I am going to the 2018 KBF (Kayak Bass Fishing) National Championship!

I have just earned a slot at the 2018 KBF (Kayak Bass Fishing) National Championship!  

The event will take place on Kentucky Lake next March, where anglers from around the country will battle for the chance to win for $100,000!

I started this season with only one goal to see if I could earn my place to compete at this event. I decided to take three different paths to get there. I have been fishing the KBF, KBL, and GLKFS.

In my first four online tournaments I finished in the top ten three times. 7th in the KBF April Challenge, 4th in the KBL Midwest Bass Battle for May, and 3rd place In the KBF May State Challenge. It was this 3rd place finish that did the trick!

I put a lot of miles on my vehicle, a pile of hours fishing, and had some obstacles to overcome. I really think my faith played a huge role as well. Today I feel very blessed!

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I have to thank my sponsors who without their products this would of been harder to achieve.

Diablo Paddlesports

Gillz

Ram Mounts

Pivothead Glasses

Denali Rods

Ardent Reels

MythicGear Drysuits

SoftscienceShoes

NotchGear

Shur-SetTackle

CrabbyBass Lures

DavesTangle Free

Beardhead Hats

FroggToggs

Aurora Lures

KAYAK WARS FISHING TOURNAMENT RESULTS for 2016!

I am excited to announce that I placed First in the NORTH CENTRAL REGION FRESHWATER KAYAK WARS FISHING TOURNAMENT for 2016! 

Our Team KBL Club Took second place in the North Central Region as well!

Kayak wars is the world's largest multi-species kayak tournament. Individuals and Teams of five catch a huge variety of species in a gauntlet of competitions every year from February 27 to December 18. Every species caught has to be a certain size and is given a point value. Team members submit their catches over the season and the team with the most combined points wins! 

To win kayak wars it takes a huge amount of angling knowledge of many species and the determination to find the fish that will give you and your team the points it needs.  A major key to success is knowing where point size fish are in your area and being able to capitalize on those opportunities. A fish that counts for points is not a small specimen for that species.

The amount of combined hours competing on the water is just staggering as this is not your one or two-day species specific tourney. It is basically a year month after month of snow, cold, wind, sun, heat, waves, illness, rain, ice, sore muscles, cuts, bug bites and darkness. However, with this tournament comes great freedom. The freedom to fish when, where and what you fish for. It works on any schedule and family commitments. The one-time fee fits any budget. Anyone can be a tournament fisherman with Kayak Wars and fish with their own goals at their own pace.

First I want to thank my team for fishing so hard and putting up with my obsession. Joshua Bennett, Tony Lam, Titus Dominguez, and Scott Shaw.

I also need to thank my sponsors!!

Thank you - Pivot Head - Your glasses let me record lifelong memories of my fishing success and failures. I will be able to share my videos and passion with anyone at anytime.

Thank you - Mythic Gear - Your drysuits kept me safe when my kayak cracked through thin ice in the spring and filled with snow in fall.

Thank you - Beardhead - Your fun hats and beards kept my face warm in harsh cold winds.

Thank you - Gillz Wear - Your shirts and masks kept me cool, breathed and protected me from the sun in hot sweltering days of summer. They also kept bug hatches out of my nose and ears!

Thank You - K-1 Baits -  Your baits and flavorings kept me on my main target fish. They were responsible for bigger and higher hook ups this season.

Thank you - Crabby Bass Lures - The plastics you made to my specs helped me catch up when I was behind on all those dark early mornings before work this summer.

Thank you - Dave's Tangle Free - Your weights worked flawlessly as promised and helped with not 1 or 2 or even 3, but 4 species.

Thank you - Notch - Your hats steadily kept the sun out of my eyes. They also kept me at ease on the calm days sight fishing bass and carp.

Below are some stats and tournament related images.

Fishing's Magic Armor from Sun, Heat. and Invaders

Fishing's Magic Armor from Sun, Heat. and Invaders 

 I am glad to see the awareness of being prepared while fishing and being safe has taken a big stage on the angling scene. Protection from the heat and sun have always been important for your health. But the fishing world is finding that the right protection not only protects but can help you score more fish on any outing. When it comes to having the right protection there is one simple truth. If you are NOT hot, wet, and tired you fish longer. This translates in to more time on the water, more casts, more opportunities, and more landed fish, of any species! 

 Lets talk about your torso and face. T-shirts work on mild days and some vitamin D is good for you. But if your going to be out for hours you need something better. I got involved with GILLZ because I sweat like crazy and being Irish and pale my first few trips I tend to burn. i needed to cool things down. Their Tournament Shirts have built-in Cross-Breeze VentilationTM. These mesh side vents run on the inside of the sleeves and down the side of the shirt, keeping you dry and cool – even on the hottest days. I wore my GILLZ shirts on a bunch of trips in a row. One day I just grabbed one of my black guide t-shirts. Once the sun came up I could not figure out why I was so hot and sweating like a sprinkler. I realized the GILLZ shirt made a huge difference especially when the breeze came by! Man I missed those vents!!! 

 The GiLLZ mask is vented as well and has front breathing mesh! Everyone is selling buffs these days and they do protect from the sun. However I wanted more function. I am always wearing Pivothead glasses and with the other face buffs the glasses always fogged. They may look nice but they are thicker and hotter. During a bass competition I found just how good my mask was. The tourney was hot, no wind, and there was a bug hatch that day. I quickly learned to cover my nose and tuck the mask in my shirt after a few unwanted visitors invaded!!. I locked those little jerks right out. MY EYES, EAR, NOSE, and NECK were totally protected. Lastly I should mention the stain protection of the GILLZ products. I go after slimy carp and cut bait for cats for 6 hours at a time. All stains, especially the shoulders were I wipe my hands came out!! I would recommend these products for any angler. 

 Stay cool and don't let bugs in your nose.

 http://gillz-gear.com/

Kayak Bass Tournament Angling Adventure

My First Kayak Bass Tournament of 2016

After a fantastic kayak season last year including a huge Kayak Wars win, I decided I was going to mix things up this year. Try new water and experiences. So I decided to join the Kayak Bass League. I will be fishing four tournaments this year just for bass which is not the multi-species experiences I have become accustomed to.

I was a hardcore bass fanatic in the past but since I have not been chasing them constantly I was honestly nervous about my ability to go toe to toe with guys living and breathing bass.

The tournament was at Jim Edgar Panther Creek. I was hoping to practice with a day of pre-fishing but a better option came along as I watched my beautiful little niece get her first communion. Our family are Irish Catholics and this is not a thing you miss.

My good friend Josh was fishing the tourney as well and we decided we would fish together and share and info that may give us an edge on the competition. Josh got the chance to pre-fish an unfortunately found the fish to be on beds and not in a biting mood. After I got this bothersome news I stopped at a sports store and bought baits for us we thought would help in this situation.

I drove the three hours down to Panther Creek the night before and we stayed at a wonderful lodge called Ghost Hollow Lodge. Jc a staff member for KBL hooked us up with this wonderful place only minutes away from the launch. We spent the night laughing and trading stories with the KBL guys. Including the story of the snake that visited Josh's kayak!! Which he thought was no big deal. I DID.

We had our morning checks and meeting and we left for the farthest corner of the lake. With my asthma going against the wind, paddling long distances, and being able to keep up is becoming an issue so peddles or a trolling motor may have to be a change I make if I continue to fish big water. I am not getting any younger.

We were pre-pared to fish bass beds the whole day every rod rigged differently with the same goals either to get them mad or get them to remove our baits off their clean nesting spots. However a strange thing happened our beds were empty!!!

What the heck do we do now? Josh started throwing a small crank and scored several fish with just 2 just big enough to count. Then I started finesse fishing plastic and started catching fish I caught about thirteen for the day on this technique seven or 8 came on a Crabby Bass Lures Zipper Worm! But they were all just to small.

We looked back to the beds and a few fish were back! But for some reason they wouldn’t stay on them. It was like the were just swimming by every few minutes to check on them. These big fish were not playing today and refuse to even notice anything we put out.

I decided to go up into the shallowest water with piles of dead wood and weeds. On my way I fan casted with a custom chatter frog keeping it just under the surface. That is when I struck gold! SMACK! “Fish on!” I yelled. I grab the net frantically and landed the 16.75 inch bass as fast as I could. Things happened so fast I forgot to turn on my Pivothead Glasses! Another couple of casts and in less then a foot of water SPLASH!!! A second 16 inch fish came shooting out of the water!! After that fish I made so many casts I broke a blood vessel in my finger.

We ran out of time and each with only two fish we thought we would be at the bottom of the leader board. When they said bring in your fish I noticed not many guys walked up and yet I thought I would be the last. They called the second place winner and called my name!! Holy %$#@!!! I GOT SECOND!!!!  It was awesome!!!

What is great about Kayak bass tournaments is you don’t need thousands of dollars in boats and motors. The average angler can afford a kayak and for a small entry fee can go get their own tournament angling adventure.

I would like to thank my sponsors Pivothead, Notchgear, and Daves Tangle Free Weights and for this adventure a special thanks goes to GillzFishing Apparel and Lori Gosewisch for getting me my custom jersey just in time ! I LOVE IT!! Also to Crabby Bass for always coming through and catching fish even if they were short. I caught a decent amount of fish when many fisherman came up empty.