Category Archives: Events

Events, News, Results

Weekend Results: CRK, CRK AOTY, TVKA, YakTribe, KBF

There were four kayak fishing events in Alabama on May 6th, 2017. Let’s break them down:

  1.  44 anglers attended the Coosa Riverkeeper’s Coosa Canoe & Kayak Fishing Tournament (CCKFT) on Lake Neely Henry making it the largest kayak fishing event in Alabama this past weekend.  A new “Angler of the Year” was crowned and the second longest bass in CCKFT tournament history was caught.
    Robbey Stanford, CCKFT Neely Henry 2017 winner. Photo: Coosa Riverkeepers

    Robbey Stanford won the Neely Henry stage with a big 57.5-inch three-fish stringer.  His large stringer was anchored by a 20.5-inch spotted bass and takes home $500 for his effort.  Brian Wilkes finished second with a very respectable 56-inch stringer.

    Calloway’s giant fish. Photo: Coosa Riverkeepers/Calloway

    A 23-inch long largemouth bass was caught by Brandon Calloway making it the second longest fish in CCKFT history.  Unfortunately, Calloway could not cull the 13.5” fish on his stringer and he finished in 5th place 4-inches behind the winner Stanford.

    Top 5 – CCKFT Neely Henry 2017:
    1) Robbey Stanford – 57.5
    2) Brian Wilkes – 56
    3) Coley McGowan – 55.75
    4) Lance Coley – 54
    5) Brandon Calloway – 53.5

    Nine anglers had stringers longer than 50-inches.  For complete results, see this Facebook post.

    Lance Coley, 2017 CCKFT Angler of the Year. Photo: Coosa Riverkeepers

    On the year, Lance Coley’s consistent presence atop the season’s leaderboard landed him the 2017 Big Will’s Angler of the Year award for the CCKFT series.  Coley scored a 159.75” cumulative stringer on the year and won a 2017 Jackson Kayak Coosa for his outstanding fishing this season.  Last year’s CCKFT Angler of the Year, Jared Atwell finished 2nd in this year’s AOTY race and was 11.5” inches out of first place.

    Jack Freeman, CCKFT Best Youth. Photo: Coosa Riverkeepers

    The Best Youth Angler in the CCKFT series this year was Jack Freeman, a very respectable angler no matter what his age is.  The Best Female Angler this season was Kristen Woods.

    Kristen Woods, CCKFT Best Female AOTY. Photo: Coosa Riverkeeper

    For more information about this year’s best anglers and the AOTY race, see this post.

    Due to their terrific performance on the year, ten CCKFT anglers have qualified for the “Championship Division” of the Alabama Classic, an end-of-the-year kayak fishing celebration hosted by the bass fishing clubs of Alabama.  CCKFT will be sending the following anglers to the “Championship Division” of the Alabama Classic:

    CCKFT Qualifiers for the Championship Division of the Alabama Classic. Photo: Coosa Riverkeepers

    Lance Coley – AOTY
    Jared Atwell – 2nd Overall
    David Meeks – 3rd Overall
    Patrick Smith – 4th Overall
    Josh Tidwell – 5th Overall
    Jack Freeman – Best Youth
    Kristen Woods – Best Lady
    Barry Walker – Lay Lake Best Bass
    Lanny Watkins – Logan Martin Best Bass
    Brandon Calloway – Neely Henry Best Bass

    These anglers have earned a shot of the title of “State Champ”.  Others not qualifying for the “Championship Division” are welcome to enter into the “Open Division” and to try to win prizes there as well.  See the CCKFT website for more information.

  2. 41 anglers attended the Kayak Bass Fishing stop on Lake Jordan this past weekend. Georgia’s Mitchell White scored an 87-inch 5-fish stringer and won $2,000.  Alabama’s top finisher was Jake Garner with an 82” 4th place finish.  Twenty total Alabama anglers participated in the event.
    Results from the KBF event can be found here.

    The KBF Lake Jordan Top 5 were:
    1) Mitchell White – 87
    2) Ron Champion – 85.25
    3) Joshua Stewart – 84.5
    4) Jake Garner – 82
    5) Stewart Venable – 78.5

    Check our Alabama Kayak Fishing Events page for a look at KBF and other tournament events in Alabama this year.

  3. The Tennessee Valley Kayak Anglers held their fifth event of the year, this time in Alabama on Upper Lake Guntersville from the BB Comber Bridge to Stevenson. 26 anglers battled tough fishing conditions and struggled to put together a three fish stringer.  However, Robert Barnett managed to trick a 21” largemouth into biting earning him the longest fish of the event.
    Tennessee Valley Kayak Anglers Lake Guntersville. Photo: TVKA

    Seth Lassitter won the tournament with a 49.75” 3-fish stringer.  The top 5 finishers were:

    1. Seth Lassitter – 49.75
    2. Couth – 47.00
    3. Ryan Lambert – 43.00
    4. Jake Davenport – 42.50
    5. Steve Owens – 40.50

    Those aren’t typical Guntersville numbers.

    Full results from the TVKA event can be found here.

  4. Ambassador Club, the YakTribe, held an impromptu gathering in Gulf Shores over the weekend.  A dozen like-minded kayakers showed up to fish together and socialize along the bays of Gulf Shores.
    YakTribe members in Gulf Shores, AL. Photo credit: YakTribe
    Gulf Shores yakkin. Photo: Xavier Raymond

    If you are looking for a lifestyle club, check them out at yaktribe.com.

Events, News, Results

Results: Coosa River Kayak Anglers Throwdown May 3rd

22 anglers showed up to fish the Wednesday night tournament held by the Coosa River Kayak Anglers.  Fred Minyard took first place with a 32-inch two fish stringer.

Wednesday evening anglers. Photo: Robby Cook

The Coosa River Kayak Anglers seem to have great turnouts during their evening quick events with their attendance rivaling many weekend tournaments.   In fact, most of the CRKA events will be evening tournaments held during the weekday.

Full results from last night’s event can be found here.  This event factors into the CRKA Angler of the Year race.  Here are the latest standings according to CRKA.


Here’s a lot of the CRKA schedule for the rest of the year:

It isn’t too late to get involved with CRKA or the other clubs in Alabama.  We’re tracking dozens of other kayak fishing events to take place in Alabama.

 

Events, News

Statewide Alabama Kayak Fishing Events – May 6

There will be plenty of kayak fishing action in Alabama this weekend as several clubs are hosting tournament events.

New to our calendar is a YakTribe meetup in Orange Beach.  YakTribe is a group of laid back kayak anglers, kind of like some of the clubs in our state.  They are looking to hold a meetup with other kayak anglers this weekend in Orange Beach.  Info.  Details on their Instagram.

The Coosa Canoe and Kayak Fishing Tournament event is one of the longest running and most consistent tournament series in Alabama.  Its laid back style makes it approachable for anyone in the family.  They even have a flyfishing division.  Their final regular season stop is this weekend on the Neely Henry System and this event is designed to promote a great cause.  Details.

The Tennessee Valley Kayak Anglers roll into north Alabama and will be fishing on upper Guntersville.  TVKA is a regional club and they fish most of their events in the middle Tennessee area.   This tournament will be based out of Stevenson, AL.  Details.

The Chattahoochee Kayak Anglers are another out-of-state club hosting an event in extreme eastern Alabama near Valley, AL and West Point, GA.  CKA will be fishing the Chattahoochee River were on one side of the river you are in Alabama and the other you are in Georgia.  Details.

Kayak Bass Fishing, a national competitive bass fishing trail, will hold an event on the Coosa River.  Details.

You can find other events happening this year in Alabama on our events tracking page.

This weekend:

  1. May 6 – CCKFT/ICKA Neely Henry Lake
  2. May 6 – TVKA Guntersville (BB Comer Bridge – US 117 Bridge)
  3. May 6 – CKA Chattahoochee River, West Point, GA
  4. May 6 – YakTribe Meetup, Jeff Friend Trail Kayak Launch, Orange Beach, AL 9AM
  5. May  6 – KBF Trail Coosa River, Wetumpka, AL
News, Tournament

Video throwback: Gadsden Area Anglers Evening Tournament

Video

“Throwdowns” are slang for a quick kayak tournament.  They are usually extremely laid back and low stakes.  They are usually planned a week or two before the actual day of the event by a club member just looking to get together with some friends to fish.  Someone will pop into a forum as say “Hey, anyone want to have a throwdown next week at Ditto Landing?”

It is a good way to fish along side someone on some new water.  Rarely do more than 20 anglers fish these events but $100 or $200 can be won depending on the location and attendance.


Here’s video a look back to April 24th, 2015 when Corey Galloway took home some money after fishing a Throwdown with anglers in Gadsden.

News, Results, Tournament

Tournament Results – April 8th, 2017

There were four kayak fishing events in Alabama this past weekend held by host clubs: the Coosa Canoe & Kayak Fishing Tournament, Shoals Kayak Anglers, the Kayak Bass Series, and the Mobile Bay Kayak Fishing Association.  Also, the Kayak Bass Fishing series finally released their results from their Open and National Championship events held last weekend. The recaps and event links are below.

Coosa Canoe & Kayak Fishing Tournament Lake Logan Martin – The CCKFT held its second event of the year—this time on Lake Logan Martin and its tributaries.  Torrential rains earlier in the week and weather conditions were a major factor on this tournament.  Despite that, Lance Coley won this event with a respectable 52.75-inch three-fish stringer out of 31 anglers.

Lance Coley with his winnings. Photo: CCKFT

Results from the weekend via CKKFT:

Best Angler: Lance Coley | 52.75″
Best Bass: Lanny Watkins | 19″
Best Young Angler: Ethan Floyd | 50.25″

2nd Overall: Brandon Calloway | 51.75″
3rd Overall: Ethan Floyd | 50.25″
4th Overall: Shaye Taylor | 47.5″

Full results can be found here.

After two events, the Top 5 in the CCKFT Angler of the Year Race:
Lance Coley – 105.75 inches
Jared Atwell – 99
David Meeks – 90.75
Lanny Watkins – 88.25
Patrick Smith – 87

The last CCKFT regular season event of the year will be May 6th on the Neely Henry system.  It will be your last shot to qualify for the Championship Division in the Alabama Kayak Fishing Classic  through the CCKFT club.

Shoals Kayak Anglers – The SKA club held their second event of the year on Lake Wilson in the Tennessee River chain. North Alabama angler Tony Dean bested a dozen other anglers and took the top spot with a 74.25-inch stringer anchored by the 19.75-inch biggest bass of the tournament.  Dean won $260.  Richard Woodruff was second with 72.25-inches and won $100.

SKA Lake Wilson Top 5:
1st place- Tony Dean with 74.25 inches
2nd place- Richard Woodruff with 72.75 inches
3rd place- Will Green with 71.25 inches
4th place- Chris Bracken with 69.50 inches
5th place- Blake Hamm with 67.25 inches

Full results and a recap can be found here.

Kayak Bass Series Lake Eufaula – North Alabama angler Jon Lessmann won first place and $1400 out of a field of 17 anglers.  To our knowledge, this was the first kayak fishing event held on Lake Eufaula.  Alabama angler Stacey Martin was in 2nd place with 80-inches on his five fish stringer.  Results can be found here.  Congrats Jon.

Lessmann with his winnings. Photo: KBS

Mobile Bay Kayak Fishing Association – MBKFA had an event at Heron Bay.  The heaviest fish went to Will Holberg with a 25 3/4″, 5.86 lb. redfish.

MBKFA Anglers with a nice haul. Photo: osguitar1 on MBKFA.com

Full results can be found here.

MBKFA’s 11th Annual Bagwell Spring Tournament is coming up on May 20th.  Details can be found here.

The 2017 MBKFA AOTY Race standings can be found here.


Kayak Bass Fishing – after much delay, KBF has finally released the results of their KBF Open and KBF National Championships held on Kentucky Lake on March 31 and April 1.

KBF Competitors awaiting results: Photo: KBF

KBF National Championship Leaderboard (359 anglers)
Alabama KBF NC Finishers (two day 5-fish per/day stringers) were:

#15 – Tim Perkins 175.25
#22 – Brandon Watson 172.25
#66 – Shane Young 159.50
#101 – JR Young 150.25
#165 – Lanny Watkins 134.25
#182 – Greg Riddle 126.50
#258 – Todd McBride  86.50
#290 – David Kittrell  66
#331 – Justin Tadlock  31
#340 – Bryan Tadlock 18
#347 – Jon Lessmann  12
#351 – Tammi Collins  0

KBF Open Leaderboard (326 anglers)
Alabama KBF Open Finishers (two day 5-fish per/day stringers) were:

#13 – Tim Perkins 175.25
#127 – Lanny Watkins 134.25
#142 – Greg Riddle 126.50
#168 – Chris Odem 111.25
#203 – David Earnest 87.50
#209 – Todd McBride 85.50
#216 – Jon Lessmann 81.50
#270 – David Kittrell  66
#280 – Justin Tadlock  31
#309 – Tammi Collins 0

Congrats to all the Alabama anglers that qualified for the National Championship.

You can track events happening in Alabama with our Alabama Kayak Fishing Events tracker page.

News, Results, Tournament

4 Events This Weekend. Results From ICKA’s Black Warrior Event.

Central Alabama’s Iron City Kayak Anglers held their first tournament event of 2017 this past weekend on the Warrior River system.

Black Warrior champ Allen Fowler (photo courtesy: ICKA)
Black Warrior champ Allen Fowler (photo courtesy: ICKA)

Allen Fowler won the event with a decisive three-fish stringer of 57.5 inches besting second place angler Robby Stanford by eight inches.  Stanford’s second place finish was anchored by a new ICKA club longest bass record 22.5-inch largemouth.

Robby Stanford’s big fish (photo: Stanford)

ICKA’s next event will be on Neely Henry on May 6th in a joint event hosted by the Coosa Canoe and Kayak Fishing Tournament.

The top 10 results of ICKA’s Black Warrior event were:

  1. Allen Fowler – 57.5
  2. Robby Stanford – 49.5
  3. Brian Wilkes – 49
  4. Mason Kerth – 46.25
  5. Gabe LaCally – 46.25
  6. Devin Vaughn – 42.75
  7. Jake Garner – 41.25
  8. Nick Austin – 39.75
  9. David Meeks – 38.5
  10. Richard Sanders – 37

ICKA’s full recap is available on their website.

This weekend, the follow Alabama kayak fishing events are taking place:

  1. April 8 – CCKFT Lake Logan Martin
  2. April 8 – SKA Wilson Lake
  3. April 8 – MBKFA Heron Bay
  4. April 8 – Kayak Bass Series Lake Eufaula
Events, News, Tournament

Upcoming April Alabama Kayak Fishing Events

Alabama is full of kayak fishing action in April.  Each week in April you will have an opportunity to participate in a kayak fishing event in Alabama.  Eight different clubs, to include a national trail, will be holding events throughout the month.

This weekend the Iron City Kayak Anglers hold their first tournament of the year on the Black Warrior River.

The North Alabama Kayak Anglers are holding a demo day in Scottsboro this weekend as well.  You’ll be able to take a wide range of kayaks for test drives on the flat water around Jackson County Park.  NAKA is also host a “Major League Fishing” style event that day.  More info here.

The national Kayak Bass Series trail visits Lake Eufaula on April 8th.  It is the first national event held on that body of water.

The Coosa Canoe and Kayak Fishing Tournament is holding their second event of the year on Logan Martin on April 8th as well.

Also that weekend, the Shoals Kayak Anglers hold their second event.  This time, they will be at Wilson Lake.

A Georgia-based club, the Reel Krazy Kayak Tour, makes their way over to Lake Weiss at the end of the month.

For more information about these events, seek out the Facebook pages for each host organization.  Those links can be found at the bottom of our master tracker page.

Here’s a list of all the events we are tracking for the month of April.

April Kayak Fishing Events in Alabama

  1. April 1 – NAKA Demo Day
  2. April 1 – ICKA Warrior River
  3. April 8 – CCKFT Lake Logan Martin
  4. April 8 – SKA Wilson Lake
  5. April 8 – MBKFA Heron Bay
  6. April 8 – Kayak Bass Series Lake Eufaula
  7. April 13 – CRKA Gadsden Mall (5pm)
  8. April 22 – CRKA Gadsden Mall
  9. April 29 – RKKT Weiss Lake
  10. April 29 – MBKFA Woods n Water, Mobile, AL

A full is of Alabama kayak fishing events can be found here: http://alabamakayakanglers.com/resources/events/2017-kayak-fishing-events-in-alabama/.

News, Results, Tournament

2017 NAKA Guntersville Results

The North Alabama Kayak Anglers held their first event of the year on Saturday.   70 anglers braved the persistent breeze, whitecaps, and the threat of strong afternoon storms on a mild weather day on Lake Guntersville.  Many anglers had spent the night camping out at Goosepond Colony in Scottsboro, AL, the site of the early Saturday morning Captain’s Meeting.

2017 NAKA Open Winner Jason Lack. Photo credit: North Alabama Kayak Anglers

Jason Lack won the Guntersville tournament with a 57.25-inch three-fish stringer.  He won $675 for his first place finish.  His big stringer was anchored by a 21.75-inch largemouth bass which won him the tournament’s “biggest bass” pot and a bonus $350.  Lack won $1,025 on the day.  His winning stringer:

Jason Lack’s winning stringer. Photo credit: North Alabama Kayak Anglers

NAKA is giving away a Jackson Kayak Skipper to the Top Youth Angler of 2017.  Riley Johnston jumps out to an early lead in that race by scoring an 18-inch fish yesterday.

Top 10 results from the 2017 NAKA Guntersville event:
Angler – Inches

  1. Jason Lack – 57.25
  2.  Brandon Watson – 51
  3.  David Meeks – 50
  4. Greg Massa – 47.25
  5.  Jeff Murray – 47.25
  6. Justin Geirhart – 45.75
  7. John Taylor – 45.5
  8. Chris Odem – 45.25
  9. Randy Butler – 45.25
  10. Bubba Jones- 44.75

Full results can be found here.

Of note, big congrats to NAKA members Lisa and Will Green yesterday.  Will was on the water fishing this tournament when he got the call from his wife that she was going into labor.  They have since had a healthy baby girl.

NAKA is hosting an online “biggest bass” tournament throughout the month of April.   Their next day tournament is at Smith Lake on May 20th.   NAKA is also hosting a demo day and tackle swap on April 1 at Jackson County Park in Scottsboro, Alabama.

The Top 10 NAKA  anglers in the NAKA Angler of the Year race will qualify for the Alabama Classic later this year in Wetumpka.

For a list of other kayak fishing events in Alabama, check out our Alabama kayak fishing events listing page.

News, Tournament

Video throwback: Drone footage from NAKA’s first event of 2015

Video

This raw drone footage shot from a flight by Jameson Redding gives you a look at what it was like when the North Alabama Kayak Anglers launched at their first event of the year in 2015 at Mud Creek BBQ.

The NAKA season starts in a little over a week from now on March 25th on Lake Guntersville.  Who’s ready?


I remember making the drive from South Huntsville to Hollywood and passing dozens of kayak anglers loaded up, stopped at gas stations, and pulling off onto US Highway 72.  As a tournament director, it was an exciting sight knowing that anglers were coming from so many different areas of Alabama to fish and that the event would be well attended.  That day, we had 60 anglers at our event making it the largest kayak bass fishing tournament in Alabama to date.  NAKA would break that record in 2016 with 89 anglers at their Open event.

Does the video get you pumped to fish some events in Alabama?  Check out our Alabama kayak fishing events listing page and go fishing.

Here’s our 2017 NAKA Season Preview.

Also, are we ever going to see any more common launch tournaments?  (Hint, hint!)

Events, News, Results, Tournament

Weekend Results: Shoals and Coosa Riverkeeper Events March 11th

Results from yesterday’s kayak fishing events are streaming in.  The Coosa Canoe & Kayak Fishing Tournament (CCKFT) and Shoals Kayak Anglers (SKA) each held their own tournaments on March 11, 2017.  It was the first event of the season for both clubs.

Chris Bracken‎ with a nice one
Chris Bracken‎ with a nice one from yesterday. Photo credit: Chris Bracken

Shoals Kayak Anglers Pickwick Results

The SKA club had 12 anglers brave the weather out on Pickwick Lake.  5 fish stringer totals were:

1st place – Chad Terry with 76.5 inches
2nd place – Blake Hamm with 74.25 inches
3rd place – John Meares with 64.25 inches  (17.5 inch Big Fish)
4th place – Andrew Edwards with 42.75 inches
5th place – Ricky Hines with 41.25 inches
6th place – Chris Bracken with 16.5 inches
7th place – Robert Brown with 14 inches
8th place – Silas McGee with 11 inches.

The next SKA event is on April 8th on Wilson Lake.

CCKFT Lay Lake Captain's Meeting
CCKFT Lay Lake Captain’s Meeting. Photo credit: Josh Tidwell/@kreekn

CCKFT Lay Lake Results

(These are unofficial results.)

CCKFT saw 42 anglers attend their first event on Lay Lake.

Lance Coley took home the win with a 53-inch three-fish stringer edging out 2016 CCKFT Big Will’s Outfitters Angler of the Year Jared Atwell by a quarter of an inch.    The top anglers were:

1st place – Lance Coley with 53 inches
2nd place – Jared Atwell with 52.75 inches
3rd place – Barry Walker with 50 inches  (19.5 inch Big Fish)
4th place – Woody Woodruff with 49.75 inches
5th place – Hays Latimer with 49.5 inches
6th place – Brandon Watson with 49.25 inches
7th place – Jack Freeman with 48 inches (19.5 inch Big Fish)

The prizes were:

1st Overall: $500
2nd Overall: $300
3rd Overall: $150
4th Overall: $50

Best Bass: $250 Power Pole gift card + SaltLife Optics sunglasses

Best Young Angler (U-18): Duckett Fishing rod
Best Lady Angler: Bending Branches Angler Classic paddle
Best Fly Fisherman: Blue Water Rod Co. rod

The next CCKFT event is April 8th on Logan Martin.  Details can be found here.

The next major kayak fishing event in Alabama is the NAKA Open to be held on March 25th on Lake Guntersville.