breaking down water in order to find the winning bag.
Practice: Chickamauga
I decided to dedicate a day to fishing Chickamauga, and the next few days on Nickajack. My first day on the water, I launched near the watts bar tailrace, which meant Iβd be fishing heavy current. I used my NK300 to help me hold my position in the current while I scanned the river ledges and flats for structure. I located a row of stumps, used my motor to position my Unlimited Kayak in the current, and made a cast. I made contact with the first stump and I felt the rod nearly knock out of my hands. This produced a 9lb 6 oz Tennessee River giant, my lake Chickamauga PB.
Despite that exciting encounter, the day didnβt yield much else. I kept that in my back pocket and prepared for Nickajack.
Practice: Nickajack
The water levels donβt fluctuate nearly as much as Chickamauga, making it a more stable option, with endless healthy grass on the main river flats. In practice, I was able to use my motor and steering, to stand up and scout the shallow area for spawners and cruising fish.
What I saw told me I needed to focus my efforts here for the remainder of practice.
I continued to expand on the area, using the NK300 to cover over 20 miles eliminating water.
After noting several promising areas and plenty of back up options in case of fishing pressure, I was ready for the event.
TOURNAMENT Day 1
I knew the area I wanted to start in would be popular, so at launch I was able to get 6.5mph with my Newport to get ahead of the field and secure my spot.
As it would ironically turn out, my starting spot was a total bust. Producing just a handful of small fish the first few hours. Perhaps the pressure affected these fish more than anticipated.
Knowing I had plenty of options, I kept a level head and move to a spot I had saved for day 2; a grassy secondary point adjacent to a large spawning flat. The fish here were mainly pre spawn in 6-10β.
I used a jerk bait and a bladed jig, I filled my liming in ten minutes, including my big fish of the day.
Mid day was a grind, so I decided to run a few miles to check some bed fish I had marked. I caught my first one within five minutes and moved to the next. The second one on the other hand, turned out to be a heartbreaker. I fished for it for over an hour in the waves, making it very difficult to see this fish. I had seen the fish eat my bait 6-7 times, but due to conditions, I had to make sure this fish 100 percent had the bait in its mouth. When I thought for certain the fish had it, I set the hook, only to find this 21β fish was hooked in the nose. Making this an illegal catch. This would have been a 5β cull, drastically improving my limit.
Late in the day, I made a few very small culls, ending my day in the middle of the field. Not what I was hoping for.
I knew I needed a rally bag.
Day 2
Day two was a little bit of an ethical dilemma. Later in day 1, the area I finished my limit was where I wanted to start on Day 2. However, I came to find out that this area was a primary area for Mark Kyle, who was in third place after day 1.
Several of my other areas were also being utilized by anglers at the top of the leaderboard, including Matt Ball, Jordan Lovejoy and Wyatt Hammond.
Knowing this, I decided to fish completely new, off the wall water. I knew the fish on the main river were in staging patterns, and I knew Iβd be able to replicate this pattern elsewhere, allowing the anglers in contention to have their areas.
I had a few spots picked out on a topo map that I never checked out because they were pretty far away, so I decided to roll the dice there.
On my third cast of the day, I was thankful I made that decision, as I landed my biggest fish of the tournament.
Within the hour, I had already put together an upper 80βs limit, much better than day 1 and with plenty of time to improve.
The middle of the day was once again a grind, but I felt comfortable hitting some of my day 1 areas later in the afternoon after anglers had cycled through them.
I was able to put up the 8th biggest limit of day 2, moving me way up the leaderboard to 27th.
This wasnβt the outcome I had hoped for, but I was proud of myself for the adjustments on day 2 that helped improve my standings significantly.
The Role of Efficiency
The NK300 played a tremendous role in my success. It allowed me to quickly cover 8-12 miles a day, and was an integral part of my overall strategy, as it helped make the culls needed throughout the day.
Looking Ahead
Now, Iβm focusing on the next goal at hand; qualifying for the next championship later this fall. Good luck to my fellow competitors the remainder of this season.