Preview: The Battle on the Border VI

What is the Battle on the Border? The short answer: it’s a kayak fishing tournament, Virginia versus North Carolina, the Old Dominion versus the Old North State.

The longer answer: it’s also when we fish for fun and celebrate our sport at the end of another successful season. The Battle on the Border is a time to camp and relax, compete and catch-up. It’s when anglers from Virginia and North Carolina renew old friendships and make new ones. It’s when our kayak fishing clubs send their crews to one of the Southeast’s biggest fisheries to test the peak of the fall bite.

And when it is over, someone brings a trophy back to their home state – and a nice payday to boot. To date, across five events, Virginia has a 3-1 edge over North Carolina (a South Carolina angler took the trophy once, too!).

Will North Carolina close the gap in 2024? Will some other state sweep in and steal the trophy?

That will be determined on Saturday, November 2, 2024!

In the meantime, a few updates about this year’s event.

General Info

  • As always, the Battle on the Border will again feature multiple clubs from Virginia and North Carolina.  In total, eight clubs will donate prizes and send anglers to compete (see the list below). You don’t have to be in a club to compete – anyone can sign up and fish!
  • VKAE will again sponsor the multi-species prize. Bring your longest measuring board!
  • Smallie Chasin’ River Bassin’ has sponsored a Smallie prize for the angler who catches the longest Smallmouth Bass!
  • The 2024 event will include an hourly Big Bass Prize (more info soon!)

Also:

  • Kayak Bass Fishing has designated 2025 National Championship qualifying spots for the top 25% of the field, TENvitational 2025 qualifying for the top 10% and $500 KBF Bonus Bucks to the highest placing KBF Ambassador or Premium member in the event.
  • The 2024 Battle on the Border has been approved as a qualifying event for the VA B.A.S.S. Nation State kayak championship on November 16.
  • Camping: CCKF anglers generally reserve a block of campgrounds (Nutbush). Contact Mitch Lassiter for details, or see the Fishing Chaos link below for other camping options.
  • Vance County Tourism has again provided generous support and use of the Henderson Point facilities for the awards ceremony.

Registration : Click here to register on Fishing Chaos

Anglers who attend the awards ceremony are eligible for door prizes, too! Ketch Products has once again made the second and third place trophies, while Ross Meyer has made the custom kayak fishing plaque for first place!

Sponsors and Participating Entities

The Battle on the Border VI is a result of the collective effort of

Foothills Kayak Anglers

Northern Virginia Kayak Bass Fishing (NVKBF)

Central Carolina Kayak Fishing (CCKF)

Virginia Kayak Trail (VKT)

Port City Kayak Anglers (PCKA)

Virginia Kayak Anglers Elite (VKAE)

Carolina Kayak Anglers (CKA)

Smallie Chaser River Bassin’

Additionally, the Battle on the Border is made possible with the generous support of

Vance County Tourism Authority (Henderson, NC)

Ketch Products

Kayak Bass Fishing

Ross Meyer / Custom Trophies Online

Kayak Scupper Plugs

EVENT DETAILS

Event Boundaries are as follows:

  • The Western boundary on the Dan River is the 360 bridge in South Boston.
  • The Northern boundary on the Staunton River is the 360 bridge, too.
  • The Eastern boundary is the Kerr dam. No fishing below the dam.

Launches: The tournament is a multi-launch event and all public launches are available to anglers. For a list of park managed launches and NC Wildlife launches, see this link: https://www.ncparks.gov/kerr-lake-state-recreation-area/activities

Please be sure to obtain a valid N.C. fishing license. North Carolina has a license reciprocity agreement with Virginia for Kerr Lake, so you can fish the Virginia side with your N.C. license.

Be sure to print a participating clubs ID card. Some can be found here and here.

Event History

In 2019, Carolina Kayak Anglers (CKA) paired with Virginia Kayak Bass Challenge (VKBC) for a friendly inter-state tournament to be held on Kerr Lake/Buggs Island in July of that year.  Nearly 100 kayak anglers fished the event. The prize? Bragging rights, and a trophy to prove it. The spirit of camaraderie was strong that day and the two clubs decided to make the event an annual tradition.

We called it the Battle on the Border.

The Battle on the Border has been held every year since then. Anglers compete for cash, prizes and a beautiful custom trophy.

For a history of past events in the Battle on the Border, click here.

First published October 15, 2024 (Updated October 20, 2024).

All content and photos © Carolina Kayak Anglers LLC, 2024.

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