B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series National Championship Recap

By Casey Reed

I arrived at Possum Kingdom on Saturday evening with a game plan in mind. After laying eyes on the lake and seeing water that normally had 7-8 ft visibility only having about 2-3 inches of visibility max. I figured that would throw a big wrench into my plans. I had planned to fish deep offshore structure but I decided that I was going to have to change up tactics some, but would still focus on the areas that I had found during map study of the lake.

PRACTICE DAY ONE

I launched around mid-lake, and went straight to a creek that I had searched out on the map. The wind was blowing directly into the creek, and the mud from the main lake was pushing back in there. I started by throwing a shallow crank on some wind blown, rocky points, and was able to get a few bites, and finally got one small keeper fish in the kayak. I continued to push further back in the creek and came across two small, and what looked to be man made, points that came out off the bank towards each other. The first one was a bit steeper drop off and had rock all the way out to 10-12 ft, and the other had some real shallow rock, about 2 ft deep, and some buck brush out a little further around the whole point. I ended up fishing those two points for a few minutes, and ended up catching three off the point with the buck brush on cranks and shakeyhead. The size was nothing to brag about, but a decent fish for a tournament.

I continued on and found some deeper banks that had some overhang trees, laydowns, and deeper rock. I started cranking those banks and had a 17 incher nail the crank bait. I immediately put the Spot Lock on, and started throwing the shakeyhead in 4-8 ft of water. I was marking bait and fish in the area on my Humminbird Helix 10 MEGA using the Downscan and 2D Sonar. I fished a little bit longer and finally caught a 19-incher right before I was going to move spots. Alreadying having a limit of fish, and a couple decent ones at that, on a body of water I’ve never fished before was a great feeling. I continued on to the back of the creek where it got real shallow, and ended up catching a few more fish. 

I ran out of that creek, to the next creek over and found some really clear water, but only ended up catching a few fish before I started overheating, because I didn’t have any water, or food. That ended my first day of pre-fishing and I felt pretty good about it. Leaving the ramp, I realized that there was a gate, and a sign that said they didn’t open until 8am. That threw a curveball in my plan to fish that area.

PRACTICE DAY TWO

I had my alarm set early and when it woke me up, I heard a lot of thunder and pouring rain so I just went back to sleep. A couple hours later I finally woke up, and there was still a lot of lightning in the area even though the rain had just about come to a stop. I was making my way to check out a few fishing spots, and came across some road closed signs. The rain had caused some flash flooding in the area, and shut down access to parts of the lake. I turned around and ended up checking out a couple other ramps closer by. One of which had some clean water still but had about 20 other kayak anglers. Half of the day was already over so I just decided to head back to the cabin, and do some more map research and get some rest. 

PRACTICE DAY THREE

So just like on Day 2 of practice, I woke up to rain and thunder so I slept in again. It cleared up a little quicker and my plan was to drive to check out the water clarity at a few places including where I fished on Practice Day One. First creek I drove by had some decent clarity in the water, which is what I think just about everyone fishing this tournament was looking for so I figured any of those clearer water areas would get hit hard. I kept driving to the next creek which was where I practiced on Day One. The muddy water had pushed back in that creek. I had already decided that I wanted to fish there either way. I still wanted to find a back up plan for Day Two of the tournament in case I felt I needed it. So on to the next creek, again, it was dirty water, just like about 98% of the lake. So I headed back to the cabin to prepare for the next two days.

Yes, out of three total days available to practice, I only put lines in the water one day. I was hoping that it wouldn't hurt me but I figured with the changing conditions of the lake, it would be hard to dial in the fish anyways. I also figured that the total abnormal conditions of the lake would level the playing field tremendously to anyone that might have had any “home field” advantages.

I knew where I was fishing, but just had to figure out where the closest place to launch from since the ramp I had previously launched from was closed. I found a ramp that was two miles further away from the ramp I put in previously. I knew it was going to be a long run first thing in the morning, but with the Old Town Sportsman AutoPilot 136, it would be a simple task. Also, being a smaller area, in muddy water, far away from a ramp, I was banking on not having anyone else fishing around me which I figured would be hugely beneficial because I knew a lot of the other areas were getting pounded.

TOURNAMENT DAY ONE

I arrived at the ramp at about 4:55am to give myself plenty of time to get the kayak set up and ready to go before launch time at 5:30am. As I was getting the kayak rigged up, I kept hearing vehicles on the road, and any minute was expecting one of them to turn into the ramp. I was fully rigged, and still I was the only one there. That was great news for me. Not having to share the water I was fishing was a huge benefit. I put the kayak in the water, and sat in the car and turned on the music, finished a bottle of water and ate my breakfast.. I like to take a few minutes before start time to just relax and play some music. It really helps get my day started, and get in the right frame of mind. 

Two minutes before launch time, I head to the kayak and jump in. Watching the clock for the time to turn to 5:30am. As soon as it does, I turn the motor up to 10, set the heading straight to the mouth of the creek I’m heading to, and sit back and relax. Thirty minutes later, I’m just arriving at the mouth of the creek, as the clock hits 6:00am, the lines in time. I round the bend, and start casting. I fish the first pocket with no success. I head down the bank with a shallow flat and notice there are a lot of bait fish around. I worked down the bank to the rocky point where I knew I wanted to spend some time picking it apart. Once pulling up on the point, I threw my shallow crank across the rocky point, and immediately felt a fish slam the lure. It felt like a big fish. Seconds later the fish broke the surface while shaking its head back and forth. It was a big fish. I noticed I couldn't see the crankbait at all, so I knew I had a pretty hook in the fish. I still played the fish a little, and then finally got it in the net. It’s an amazing feeling to catch a solid fish like that first thing in the morning, it gave me assurance that it was going to be a great day. I pulled out my Ketch X measuring board, and the fish was 20.75 inches long. Uploaded to TourneyX Leaderboard and then kept fishing. I caught two other smaller fish cranking the point, and then moved on to the next point which was the one with some buck brush on it. 

No luck there, so I moved back to the rocky point hoping to pick up another fish or two before I moved on. I picked it apart again after letting it rest for a few minutes, and still couldn't get another bite. So hit the buck brush one more time before I moved on towards the back of the creek. I ended up catching a 16.5 cranking the outside of the buck brush. I made the move to fish some deeper banks towards the back of the creek. My limit fish came from flipping some of the laydowns and overhangs on this deeper bank. I finished working at that bank, and was going to go back to where I started. I made my way back to the rocky point and pulled out another good fish. I was sitting somewhere around the 80 inch mark, and in the top 5 on the TourneyX Leaderboard. There was still a lot of day left, and I knew phone service was an issue in some places, but it seemed like it was a tough day for a lot of people, so I just knew if I replaced my two fish in the 12 inch range, hopefully got another kicker fish that I would be sitting real good, if not in 1st place.

Again, I rotated out the rocky point and the buck brush point a few times. I flipped the shakeyhead up shallow in front of all the buck brush and had a solid bite. I set the hook and missed it. I flipped to the same spot again, another bite, missed again. Frustrating as it is missing the hookset on two bites in a row, getting bites is always a good sign. A minute or two later, I got another bite, set the hook and had a fish on. The fish came to the surface and almost immediately, my line snapped. It looked to be a 17 inch fish. Stuff like that happens, but knowing I probably should have retied since I was fishing around a lot of wood and rock and it could have been prevented. When things like that happen, you have to just keep going and not let them replay over and over in your head. So I took my own advice and just kept on, knowing I was getting bites and would hopefully make up for the mistake.

After finally catching another upgrade, I left those spots alone, knowing I needed to let them rest and hopefully replenish with fish for day 2. I focused my efforts on the back of the creek for the rest of the day. I caught a few more fish that was able to upgrade me to 87.25 inches and kept me just outside the top 5 when lines out time came around. I thought I was sitting really well. But apparently the afternoon bite heated up for everyone and there are always people who do not have good phone service. Between the lines out time, and the submission deadline, I had dropped down to 14th place. A respectable finish for Day 1 but I knew I had some work to do to get back up into the top 10. I head back to the cabin, and prepare for Day 2.

TOURNAMENT DAY TWO

I pulled into the ramp again around 4:45 am. I planned on meeting the Old Town film crew there so they could get some video of me rigging the kayak and launching. So we got all set up for video, I got rigged and ready with a few minutes to spare again. There were two other anglers launching with me this time, so I talked to them quickly and again, I started the two mile trip across the lake to the creek. Looking behind me, taking note to see if the other anglers were heading in the same direction that I was. Luckily for me they were not. I was going to have the whole creek to myself again, which was really key. It was a decent sized area, but it seemed to be fishing small, so I needed to be able to pull off the areas I was fishing and let them rest, and then hit them again.

So I made my way to the creek and again, arrived at the mouth right as lines started. I followed the same route as I did the day before, working my way back to those two points where I caught most of my fish the day before. I was able to crank up 13 incher before I reached my good spots. Even though it wasn't a big fish, it was a good sign that the fish were still going to bite for me.

I worked back to the rocky point, and I cranked and threw a shakeyhead for some time and didn't get a bite. Moved to the next point, and still no bites. This had me worried that I had hit them too hard the day before. I decided after spending some time going back and forth on those two points, that I was going to cross the creek, and hit some new water that I hadn’t fished in practice or day 1 of the tournament. I cross over and see a thick patch of cattails next to some marina docks. The deep water under the marina docks, comes up to a steep underwater cliff, up to about 5 ft of water where the cattails are. It’s all surrounded by rock and looks like a perfect spot for a fish or two to be sitting. I crank around it, throw the shakeyhead to no avail. I actually got my shakeyhead hung up on the cattails so I had to go over there to get it loose. I figured all the commotion spooked any fish in the area, so I was about to leave there and head down the bank. My gut told me to make one last cast to the cattails, and that’s when I felt a big tug. I wrangled with a big bass for a minute or two as it tried to dive down and get away. I finally got it to the net and then on the measuring board, and it measured out to 20 inches exactly. This was my second fish of the day. After a bit of a frustrating morning, it was a very satisfying moment knowing I had a good kicker fish and that it would be a huge help if I could fill my limit.

I continued down the far side of the creek, where I knew there was a patch of buck brush off the bank that would hopefully be holding some fish. On my way there, I found a perfect looking rocky point. I cranked up one side of it, then once I got to the tip of the point I had a good bite. I saw what looked to be a 17 inch bass jump out of the water and came unhooked. It hurts to lose fish anytime, but especially so when you still don't have a limit. I fished around there for a few minutes throwing the shakeyhead off the rock point a little deeper, and was able to get another bite. Now with 3 fish, I was getting closer to a limit. I made my way to the buck brush and caught another one.

I was still hoping my two spots from the previous day would turn on, and I could fill out my limit, so I headed back over there and couldn’t buy a bite. Banking on what I had seen already on day 2, I quickly went over the spots where I had caught fish hoping I would have some more luck in those areas. The cattails quickly produced a big bite on the crank bait, but as luck would have it, the fish came unbuttoned and swam away. Another fish in the 17 inch range that I couldn’t get in the kayak. Losing fish is part of the game, not a fun part, but it happens. So I didnt let it get in my head and continued on. Back to the other rock point where I had lost one earlier, I just tossed the shakeyhead to the point and drug it down the rocky bottom, then “thump”. I pulled in my 4th fish of the day. Then quickly after, I boated my 5th fish of the day. So with a little lull on that spot, and around two hours left, I decided to run to the back again, and hit a few laydowns on the shaded bank. On the way back there, I decided to pull up the leaderboard, and it had me in 7th place. Still two hours left to fish, I knew I needed to get rid of my first fish of the day, the 13 incher with a decent upgrade. 

Fished the back and caught some fish but none helped. It was getting close to the end of the day and I still needed to cull. I went right back to where I caught those last two fish, and made the same cast as before, dragging the shakeyhead down the rocky point. With 30 minutes left to fish, I felt a bite, and was hooked up. Once I laid the fish on the board it was 15.5 and was about a 2.25 inch upgrade which I desperately needed. After that, I made casts all over the point and was catching fish back to back for the remainder of the 30 minutes, but none of them were bigger than my smallest fish. So the day ended, and I had a total of 88.50 inches for the day and a two day total of 175.75.

The next hour I was about to drive myself crazy just wondering if I was going to get a phone call, telling me I was in the top 10. I didn’t know if the call was coming, or if it was, when it would come. So there was no way to know if I missed out on it or not. Finally, my phone rang and the name Dwayne Walley showed up on my caller ID, and I knew that was the call I was looking for. The call that was going to verify that I secured a spot in the Top 10. Sure enough, Dwayne told me that I made the Top 10 and would be walking across the big stage at the Bassmaster Classic! I ended up in 10th place and took home a nice check and an experience of a lifetime.