Tag: kayak bass fishing

Tournament Recap: Wilson wins CKA season opener

Hank
Tournament Recap: Wilson wins CKA season opener

NCRWC Biologist Seth Mycko didn’t predict big bags from Belews for the CKA opener. While showing a graph of an NC Wildlife electro shock survey of the lake, he noted the vast majority of fish were in the 14”-16” range. “Alabama Bass have colonized 90% of the lake,” he said, and he said it grimly. When 2025 CKA Angler of the Year Brian Tsiolkas came on the show, he said the lake contained Largemouth Bass and that those fish would be the difference. Mycko and Tsiolkas were both right. The…

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The Official 2026 CKA Schedule

Hank
The Official 2026 CKA Schedule

The official 2026 CKA schedule was a group effort, a combination of angler feedback, TD meetings and collaboration with other entities. CKA has been rejuvenated with an influx of anglers who are new to the sport. At the same time, kayak fishing has new gadgets available to it. The combined demographic and technological changes have provided CKA with the opportunity to bring tournaments into the future while also maintaining the traditions of fair sportsmanship that have made CKA the state’s longest running kayak bass fishing series. The new 2026 schedule…

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Whitley wins Classic, AOY & ROY Updates

Hank
Whitley wins Classic, AOY & ROY Updates

The third edition of the Carolina Classic marked another milestone for North Carolina’s home-based fishing clubs: since 2023, each of the three founding clubs has hosted the event one time. The event has become a staple of our busy state-wide community and the 2025 edition, hosted perfectly by Foothills Kayak Anglers (with an assist from Waterways of Old Fort N.C.) added a memorable chapter in the event’s story. What will 2025 bring for the Carolina Classic? We shall see! The Carolina Classic also imparted some definition to the respective CKA…

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CKA Recap: Tsiolkas Wins Windy Season Opener at Tillery

Hank
CKA Recap: Tsiolkas Wins Windy Season Opener at Tillery

Tsiolkas Wins, Approaches All Time Record When CKA directors set up the 2025 schedule, we listened to angler suggestions and feedback. And we decided to open the year at Lake Tillery, the southernmost fishery on the Yadkin Chain in North Carolina, and one of the southernmost lakes in our rotation. It was the first time Tillery hosted a CKA season opener, and with two visits to the Yadkin Chain (CKA will fish Tuckertown in June), it made for a nice trip. With the scenic Uwharrie Mountains framing the fishery, anglers…

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CKA 2025 Season Preview

Hank
CKA 2025 Season Preview

CKA enters its twelfth season with the wind at its back. Attendance was steady last year, tournaments produced big bags and CKA payouts topped $35,000. Will Lambert had a historic season, too, winning his second Angler of the Year title in five years, the 20 for 24 Series and the Battle on the Border. The only title he didn’t take was the Tournament of Champions (which Ryan Hayes won). In 2023, it seemed Bryan Tsiolkas could not be stopped. Will Lambert had the same aura of invincibility in 2024. Who…

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