2024 marked the end of the Kayak Bass Fishing TRAIL Series, thus bringing a historic chapter in the history of our sport to a close. CKA anglers finished strong in that series, so much so that it can be said that from its beginning to finish, the KBF TRAIL Series record books are populated with the names of CKA competitors.
Additionally, the KBF community continued the Fish-Ops/CATH-22 charity events, the Knuklhed Series and the Ketch State Challenge Series, all of which provided CKA anglers with the chance to earn more recognition. And that they did.
In sum, CKA anglers continued where they left off in 2023, earning top trophies in KBF events. The page below recognizes their achievements and celebrates their hard work. As always, CKA staff thanks everyone who represented North Carolina in these events.
KBF events are sorted into 3 categories below: KBF Trail Series tournaments, KBF On-Line Challenges and Additional Events such as Dee Zee KBF The TEN.
KBF Trail Series Events & Trail Series Championship
KBF Trail events are regional events where anglers must travel, compete on large lakes and earn points. Those points apply to both the Rogue Gear Company Angler of the Year race and the Rogue Gear Company Rookie of the Year race.
CKA anglers represented North Carolina at a high level in 2024 Trail events, and for the second time in as many years, CKA angler (Eric Nelson AND Sean Boorsma) qualified for The TEN. Most impressive of all was that Sean Boorsma won the KBF TRAIL Series Championship.
This section lists the most notable results of the 2024 KBF Trail season.
The best KBF Trail finishes by CKA anglers were as follows:
Sean Boorsma 1st place KBF TRAIL Series Championship
Justin Faircloth 1st place KBF Trail Santee Cooper
Eric Nelson, 1st place Big Bass KBF TRAIL Lake Murray
Justin Faircloth 1st place Big Bass KBF TRAIL Santee Cooper
Sean Boorsma 5th place KBF Trail Chickamauga
Justin Faircloth 6th place KBF Trail Chickamauga
Eric Nelson 6th place KBF TRAIL Santee Cooper
Stephen Bell 8th place KBF Trail Santee Cooper
Honorable mention goes to North Carolina angler Wyatt Hammond, who placed third in the KBF KBF Trail Series Championship and also at THE TEN.
KBF Challenges & Challenge Series Championship
Kayak Bass Fishing holds “Challenge” events every season: these include popular KBF Monthly Challenges, which are organized by state, as well as charity events (Fish OPS) and the River Series and Smallmouth Series.
Jeremy Hicks was the 2024 North Carolina State Challenge Points Champion, becoming the fourth CKA angler to win the title (the others are Matt Dunn, Hank Veggian and Justin Faircloth).
The best 2024 finishes by CKA anglers in KBF Challenges were as follows:
Jeremy Hicks 1st place May, April, March State Challenges
Jeremy Hicks 1st place FishOps Catch 22, North Carolina
Justin Faircloth 1st place August State Challenge
Justin Faircloth 2nd place FishOps Catch 22, North Carolina
Justin Faircloth 2nd place August KNUKLHED Series
Alex Sterling 2nd place May KNUKLHED Series
Hank Veggian 4th place KBF River Series (Overall Standings)
Hank Veggian 9th place KBF River Series (Spring)
Additional Events
In 2023, Eric Nelson became the first CKA angler to qualify for KBF The TEN in four years. In 2024, Sean Boorsma and Eric Nelson both made the event cut. As a result Boorsma became the fifth CKA angler to compete in that event (the others are Ricky Rowland, Jamie Denison and Cory Dreyer).
Sean Boorsma 5th place KBF The TEN
Eric Nelson 10th place KBF The TEN
Justin Faircloth 1st Place Big Bass Hourly (2x)
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[ Note: KBF Tournament and Series standings are searchable and archived at FishingChaos.com]
