Hi everyone,
Our first event of 2018 came during a good warming spell that woke up the fish on local lakes. We had 74 anglers turn out to enjoy the weather and a good bite on Lake Hyco. This was our first event on the lake; the lake staff treated us well and local businesses were happy to see us too. Thank you to everyone who attended and for patronizing our series, the lake and local stores.
As for the event itself: we shared the launch with a boat tournament and it went smoothly. There was fog on the lake at launch and it burned off by mid-morning. Not unsurprisingly, many of the best fish were caught during the early bite, which took place between two fronts – a cold front that came through late Friday and the wind and light rain that arrived Saturday in the late morning. Several early leaders held position through the day and in the end the tournament was decided by the smallest margins. On a day like Saturday, every small upgrade made a difference. Here are a few numbers:
- 162 fish were caught
- Nearly half the field (34 anglers) caught a limit
- The gap between 10th place and 1st place was only 4.5 inches
- The gap between 20th place and 1st place was only 7.25 inches
In the end, we paid out 10 places to faces new and familiar. Bob Dainton, who was director of Carolina Yakfish (the series that preceded CKA, but ended in 2013) won 1st place. By winning first place, Bob also qualified for the end of season CKA Tournament of Champions. Ron Gerber (now a CKA TD) placed 5th after not fishing with CKA for a couple of seasons. We also had two out of state anglers in the money: Casey Reed from Virginia won 4th fishing his second event with us, and Graham Reay from South Carolina won 6th place.
- Bob Dainton
- Jacob Miles
- Drew Blair
- Casey Reed
- Ron Gerber
- Graham Reay
- P.C. Hawj
- Eric Nelson
- Aaron Miller (Aaron also won the Big Bass pot)
- Shelly Efird
Additionally, Matt Hawj won the Manley Fishing Rod gift certificate, John Ladd won the Bending Branches Ace Angler paddle and Arlie Minton won the Carver Covers kayak cover. 6 anglers also won BioSpawn Lure Company lure sets.
We will post the first Rookie of the Year standings in the coming days, a photo gallery,and also other new info.
Full results can be seen here: https://tourneyx.com/app/tourney/cka-2018-event-1-hyco-lake
Thanks again to everyone, and we will see you at Lake Hickory on March 31st!
