Kayak bass tournaments?

[Darth-Baiter]

Are they fun?  Or did they ruin fishing for you?  I can imagine you get way better at fishing going so often.  
 

I don’t even know where to begin.  Are entrance fees exorbitant?    Living in the Bay Area California, there is no shortage of organized events. 

[Boomstick]

I haven't done any yet, but hopefully next year I'll do a couple. It seems fun,

As far as fees, they aren't bad! I would suggest checking out / joining KBF if you're interested.

 

https://www.kayakbassfishing.com/

[Bluebasser86]

Hoping to get into them this year myself. I enjoy tournaments but the 5 fish weigh in style tournaments have really lost their appeal with me. Haven't fished a tournament circuit since I was in my teens, so I'm really looking forward to it.

 

[Choporoz]

I just wrapped up my second season of kayak tournament fishing.   They definitely can be quite fun.  And they can be very trying.   I never thought it ruined fishing for me.  Even though the bad days are much amplified...same with the good days.  I lucked into a tremendous club that puts a high premium on keeping everything very positive.   I'm probably a little too competitive at times, and it takes a conscious effort to to keep the right perspective.  (I had to go re-watch G-Man videos on PMA three different times this season...lol)  At one point late this season, I told my wife I was through with tournaments.  But a week later, I entered another and did well enough that I am already looking forward to next season.  The costs are not high for club action, IMO, but they can add up.  $30-50 for club membership...that much again for national membership if you want to fish or qualify for their events....and then maybe $25-40 per club level tournaments.   I really think your experience will depend both upon your club leadership, fellow anglers, and your attitude/approach.   So, I'd say there's low cost/risk to trying and high reward potential if it's a good fit for you.    It's funny that one of the positives is also a negative for me.  I've fished a lot of water I might not have...but I also got so focused on upcoming schedules and pre-fishing, that I didn't get to places I would have liked to this year.

Between the relationships forged and the skills gained, it is well worth it for me.

[Hawkeye21]

I've been fishing kayak tournaments for 4 years now.  It's getting bigger and bigger every year.  There are so many more opportunities to fish tournaments now.  You can find local tournaments that are more just for fun.  There are regional tournaments that can be a bit more serious.  You can try to fish for angler of the year in your state.  There are national tournaments series like KBF, BASS Nation and Hobie.

 

This is the time of year when all of the clubs and series are releasing their schedules and it's a good time to see what you want to fish next year.  I've pretty much got a schedule planned out for all of next year already just fishing around Iowa.

 

If you want to find clubs in your area I would join some of the kayak fishing groups on Facebook.  That's the best source of information I know of.  Kayak Bass Fishing and Kayak Bass Nation are two of the most popular groups.