Good Company

If you read the last post, "Spring Flingin", you know that it was once again time for YakAttack's 6th Annual Kayak Fishing Tournament. Of all the tournaments and events that are added to the calendar each year, this tournament is the one event that I look forward to the most...

 

BY FAR!

 

With all the craziness of prepping a house to put up for sale and getting mentally ready for a huge move across country, this trip was exactly what I needed to clear the mind and relieve some stress. Yes, I was looking forward to chasing some big bass, but I really just wanted to have a good time with good company.

 

From left to right: Rob Choi, Joe Underwood, and Nik Brown

 

Instead of setting up "Camp Schwigy" like I have done for the previous 2 years, I changed it up and stayed at "The PowerTeam Lures Plantation". Bob and Katie Bernotsky were gracious enough to have a lot of PowerTeam Lures ProStaff at their place for the event.

 

I arrived the Thursday prior to the tournament to get in some good pre-fishing time. Joe Underwood (Hooked Up) and I hit a local lake and tried out spots that the both of us have never fished before. With the recent cold front that moved through the day before, we knew it was going to be tough. Our goal was to find some warmer water. Not only did we find some warmer water, we found some big ole' bass hanging out in the shallows. Joe Underwood nailed a solid 5+ pounder on a PowerTeam Lures Craw D'oeuvre in green pumpkin/grape swirl.

 

 

I wish tournament day was on Thursday because I had a great day. I landed 7 bass all together with one being my new personal best, a 23" Virginia release citation. She couldn't resist the PowerTeam Lures Bully Grass Devil in black/blue.







The turnout for the tournament was amazing! 129 registered anglers packed the conference center at Twin Lakes State Park. This venue was perfect for the captains meeting, dinners, raffle, and awards ceremony.


Tina Shank (tournament director) speaking at the Captain's Meeting

As usual, the conditions for tournament day were less than ideal. It was chilly and windy, making fishing some of the pre-planned spots very difficult. Instead of waking up super early to beat the crowd to the ramp, we took more of a relaxed approach. Joe Underwood, Rob Choi, Nik Brown, and I decided to sleep in and pretty much said "we'll get there when we get there". You know what...it was awesome!


Rob Choi from angling-addict.com on the hunt

Well, even though the fishing was nothing like it was during pre-fishing, I was still able to get on the board. I entered a 19.25" bass and a 7" bluegill. The bass fell a 1/2" short of placing in the "PowerTeam Lures Prize Money" division and my bluegill came in 4th in the bluegill division.

If one thing holds true about the YakAttack tournament, it's that the food is downright AWESOME! The Cifers family and crew make sure that all the anglers are well fed both Friday and Saturday. I don't know of any other tournament that feeds their people like this one does.

 

Congratulations to all the winners of the event! Without a doubt, the biggest winners are Hero's on the Water and Project Healing Waters. The final numbers are not in yet, but the tournament raised over $10,000 towards both charitys! That is purely remarkable!!

 

Hopefully the absent spring weather comes back to continue to warm our waters. The spring fishing is not far from blowing up! I'm ready to get back in the salt and chase some redfish and speckled trout...hopefully with some good company.

 

~See ya on the water!