Since its inception, CKA has recognized the angler who outperforms the rest of the field. From the start those races have been largely decided by mid-season. This year is different: the mid-season mark has been a turning point: a handful of angler are gaining ground on the leader. Now, it is a wide-open race. And to make things even more dramatic, we have a tie at the top of the standings.
And it isn’t just any tie. It’s the veteran angler versus the young fisherman. Joey Sullivan, who directed the Carolina Yakfish Series from 2010-2013, is an accomplished fresh and salt water kayak angler. His walls are adorned with trophies and he has won and sold more kayaks than most of us will own in a lifetime. He also holds the North Carolina state record length for a monthly five fish limit on the KBF state Challenge boards, at 117.50 (that’s an average length of 23.50’ per fish). Some of us call him The Terminator – just ask the field from last season’s Tournament of Champions, when Joey came back from 7th place on Day 2 to win the event.
The youngster is Will Lambert, an accomplished angler in his own right, and the future of our sport. One day, his garage will also be filled with kayaks and his walls will also be decorated with trophies. But he is going to have to earn the CKA trophy and kayak by defeating one of the best all-around anglers in all of kayak fishing. The path to victory goes down Sullivan Road.
And it gets even more interesting. The race isn’t over for a handful of anglers near the top of the standings. In fact, several could overtake the two leaders at the next event while the top 10-15% of the field is not yet eliminated mathematically. And Rick Rowland is still out there, climbing his way into the conversation. His nickname requires no explanation – he’s simply “The Hammer.”
For anglers who have fished 6 events, the lowest score is dropped and replaced by a higher score – if they earn one – at the remaining two events. Qualifications for the Tournament of Champions and KBF Nationals remain on the line as we head into the home stretch.
This should be fun.
The AOY update is at this link.
The ROY update is at this link
