Another fun season is winding down and CKA celebrates another year of kayak fishing tournaments. The “regular season” closed at Mayo; the eight and final tournament will be the Gate City Classic on September 21, 2024.
Many things have yet to be decided, as spots in the Tournament of Champions will be determined (that’s the top 15% of membership). We have an interesting points race to finish between Will Lambert and Justin Faircloth, who have battled hard all season, the Rookie of the Year race, Duff Digital Big Bass and more!
For more info about the Gate City Classic, scroll to the end. In the meantime, let’s review Saturday’s event at Mayo….
How Faircloth Won
Anglers picked Lake Mayo from a list last season and the lake showed its gratitude by putting up respectable numbers as the top bags averaged 18” per fish. The top three bass also measured 20” or longer, a testament to the health of that unique fishery. CKA also lucked out by choosing Mayo after the ruin brought by Hurricane Debby, which shut down many lakes in the center of the state….
Justin Faircloth won by targeting schooling fish in practice, but on tournament day the wind picked up. He caught his anchor fish on a popper (a 20.50”) early. He switched to casting a jackhammer to wind-blown banks, and that’s how he ended the day. “I didn’t fish a lot Friday, I just went out roaming. I stayed in the middle of the lake, not far from the ramp. That’s where the fish were blowing up the day before….I had no expectations for yesterday, I just wanted a good score.”
With his victory, Faircloth becomes only the second angler to win three events in a single CKA season. And he may not be finished….
Lambert almost has AOY locked up
Faircloth’s victory made things interesting for the Angler of the Year race.
As it stands, Will Lambert has a strong lead in the 2024 AOY standings and could wrap up his second Angler of the Year title in a row. Currently he leads by 34 points, but those numbers reflect all of his scores. AOY is determined by your top five scores plus the Gate City Classic score.
Based on their current top five scores, the difference between Lambert and Faircloth is actually 22 points. And the Gate City Classic score awards double points……
Up Next
The Gate City Classic is next. We celebrate our season and our club at the Gate City Classic in September of every season. For the 2024 season, the city of Greensboro has provided us with a block of rooms at a discount for the Sheraton at the Greensboro Coliseum. Expect more information about that soon, and get signed up early so we can estimate food, beverages and prizes for the post event check-in at Get Outdoors!
Additional Info
For full standings from Lake Mackintosh, click here:
https://app.fishingchaos.com/tournament/GfMazRvwxjKHIxw0pps5
CKA’s 2024 Season is brought to you by
Dakota Lithium Batteries
Click here to see the full 2024 schedule.
Click here to become a member.
First published August 18, 2024.
Erratum: A previous version of this article mistakenly stated that the Gate City Classic awards points-and-a-half.
All content and photos © Carolina Kayak Anglers LLC, 2024.
