2020 has been a year like no other, and it presented unique challenges to CKA’s tournament plans. But innovation and adaptation prevailed, and CKA developed a safe plan for tournament management and proceeded with our schedule as planned. CKA anglers confronted history head on; some also made history.
Highlights
- Larry Moua landed the longest bass ever posted in CKA competition, a 24.25” battleship he caught at the Shearon Harris tournament. It has been added to the CKA Big Bass Gallery.
- For the 1st time ever, an angler (Charles Crews) won both the ROY and AOY titles in a single season.
- Rick Rowland won back-to-back events, tying him with P.C. Hawj for the all-time record with 6 victories in CKA competition.
- For the 1st time ever, an angler (Keith McGee) won the Tournament of Champions in back to back seasons. This is only the second time in the club’s history that an angler has won back-to-back events in consecutive years.
- CKA anglers went after the top spots in the KBF Mid-Atlantic Region, winning 1st place two times (Eric Nelson and Marcus Smith). Eric Nelson also brought the Regional Angler of the Year title to Carolina.
- In all, CKA anglers won a total of 3 KBF Trail events (Cory Dreyer won a third), and nearly won two more (Cory Dreyer and Arlie Minton each had a 2nd place finish).
Numbers
- 7 different anglers won 1st place in 8 regular season events.
- CKA anglers donated over $1,000 to Heroes on the Water.
- A total of 433 anglers fished our 8 regular season events, for an average attendance of 54.5 anglers per event.
Sponsors
CKA sponsors were tremendous in providing prizes to anglers.
- Our title sponsor Get:Outdoors Paddlesports was steadfast in offering prizes for the ROY and AOY awards as well as discounts to anglers.
- Carver Covers, Native Watercraft, YakAttack, Solar Bat, Rogue Fishing, Glover Custom Jerseys, Dakota Lithium, Texas 2 Step and TRC Covers, were all incredibly generous.
- Once again, Denny Romero and On the Water Innovations offered up an incredible prize.
- KBF also delivered product give aways, and Ketch provided our anglers with a batch of the the new Karbonate boards that sold out quickly. Thank you – please buy from these great companies in the off-season and support them by posting and tagging their products!
Miscellaneous
In other news, CKA’s media outreach continued to grow, as our Instagram and Twitter accounts continue to stack followers. Please follow us on those other media – the links are on the website front page.
CKA has also begun development of a Youtube channel with video content provided by our competitors. If you have video footage of your tournament catches, contact us!
CKA directors also successfully resolved two investigations. One resulted in a lifetime ban when an angler who fished one event fraudulently contested tournament registration. The other was based on an allegation of cheating that turned out to be completely false. CKA directors investigated both issues fairly and achieved the correct result. We welcomed the input and help we had from anglers along the way.
Looking Ahead
CKA directors are working on the following for next year:
- The 2021 CKA Trail Schedule
- New sponsors
- New payout format
- Video Content
- Website updates (stay tuned!)
- Staff reorganization
CKA staff was especially proud of the club anglers this season. You fished and travelled safely during a perilous time, chipped in to help when we asked for it and carried yourselves with dignity at all events. The atmosphere of friendly, mutual respect cultivated in CKA over the years has never before made us more proud to represent you as your club directors. We thank you all for making our labor worth it.
I enjoyed fishing all eight events and look forward in fish the 2021 CKA tournament trail. This was my first season and god will it want be my last. Thanks to everyone that help me along the way.