Kayak Koz and the Lake Fork Adventure

[Koz]

Tomorrow morning it's time to head out on vacation! After nearly four years without taking a vacation and months of deliberation between heading to Florida or Texas, I'm heading to Texas to do some fishing at Lake Fork. I had considered hitting Rayburn and Toledo Bend as well, but since I am fishing the Native Watercraft No Limits tournament on Fork I'm going to put in a lot of pre-fishing. I will probably spend a day at Caddo or Bisteneau on the way back. 

 

One cool thing about this trip is that @LrgmouthShad is going to meet me later in the week and he will be fishing his first kayak tournament. It's always great meeting BR members when I head to events. If any more of you will be at Fork from the 10th through the 17th, please let me know. Tournament day is on the 16th.

 

Speaking of this tournament, it's a unique event. Normally, in a kayak tournament it's the total length of your 5 largest fish that count. But in this tournament, ALL of your fish (over 14") count. First place is $1,000 - $3,500 depending upon the number of entries. But wait, there's more! There is an hourly Big Bass Bonus every hour of the tournament. The payoff is between $700 and $1,000 per hour depending upon the number of entries. They also have giveaways every hour.

 

I've got a 14 hour drive ahead of me and I'm thinking of stopping in Mississippi and fishing Barnett or I may stop and fish Caddo or Bisteneau on the way down. My hotel reservation doesn't start until Sunday, but I'm leaving Saturday, taking my time, and giving myself the option to fish somewhere Sunday morning.

 

Monday I'll set out somewhere on Fork on my own, but Tuesday I hired a guide to help me learn the lake and find some places to fish. Normally, with Bassmaster, Bass Nation, and Hobie events fishing off a boat and / or with a guide during tournament week is prohibited. But since this tournament does not have that rule I thought I would take advantage of some local knowledge. I can mark waypoints in my Humminbird or Garmin app for when I hit the lake on my own.

 

The biggest lesson I learned fishing the few Bassmaster and Bass Nation events I did this year is that I can't just show up to a lake I have never fished before and find fish. It doesn't matter how much I studied maps or what articles I read online. They are no substitutes for pre-fishing and covering water. I guess that's why anglers in the Elites and BPT were buying and selling waypoints.

 

My pack out is done on my vehicle, and holy cow I have a lot of stuff including backup props and shear pins, tools, fuses, wiring, soldering equipment, battery charger, power inverter (to charge from my Bronco if needed), tools, spare tire for my trailer, clothes for all weather conditions, and a few bins of tackle so I should not have to buy anything once I get there (good luck with that, right?).

 

I did pick up a few sponsors recently (i.e. I get steep discounts and occasional free stuff, no cash) and they want social media engagement so I'll have my GoPros rigged in hopes of getting some decent video. Hopefully I can put together a decent recap of the trip when I get home in a few weeks. My goal with the social media is not only to promote the sponsor products, but also to show what it's like for an average angler to fish in some of these bigger tournaments highlighting preparation, equipment, costs, etc.

 

Anyway, I'm hoping this turns out to be an epic road trip. I'm going to try and post some updates throughout the week.

[A-Jay]

Safe Travels and Good Luck

A-Jay

[Swamp Girl]

28 minutes ago, Koz said:

But in this tournament, ALL of your fish (over 14") count.

 

Whoa, I should fish this tournament. 

 

Seriously, good luck and enjoy your trip! Looking forward to pics and video and reports.

[GreenPig]

Sounds like a great trip, be safe, and good luck. Looking forward to the story.

[Mike L]

Have a great time and travel safe!

I wish you the best. 
 

 

 

 

 

Mike

[FryDog62]

Sounds fun and you’re well prepared. Traveling long distances to fish in a kayak is a huge undertaking and obviously the need to be prepared.  I smiled when I saw “soldering” equipment - been there, and needed that! 
 

Huge that you can use a guide and learn the lake ahead of time. I moved near lake Hartwell this Fall and learning 50,000 acres in a 3.7 mph kayak takes a lot of time no matter how much you study maps, articles, etc. 

 

Good luck, let us know how you do!

[Susky River Rat]

Good luck buddy! I see a YouTube handle in your future kayak koz! I like it. 

[Dwight Hottle]

Good luck.

[Koz]

I may have found the travel angler’s nirvana - a Buc-ees and a Bass Pro Shop on the same exit!

 

 

[MN Fisher]

Good luck in the tourney, man...and be safe out there.

 

1 hour ago, Koz said:

a Buc-ees

What is that? A cut-rate Denny's?

[Koz]

40 minutes ago, MN Fisher said:

Good luck in the tourney, man...and be safe out there.

 

What is that? A cut-rate Denny's?

You don’t know Buc-ees? It’s a cross between a giant convenience store and a small department store and a candy shop and a coffee shop and a grab and go restaurant and more. It’s something that has to be experienced.

[MN Fisher]

1 minute ago, Koz said:

It’s something that has to be experienced.

Other than Air Force Basic Training, and fly in visits to SE Florida - furthest south I've been is Kansas City....so never ran into one.

Trying to remember the name, but I know we stopped in at something like that on one of our trips to Kansas....I think it was in NW Missouri....

[TnRiver46]

4 hours ago, MN Fisher said:

Good luck in the tourney, man...and be safe out there.

 

What is that? A cut-rate Denny's?

Bucees is the worst place you could imagine, 0/10 would not recommend 

[MN Fisher]

1 minute ago, TnRiver46 said:

0/10 would not recommend 

Well, considering I probably won't have the chance to be anywhere near one, I think I'm safe, Russ.

[Bankbeater]

Be safe and get some big numbers.

[Koz]

Day 1: Arrival

 

I left around noon eastern on Saturday and didn’t get in until 6:30 am on Sunday. I hit some heavy rain and dense fog, so I pulled off a few times to try and sleep. Even though I’m short, squeezing and contorting into the cargo area of my Bronco Sport was not an easy task. I dozed a few times but didn’t sleep.

 

Once I checked into the hotel I slept for three hours, unloaded, and set up my kayak. There was dense fog on the lake at 10:30 am, so before putting into the water I checked my nav lights. Wouldn’t you know it, the starboard bow light was not working.  When I pushed hard on it, it would come on, but it wouldn’t seat properly. I fooled with it for 30 minutes to no avail, but by then the fog lifted so I launched off the ramp at my motel.

 

The water level is down two feet and that makes navigation especially treacherous with all of the submerged timber. I spent more time using FFS to avoid hazards rather than finding fish. Since I have a rigid and not articulated transducer arm it spent half the time on my deck rather than risk shearing the mounting plate again.

 

There were only 2 or 3 boats out in this part of the lake today and they all fished the mouth of a creek channel that I had marked. I didn’t see anyone catching anything.

 

I was scouting and saw nothing in the shallows. There were plenty of baitfish near the surface in the 18-30 foot depths but I saw no predators.

 

I came upon a flat between to lines of brush and saw some bigger fish on FFS in the 9-12 foot depths. i tried top waters, minnows and paddle tails, dragging a jig, a Senko, and a chatterbait and caught nothing. They would follow but not bite.

 

Then I tied on a 3/8 oz spinnerbait and got bit on the first cast. I ended up with four 1-2 pounders in three plus hours. That’s not going to cash a check.

 

Tomorrow I plan to run up to the NW corner of the lake and work my way shallow to deep. Water temps are 73-76 where I fished, which is about 10 degrees warmer than back home. My guess is that the bass are still staged outside the creek channels and pockets chasing shad, so that’s where I’ll start.

 

Tonight is map study and getting rest. It’s a long day tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

[Alex from GA]

Have a good time not a money making endeavor.

[Koz]

3 hours ago, Alex from GA said:

Have a good time not a money making endeavor.

My goal is to cover the cost of my trip. I believe setting goals leads to a higher probability of success.

 

In the few tournaments I fished earlier this year I just showed up and fished. No real plan, no goals. No success, either. I treated it like a day fishing for fun on my home lake.

 

I want to try a different approach and improve myself as an angler. I also want not only to be competitive, but also to win. That might be wishful thinking, but it’s a goal. I’ll fish for fun when I get home.

 

 

[islandbass]

Wishing you the best of luck,  it have a great time overall. We’ll be rooting for both of you!

[LrgmouthShad]

As for myself, I am wrapped up prefishing. Koz and I meant to link up but our schedules did not align. I’ll see him the 15th. I’ve been fishing Fork for the past three days over Veteran’s weekend. I have oscillated so much between thinking that I know what I’m doing and thinking that I don’t. I’ve got some stuff marked. Some stuff is shallow some stuff is a little deeper. I’ve got a halfway-there game plan. I don’t know, man, I’ve never done this tourney stuff before. So I’ve concluded to stick to my plan but be ready for it to fail, focus on the mental side of things this week, and don’t stress myself out. I’m going for the big fish because it has the highest payout potential. 

[Catt]

Y'all Kick Bass 😉

[Susky River Rat]

One word of advice for both of you. Try to fish your strengths. Anyone can find fish. It’s finding the fish you can catch. Good luck! Enjoy it!

[LrgmouthShad]

@Susky River Rat for sure, and any fish that requires a dropshot or minnow because they are entitled bratty fish are not my fish. I need real dumb ones or I just need em to make one mistake. I’ll be happy with any finish. Fork is a cool lake. 

[Swamp Girl]

6 hours ago, LrgmouthShad said:

As for myself, I am wrapped up prefishing. Koz and I meant to link up but our schedules did not align. I’ll see him the 15th. I’ve been fishing Fork for the past three days over Veteran’s weekend. I have oscillated so much between thinking that I know what I’m doing and thinking that I don’t. I’ve got some stuff marked. Some stuff is shallow some stuff is a little deeper. I’ve got a halfway-there game plan. I don’t know, man, I’ve never done this tourney stuff before. So I’ve concluded to stick to my plan but be ready for it to fail, focus on the mental side of things this week, and don’t stress myself out. I’m going for the big fish because it has the highest payout potential. 

 

Reread some of @Bluebasser86's tourney reports. He is forever changing lures and locations and he doesn't hesitate to fish harder-to-reach areas. Plus, he never buckles. He keeps experimenting and muddling what might work. His approach wins tourneys. 

[Koz]

Day 2 Pre-fishing - a rough day

 

My plan was to fish the NW corner of the lake today, but when I got to that ramp it was a rutted mud hole. I didn’t want to risk getting stuck.

 

Headed to another ramp near my hotel and this time headed north. It was breezy but not bad. I fished shallow along the concrete causeway then hit a dock and a concrete seawall and caught an 18 incher and lost another one.

 

Then the wind really started picking up. My AP120 is stable and I don’t worry about flipping, but I was getting rocked around pretty good.

 

I headed to deeper water away from the thickets of timber and caught a small one but I was tired of bobbing around. I made a long run to a creek channel out of the wind. Tons of shad but no bass. I started to make another long run to where I fished yesterday and as it was warming up I decided to take off my heavier hoodie. But first I had to take off my PFD. While holding it and taking off my hoodie, I accidentally got my PFD in the water.

 

There was a loud pop and my vest inflated. It was then I remembered I did not bring a spare CO2 cartridge. 

 

Needless to say, I headed back to the ramp. The wind picked up again and I tied off to the dock. I backed my trailer down the ramp, then began pulling my kayak along the dock to the trailer. The wind caught the kayak, slammed it into the dock, and it sheared two nylon pins that hold my livescope mount. Luckily, I packed extras.

 

I also got lucky that the tackle shop at my hotel had the CO2 cartridge I needed so I didn’t have to drive an hour plus to get one.

 

The shop owner saw my rig and we talked for a while and he gave me two spots to fish later this week. Tomorrow I head out with a guide for a half day.

 

It’s not easy going to a new lake and trying to break it down. But talking to folks at the ramp, they say they’re catching 1-2 pounders as well.

 

Tomorrow should be a good day with the guide. then I’ll make the repairs to my FFS mount and my lighting.