Falls Lake is one of the biggest and best bass lakes in North Carolina, and a regular stop on several pro tours. The last time CKA had Falls Lake on the schedule was in 2017, when we hosted an early season KBF Trail event that was won by North Carolina’s Brandon Jessup, and during which Brad Crater landed a 24” LM Bass. Falls is a big, busy lake, and loaded with big bass.
The 2018 Tournament of Champions was held October 13th & 14th on Falls Lake. A field of 24 anglers was cut to 10 for day two. Ronnie Murphy led the field on day 1, when he also won Big Bass with a 22.75″ fish. On Day 2, Joey Sullivan came back from 7th place on Day 1 to win 1st place with a two day limit of 149″. Calvin Keller (2nd place) and David Golding (3rd place) rounded out the top 3.
This event is presented by Greensboro Gardens! We are very thankful to CKA angler Rick Morris, owner of Greensboro Gardens for the support!
Stanly County Convention & Visitors Bureau has joined our great list of sponsors for 2021 and we are hopeful for an even bigger relationship in 2022! The county appreciates the kayak community and wants to support our events, which in turn support the local businesses.
We ask all of the kayak angler community to help support the county by patronizing the local business while you’re enjoying the Badin, Tillery and Tuckertown waters. Stay for dinner, grab your significant other a gift or plan a long stay in to enjoy the beautiful area that is full of scenic views and small town charm!
On behalf of all the anglers that fish with Carolina Kayak Anglers, we thank and are looking forward to a long term relationship with Stanly County!
CKA welcomes Anglers to Event #4 on Badin Lake (last visited by us in 2017). It’s the southernmost lake we fish on the Yadkin/Pee-Dee river chain and one of the oldest impounded lakes in North Carolina.
Badin contains 5,350 surface acres of water, 115 miles of shoreline, and an average depth of 90 feet with a maximum depth of 190 feet. This diverse fishery hosts all three major Black Bass species (Largemouth bass, Smallmouth bass, and Spotted Bass) as well as Striped Bass and Walleye.With its deep structure, rocky islands, grassy shorelines, flats, points and boat docks, there is opportunity for every style of fishing.
This will be a multi-launch event. Any publicly accessible launch is permitted.
Texas2Step is sponsoring the event and will be at the check in with swag and a special presentation to the top anglers! This is Texas2Step‘s second year with CKA and we appreciate their support! Be sure to check our the full line of detailing products including the Ship Shape product that is good for:
Kayak wipe down and protection!
Easily removes water lines and water scum on boats!
Cleans Ketch boards with ease and makes them look new with minimal effort!
Wipe down your fiberglass boat and bring out the gelcoat’s shine!
Works great on glass as well!
A few reminders:
CKA has streamlined sign up and payment system for the 2021 season. All tournament fees are now through TourneyX.
CKA membership fees are now paid directly to:
CKA has a new payout structure. See website for details.
W. Scott Kerr was a new lake to the CKA Trail in 2018 and this will be our third visit there, but our first for the infamous spring bite!
W. Scott Kerr is located in the northwest Piedmont, near Wilkesboro. It is one of 4 Piedmont lakes run by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (this means additional regulations apply – see event details). There are (7) eligible launches. There is also camping and rental cabins available around the lake.
We are taking donations at this event at sign up for Socks & Cookies, a great organization that sends a “piece of home” to deployed military through care packages! Socks & Cookies also puts on tournaments for the charity so be on the look out for those as well!
There is also going to be a raffle for a Carver Covers custom kayak cover that you will want to get in on! $5 per ticket that you can purchase when you sign up, through PayPal by sending $5 per ticket (via friends and family please!) to nckayakanglers@gmail.com with a note that it is for the raffle. You don’t need to be present to win, but it is encouraged! All proceeds to go to the Tournament of Champions!
Congratulations to all the anglers that placed in the top 10 today at the Burlington Brawl presented by Faircloth Chimney Sweeps!
After a brutal season starter at Shearon Harris with Hank Veggian taking the win with a single 20.25” and only 5 other angers able to put up 1 scorable fish each, anglers were looking forward to redemption in Burlington!
After a week of warming up that was long past due for North Carolina the bass were on the move and practice for the anglers was heating up as well. Numerous photos of big fish and reports of good practice day limit totals had this event looking like we were in for a mega brawl! The cold front changed things up however and the bass changed their attitudes, and the guys that made the right adjustments came out on top!
First place and $1288 went to Christopher Decker with 93.25″ with a 20″ kicker! Chris had a slow start realizing the cold front had changed things up and was able to adjust and get the bites he needed to take the lead before the board shut off and it held up for the win!
Christopher Decker (right) receiving his CKA check from Faircloth Chimney Sweeps’ Justin Faircloth (left)
2nd Place went to Brooks Lanier with 88.25” earning him $515 with a 19.5” kicker.
Brooks Lanier (left) receiving his CKA check from Faircloth Chimney Sweeps’ Justin Faircloth (right)
3rd Place went to Melvin Yang with 83.5″earning him $386 with a 19” kicker.
Melvin Yang (left) receiving his CKA check from Faircloth Chimney Sweeps’ Justin Faircloth (right)
Big Bass was a 2 way tie with 22″ slobs between Dustin Mathews and Robert Blackwell. Dustin’s second biggest fish at 18.75 was enough to give him the victory taking both the $600 pot and the lead for the 2021 Length Lunker award!
Dustin Mathews (top right) scored this giant 22″ for Big Bass and new 2021 Length Lunker leader!
Burlington Brawl 2021 Top 10
Place
Angler
Total Inches
Payday
1st
Christoper Decker
93.25”
$1288
2nd
Brooks Lanier
88.25”
$515
3rd
Melvin Yang
83.5”
$386
4th
Marcus Smith
83.25”
$258
5th
Luke Greco
80.25”
$129
6th
Dontrell Sullivan
77.50”
$100
7th
Justin Finger
75.25”
$100
8th
Bobby Bowers
71.50”
–
9th
Sammy Wilson
71.25”
–
10th
Mike Wimmer
71.25”
–
Angler of the Year
The second event has mixed up the Angler of the Year points and we have a new leader! Dontrell Sullivan is the only angler to have cashed a check in both events and has taken the lead from Hank Veggian who had a limit at Burlington but had struggled to find the higher quality bites needed to get further up in the standings.
Rank
Angler
Harris
Burlington
Total Points
1
Dontrell Sullivan
192
191
383
2
Henry Veggian*
200
179
379
3
Shelly Efird
193
152
345
4
Christopher Decker*
20
200
220
5
Chris Dragotta
197
20
217
6
Melvin Yang
20
194
214
7
Marcus Smith
20
193
213
8
Bobby Bowers
20
189
209
9
Brooks Lanier
0
197
197
10
Richard Vanmeter
194
0
194
* TOC Qualified
Side note:
Our apologies to the anglers that fished out of Graham-Mebane Lake for the morning debacle. Although we had contacted the ramp weeks in advance, and were on the schedule at the lake there was some sort of issue with communication (nice way to put it) with the staff there. Although we spoke to them the previous Saturday and was handed the event sign in sheet and told to call back Friday to ensure they would be able to get us in as early as possible, we seemed to have been treated like an unwanted stepchild. After all the fuss in the office, denial, excuses of “if I had known” from the Assistant Warden who handed us the sign up sheet last week, we were able to get everyone in. I also heard comments of even more poor attitude received from the Assistant Warden who checked you all in.
We assure you CKA did what was required per what we were told the previous week, and hope to make sure this not an issue in the future.
All the other Burlington area ramps were courteous and friendly, and we appreciate their hospitality and willingness to work with CKA to get everyone on the water early and efficiently! Thank you to those kind folks, who some we will work with for the Gate City Classic in September!
