Bass fishing is as popular now as it has ever been, and likely will continue to grow and become more popular than ever. An over sixty-billion-dollar per year industry in America, it includes bass boats, rods, baits, and everything under the sun that crosses your mind about bass fishing; even kayaks. You can bet a large and growing sector of the industry is kayak fishing as the number of anglers who choose to chase the ever-elusive little green fish out of a kayak continues to rise.
One example of an active kayak tournament series is BAM Bassin’ Kayak Fishing. BAM Bassin’ Kayak Fishing is devoted to tournaments for bass fishing with a flexible format for kayak anglers. Different from the traditional tournaments where the top 5 heaviest fish wins; in these tournaments you measure the length of your catch with top bages measured in total inches rather than total pounds.
Talking with Daniel Suydam, one of the group’s administrators, assures me you can catch more fish in a kayak “because the fish don’t know you’re there” but admits the drawback is the amount of water you can cover either peddling or paddling. Where it is not uncommon to cover 50 plus miles in some bass boat tournaments, most kayak anglers are limited to 1-3 miles from the launch site during a tournament.
BAM Kayak Bass Fishing
November 2020, Volume 119
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Catching a bass (or any fish) out of a kayak has its own set of unique skills required. Obviously, you are not standing on hookset so balance plays a bigger role. Additionally, with most ‘yaks lacking a live well, tournament bags are generally photographed on a mearuring board for the big “weigh-in.” That’s not to say that the fish are of any less quality than bass boat tournaments though. The top 5 bass lengths posted so far by team members this season are by: Andrew Green at 22.25”, Thomas Sloan at 22”, Daniel Waguespack at 20.75”, Andrew Green at 20”, and Jordan Shipley at 20”. These fish will get the heart pumping no doubt, but they present an especially tough fight from a seated position in a kayak.
As proof the kayak bass angling sport is growing, BAM already has at least thirty-five anglers currently eligible to compete for the championship, with the top 10 anglers in the club moving on to compete in the BAM Bassin’ Kayak Elite 10 in April 2021 on a yet to be determined lake.
To learn more look into BAM Bassin’ check out their page on Facebook by following the link below or tune into their podcast “Bass Yakkers” hosted by Daniel and Andrew Green that currently streams on their Facebook page. Get involved and get active if you think kayak bass fishing is for you!
#GeauxYakking #GeauxBassin
The 2020 standings for the BAM Bassin Kayak Fishing's 2021 Elite 10 tournament.
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Kayak fishing presents its own challenges requiring more fitness and skill to land big bass. These are just a few of the big fish landed in BAM Bassin' tournaments this year.