Kayak Bass Fishing

Kayak Bass Fishing

Article by IYAK

If you are like me, you grew up watching bass boat tournaments on TV. Most people thought that looked like fun, but bass boat tournaments are a significant investment when you get the bass boat, truck, trailer, gas, and upkeep. Kayak tournaments are just as fun and more affordable in comparison. However, you often get blanks stares in response if you say you competitively kayak fish. We want to share a little more about what it means to tournament fish from a kayak in Iowa.

One significant difference between kayak and boat tournaments is how the fish are scored. Kayak fishing uses the catch photo release (CPR) method of scoring. CPR is literally what it sounds like – you take a photo of your catch with your phone. After that, you upload the picture to be judged. Then you release the fish back in the same spot you caught it. The photo needs to follow a few rules, such as using the sanctioned measuring board, having a tournament id card/identifier, and positioning the fish with the mouth completely closed while touching the end of the board. You get scored on your five longest fish combined for a total instead of your five heaviest. Catch Photo Release is a more sustainable fishing practice as you are not taking the fish miles away from its bed during spawn or disrupting its regular patterns. CPR also allows constant updates throughout the tournament day (much like the score tracker in Major League Fishing), keeping the spirit of competition alive as you continue to try to cull your smallest bass.

Kayak fishing ensures fair competition with more freedom and flexibility with in-person tournaments. All anglers are permitted to launch from any public access point on the selected body of water. You can strategically plan your launch around where your good spots are located instead of spending the first part of your day traveling across the water. All anglers are also on the same schedule with set times for launch, lines in, and lines out. These differences allow all the anglers to compete on a level playing field, so winning comes down to skill, knowledge, and, of course, a bit of luck to get the big bass of the day. You can also competitively kayak fish through online tournaments at your favorite public body of water, thanks to CPR scoring.

Online contests can run anywhere from a single tournament day to a month-long and are a great way to be part of the fishing community through friendly competition—who doesn’t want bragging rights? Online kayak fishing tournaments are especially great in Iowa. We are fortunate that the state has many outstanding lakes and ponds that are too small to host full tournaments but are perfect for the statewide online events. Offering both online and in-person tournaments increase availability for all anglers.

Suppose you want to stay near home in Iowa; in that case, there is an organization, IYAK, that has several options for in-person tournaments this season. Tournaments include: 12 Mile Lake, Okoboji, Wapsie River, Lake Seguma, Black Hawk Lake, Little River Lake, and Lake Wapello. IYAK is a non-profit fishing club focused on building the kayak fishing community right here in Iowa. It has an Angler of the Year (AOY) tournament where points from your best four tournament placements are earned. The angler with the most points wins the AOY pot.

IYAK has seven events, distributed across the state to provide accessibility for all Iowa Anglers. Live in-person tournaments each month from April to October and month-long online events throughout the season are available too. Just like other fishing tournaments, you can win cash payouts by kayak fishing. For instance, IYAK pays the top three winners and big bass in each live regular-season event. You can sign up for any tournament, or join IYAK via Facebook, Instagram for more info.

You do not have to have a ton of money to get started kayak fishing. Kayak fishing tends to be more accessible than traditional fishing events. Although there are some impressive setups, that isn’t a requirement to come out and fish. The required equipment for most tournaments includes: a kayak, one fishing rod, and safety equipment (such as a personal floatation device and lights if launching in the dark). All the additional equipment you commonly see, such as multiple rods for different techniques, fish finders, and trolling motors, are helpful but depends on how you like to fish. Kayak tournaments welcome people of all ages, minors with parental/guardian consent, and all walks of life. As a kayak angler, you have options to participate in statewide and national series, so you can choose to compete as far from or close to home as you want.