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| 2013 Big Slab Winner - Chase Bateson |
Before I start talking about the Trail
in 2014 I want to talk a little bit about our sponsors. We had a
couple rocky relationships with sponsors last year and we became a
little more selective in now our 2nd year....you live and
you learn. However, our 2014 sponsor lineup is nothing short of
AMAZING. I mean c'mon, we are raffling off a freaking WildernessSystems Ride 115X of all things! (more details on that in a bit)
Whenever possible please look at purchasing items from our sponsors
since they are the reason the Trail exists and how we are providing
some ridiculously cool prizes this year!
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| Rumble on the River - 4 way Big Fish Tie |
PLANNING
We began to plan for the 2014 schedule
as soon as we handed out the money and trophies at our last event in
2013; the Midwest Outdoor Experience.
All along we knew that there were going
to be 5 events that we were going to repeat due to popularity and
proximity...
- Big Slab Crappie Challenge on Indian Lake – This was probably one of the harder choices on this list
for a repeat just because there are a lot of great crappie lakes in Ohio. What tipped the scales in favor of repeating at Indian Lake again was the numerous protected channels. Last year the wind howled across the lake at 20+ mph, but anglers found a ton of protected water and caught a lot of fish. As everyone knows, Spring weather in Ohio is ridiculously unpredictable.
One of the many 20"+ Lunkers at Kiser - Rumble on the River – Columbus Area Rivers – One of our more popular events last year with eligible waters loaded with br
onzebacks! - Kiser Kayak Classic – If you attended Kiser Lake last year you know why it is a popular kayak
fishing spot.....pads, pads, and more pads!
Buckeye Open - Fish your Honey Holes! - Buckeye Open – Labor Day Weekend – Our holiday weekend event was pretty popular last year because it offered 4 days of fishing and anglers could hit home waters or travel to other Ohio waters. It also offered anglers a way to fish at their own pace; some fished all four days straight and some only a couple days.
- Dayton Kayak Fishing Experience @ the Midwest Outdoor Experience – Probably the most popular event last year. Dayton
area rivers are stacked with smallies and it showed at the measure in. Not only do we name our Angler of the Year, but we also hand out prizes/trophies for the YAK Ohio's. And then there is the cool festival taking place
all weekend. The festival offers free camping, craft beers, and a number of activities to watch....a popular one is always the Ultimate Air Dogs!
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| Find your pot of gold (or Ride 115X) at the Midwest Outdoor Experience! |
After our first year we learned a lot
and found that a large base of our anglers were from the Dayton and
Columbus areas (or very close). In 2013 we scheduled a couple events
that were a pretty long drive from both those areas (Nettle Lake &
Three Lake Throwdown – Milton, Berlin, Deer Creek Reservoir) and
didn't get the draw we were hoping for. So in 2014 we decided to try
and stay a bit closer to the Columbus and Dayton areas. With a few
locations already in stone since they went so well in 2013 we only
had to make a couple changes. We wanted to schedule something to the
Northeast of Cbus and something to the Southeast of Cbus.
Note: We want to schedule a location
closer to Cleveland and the northeast part of the state in 2015, so
those anglers wanting to see that happen come out and show your
support and tell us where you want to see the BKFT next year!!!
Selecting a lake is much more
complicated than just saying meet here on a certain date and a lot of
work is required to be sure an event can be pulled off...
*Are permits required?
*Lake size – big enough for 30+
kayaks?
*Motor boat traffic – safe enough for
30+ kayaks?
*Are we giving our anglers the best
chance to catch fish?
*Make sure there aren't any other
events going on at the same time like a corn dog, fried twinkie, or
some other crazy festival in town
*Try to eliminate weather occurrences if possible
*Try to eliminate weather occurrences if possible
*Does it have enough camping that is
close
A lot of these items is why we have
been so hesitant to try something on Lake Erie, but possibly we try
down the road.
NEW EVENTS
Buckeye Blitz – We originally held
this online tournament later in the year, but decided to move it up
to Memorial Day weekend since the Labor Day weekend online tournament
did so well last year. Labor Day usually falls into pre, post or
spawning LM bass times, so it should be interesting.
Paddlefest on Cincinnati Rivers – In
2013 two of our three most popular events were river events. You
can't have too much of a good thing can you? This event will
highlight some of Ohio's excellent fishing stretches of river.
Breaking Bass on Burr Oak Lake –
Being a fairly short drive from the Columbus area as well as being
rated as an excellent LMB fishery for both numbers and size by the
ODNR helped make this lake an easy choice.
Knockout on Knox Lake – This was a
lake unfamiliar to me and brought into the discussion for the same
reasons Burr Oak Lake received the nod. It also has an ODNR rating
of excellent for both LMB numbers and size while also being within a
short drive from Columbus.
May 17th - Big Slab Crappie
Challenge – Indian Lake
May 23-26th – Buckeye
Blitz Online Tournament (any Ohio waters)
June 21st - Paddlefest –
Cincinnati area rivers
July 19th - Rumble on the
River – Columbus area rivers
Aug 2nd – Breaking Bass on
Burr Oak Lake
August 16th – Kiser Kayak
Classic – Kiser Lake
Aug 29-Sept 1st - Buckeye
Open – Online Tournament (any Ohio waters)
Sept 13th - Knockout on Knox
– Knox Lake
Oct 4th – Dayton Kayak
Fishing Experience at Midwest Outdoor Experience – Dayton area
rivers
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| Submit Fish All Year Long! |
Since most anglers
also participate in Kayak Wars and fish year round outside the Trail
we decided to add
the Buckeye Bass Challenge. The Challenge in simplest of terms is anglers can submit bass (LM, SM, Spotted) throughout the year. At the end of the year each angler stacks up their 5 best fish and the tops spots will receive points in the standings if they qualify for Angler of the Year (more on AOY later).
the Buckeye Bass Challenge. The Challenge in simplest of terms is anglers can submit bass (LM, SM, Spotted) throughout the year. At the end of the year each angler stacks up their 5 best fish and the tops spots will receive points in the standings if they qualify for Angler of the Year (more on AOY later).
WHAT TO EXPECT
For those new to the Trail in 2014 I
will walk you through what you should expect...but first read up on the RULES.
All events have a centralized check-in
and registration location. You can prepay online for an additional
small fee or just pay the morning of the tournament. The events all
cost $20 with an optional $5 for the big fish pot. If I had to guess
I would say that 90% or more all paid the additional $5 for big fish.
Remember, 100% of this money is paid out at the end of the
tournament to the top spots and the angler who caught the big fish.
All of the check-in/registrations include a short 5-10 minute angler
meeting outlining the basic rules for the event and then anglers can
launch at any public launch site on the designated fishing waters.
While on the water it is recommended you stay close to at least
another angler in case something were to happen. You also want to be
prepared for ALL weather conditions. Last year we saw 25+ mph winds,
massive storms with a lot of lightning, and very hot, hot days for
different tournaments. Be sure to have sunscreen, liquids to
hydrate, and something to munch on because it can be a long time on
the water.
If you have never caught a fish and
tried to measure it on a measuring board in a kayak I can give you
one
piece of advice: Practice, Practice, Practice! Most fish aren't
cooperative and tend to flip off the board at the exact time you take
a picture. The lip of the fish MUST be touching the zero lip on the
Hawg Trough and it must be easily seen in the picture. Often holding
a fish with fish/boca grips covers the lip in the photo, so be
careful and make sure it is shown in the picture. The mouth can be
open and the tail can be pinched. After a lot of discussion last
year we decided on using the same rules Kayak Wars uses. It makes it
very easy for us measuring fish...we only have to make sure lip is
touching the zero mark and then determine the total length.
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| It happens to the best of 'em! |
The measure-in will be announced at
registration in the morning (and is often located at the same place).
It is critical that you plan ahead for the check-in. Every 1 minute
you are late an inch is deducted from your total length. If you are
a far paddle from the measure-in or vehicle be sure to give yourself
plenty of time to make it back. Most anglers are back about 30
minutes early to be safe.
Once at the measure-in you can locate
BKFT staff and start measuring fish. If your camera does not have a
removable SDHC memory card it is your responsibility to provide a
cable or adapter for us to read the pictures. It is also highly
recommended that you have only your fish pictures on the memory card.
It takes a lot longer and delays the announcements if we have to
browse through photos of your pet iguana to find the fish pictures.
After all the fish are tallied we will announce the top finishers and
award the cash. All anglers that DID NOT place in the cash are then
eligible to win prizes donated from our sponsors! We draw a number
and the person selected gets first choice until the prizes are gone.
NEW FOR 2014 EVENTS
*A new rule for the Trail this year is
that everyone is required to use a Hawg Trough brand measuring board.
You can find them at several locations online, but we suggest one of
our sponsors: Hook1.
After measuring all of the fish last
year I can tell you this small requirement saves us A LOT of time and
trouble.
*We are hoping to have a “Leaderboard”
(whiteboard) at the measure-in where we will update the top spots as
we tally them!
*The winner of each event will receive
a custom designed BKFT jersey!
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| 2013 AOY Jeff Bennett rigging his new Ride 115X! |
Also,
anyone that qualifies for Angler of the Year (ie: participates in 4
events, max one online event) is
entered into a raffle to win a kayak!!!!! Wilderness Systems has donated a brand new Ride 115X...if you haven't seen one or wonder how it performs be sure to ask 2013 Angler of the Year Jeff Bennett how he likes his....he is rigging his new Ride 115X as I type this blog entry.
entered into a raffle to win a kayak!!!!! Wilderness Systems has donated a brand new Ride 115X...if you haven't seen one or wonder how it performs be sure to ask 2013 Angler of the Year Jeff Bennett how he likes his....he is rigging his new Ride 115X as I type this blog entry.
(Not
so shameless sponsor plug: Whitewater Warehouse, a major BKFT sponsor
has an assortment of fishing yaks available to demo. If you are
interested let me know).
YAKOhio started on February 1 and lasts until October 1st
, but with ice covering most Ohio waters it has
been a slow start. I
expect a lot of categories to really heat up in the next couple of
weeks.
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| Michael Murphy already posted an unbeatable Carp YAK Ohio?? |
All
of our categories will have prize packages for the top 3, so start
catching some impressive fish!
Here
are the categories for 2014:
*Pike/Musky/Gar
– Gar was added to this category in 2014. It was a logical fit as
the gar and musky state records are very close with the pike record
not too far behind.
I am going to go out on a limb, well
maybe just a very large branch and say that all the 2013 YAK Ohiowinners wouldn't win in 2014.
Well, I hope all of you are chomping at
the bit to get this thing started and rid yourself of cabin fever!
If you have any questions refer to the
website:
or send an email to
buckeyekayakfishingtrail@gmail.com
We also have a couple more open slots
for sponsors so send contact information to our email address if you
know someone interested! Be careful out on the water and let's have
an awesome 2014!!!!
-Neil
Buckeye Kayak Fishing Trail
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