2020 KBF National @ Guntersville

[Choporoz]

With a field north of 600, I'm guessing that there's a good number of BR members headed there with their kayaks in April.  

Any body have experience with past years NC's?  Tips, lessons learned or suggestions?

I'm staying on the south end and a bit anxious about crowded conditions - fishable water and ramps.  Sure, the lake is most of a 100 miles long, but even with even spacing, that's 6+ yaks per mile at any one time... but I'd guess it'll be more than double that in the southern 1/3.....kind of crazy to imagine.  

 

[flyfisher]

Which tournaments did you compete in to qualify?

Oh, and I have zero knowledge of Guntersville lol

[Choporoz]

I fish with Northern Virginia Kayak Bass Anglers. NVKBA.

Last year was my first.  It is a fantastic club.

Are you going down?

[flyfisher]

Nah, i haven't done the tournament thing in a while.  Also not a huge fan of KBF in general for lots of reasons.  I do like the idea of local tournaments though and have thought about doing some when they roll through here. 

[Hawkeye21]

I've qualified the last two years but last year at Shreveport was the only time I went.  It was an awesome experience.  I wasn't able to qualify this year though.  Shreveport had multiple bodies of water so it helped to spread people out more but there were still plenty of people at each launch.  It never seemed to be too big of an issue.  I like to launch out of the way and not right on the ramp so I don't have to bother with others.

 

Once I was on the water I was never around that many people.  Coming from Iowa it was such a great experience seeing an area like Caddo Lake.  The fishing was tough but there were a lot of big bass caught.  I got down there on Monday early enough to fish that afternoon and then practiced on Tuesday and Wednesday.  I think it's a good idea to talk to as many anglers as you can while there.  You can gather a lot of info from others.

 

Enjoy the experience!

[Tennessee Boy]

I used to live in north Alabama and fished Guntersville a lot.  That was 20 years ago. I've been back twice since then so my knowledge of the lake is old.  Guntersville is known for it's grass (mostly milfoil).  In April the grass will be growing but well below the surface.  Fishing the grass on good structure will probably be the key and most people will know that.  The most popular bass fishing areas are in Goose Pond Colony area of the lake but good fish can be found south of there.  I have never fished north of Coon Creek and I don't think many people do.  I've never been a kayak fisherman but I can imagine the unique challenges of fishing from one would bring in a tournament.  Fishing in a field of 600 would be interesting as well.  Will you be fishing in early or late April?  How far from your launch location is it reasonable to travel?

[Choporoz]

Thanks, @Tennessee Boy! Tourny is first week of April.  Pretty sure entire lake, up into TN is open.

[TnRiver46]

That lake is crowded 365 but April will most likely be about as bad as you could imagine haha. Everyone is typically aware and friendly though, kind of a get in line and fish mentality on the more popular areas. There are miles of backwater as well that might not be so crowded. Early April it could be snowing or it could be 80 degrees , rainfall amounts between now and then may determine what the fish are doing 

[James Engle]

I’ll be down there coming from Maine. Really excited to fish guntersville. We got a heavy crew rolling down this year. I’m flying down solo... hopefully like 2 weeks before the event. We rented a house for like 10 of us up in Langston for the  week of the event .  I fished Caddo last year it was busy but you could get away from the crowd easily .   

 

 

[TnRiver46]

On 1/19/2020 at 11:04 PM, James Engle said:

I’ll be down there coming from Maine. Really excited to fish guntersville. We got a heavy crew rolling down this year. I’m flying down solo... hopefully like 2 weeks before the event. We rented a house for like 10 of us up in Langston for the  week of the event .  I fished Caddo last year it was busy but you could get away from the crowd easily .   

 

 

That sounds like an awesome trip! Hit me up if you're coming through Knoxville and need some fishing spots

[James Engle]

On 1/21/2020 at 3:26 PM, TnRiver46 said:

That sounds like an awesome trip! Hit me up if you're coming through Knoxville and need some fishing spots

No doubt man!!! 

[stewa107]

I will be down as well. I'm making the trip from the north end of Lake Champlain in NY. It's going to be interesting for sure. I fish out of a canoe as opposed to a kayak. It's going to be a good experience. 

[roadwarrior]

https://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-videos/lake-guntersville-2012.html

 

 

[TnRiver46]

6 hours ago, stewa107 said:

I will be down as well. I'm making the trip from the north end of Lake Champlain in NY. It's going to be interesting for sure. I fish out of a canoe as opposed to a kayak. It's going to be a good experience. 

I always wondered if canoes were allowed in kayak tournaments 

[Choporoz]

I can stop looking for fire craw Jackhammers. 

Tournament postponed until first week of November.

[TnRiver46]

2 hours ago, Choporoz said:

I can stop looking for fire craw Jackhammers. 

Tournament postponed until first week of November.

Hahaha. They sell red skirts on TW 

[Choporoz]

100% joking....never considered throwing chatterbait that wasn't white/chart, or dark blue/black.  I guess I did have a green-brown one many years ago, but it never got a bite.

Just found the whole fire craw craze humorous.....I saw people offering toilet paper for them....HA

[BassNJake]

11 minutes ago, Choporoz said:

100% joking....never considered throwing chatterbait that wasn't white/chart, or dark blue/black.  I guess I did have a green-brown one many years ago, but it never got a bite.

Just found the whole fire craw craze humorous.....I saw people offering toilet paper for them....HA

So many people get caught up in "what" bait, when "what" area is most important IMO

[J Francho]

I'm going to come up with a new color, and call it "Confirmation Bias."

[DS51]

My experience with big tournaments and the KBF National Championship:

 

What I always seem to forget in those big tournaments: I am not a pro, I am an average fisherman, it is impossible for me learn new techniques in a day, and with near 600 anglers (many who are very good anglers) I would have to get extremely lucky to finish in the money. 

 

What I should always remember at those big tournaments: I've caught 3x 20 inch fish in a day before, I have basic knowledge of fishing and where the fish will be, I'm pretty good at the techniques I use every week at my home lakes, and stick to what you know because you can't get lucky if you don't catch one fish. 

 

What I should always do at my home lakes in between big tournaments, but never do: Quit using the same techniques I've been using for the past 30+ years and expand my toolkit. 

 

Ultimately, I have found the KBF National Championships to be fun tournaments. You will meet a lot of great people. I think every kayak fisherman should go to at least one. However, if you don't put a concerted effort into getting better at tournament fishing (me), one of three things will happen: 1) those big tournaments become fishing vacations with some pals; 2) you will stop going; 3) you will forever remain a feeder fish whose sole purpose is to increase the winnings for the top dogs. Even being in category 3 isn't that bad, because if enough sponsorship money ever gets to the kayak fishing ranks, it will be near impossible to get into a big money tournament like the KBF National Championship for an average Joe like me that previously qualified by just registering for one trail event and catching only one fish.  

[Choporoz]

Finally getting close again.   With the uncertainty of the postponement and COVID still around,  the field looks to be closer to 400 than 700.  Still a lot of yaks.  Anyone else here still going?

I'm guessing water temps in high 60s, so probably a lot of transition/scattered bass hunting shad, but maybe not in back of the creeks yet....really looking forward to it, but still anxious about crowded fishing conditions 

[BassNJake]

9 hours ago, Choporoz said:

Finally getting close again.   With the uncertainty of the postponement and COVID still around,  the field looks to be closer to 400 than 700.  Still a lot of yaks.  Anyone else here still going?

I'm guessing water temps in high 60s, so probably a lot of transition/scattered bass hunting shad, but maybe not in back of the creeks yet....really looking forward to it, but still anxious about crowded fishing conditions 

Good luck!!

The BASS elites will be there this week, maybe some clues can be gained there.

The live coverage starts tomorrow.