On misty Sunday morning, before sunrise, the Bluegrass Kayak Anglers put into the water, sometime projected in the glare of their own lights before melting away as they rowed off across Cave Run Lake.
For the third year the state-wide group, which started seven years ago, held a tournament in Morehead due to the supportive community and perfect environment for fishing. The group started with a shared love for kayak fishing and decided to organize.
“It’s really all about growing the sport of kayak bass fishing, which has really taken off in the last several years.” Jay Wallen, director of the Bluegrass Kayak Anglers said.
The competitions are a way of bringing together a group of people with the same interest in fishing and interacting with one another.
“Some of these guys, the only time I get to see them throughout the year is at these kayak tournaments,” said Wallen. “You really kind of create a brotherhood or a camaraderie with these guys.”
[embedded content]Kristine Fischer, a member of the Bluegrass Kayak Anglers, said her favorite part of the competitions is the community and getting involved.
“Getting like-mind people together that all love to fish, be outdoors, camp and just bringing people together,” she said. “Just being involved and getting to see everybody and having a good time.”
“We try to explore all of the different lakes of our state, so this was just a very obvious and natural choice for us to want to come here and we get a lot of support from the community,” said Wallen. “There’s no better place to be than the Daniel Boone National Forest when the leaves are changing, and the fish are biting. I couldn’t really ask for a better place to want to come fish.”
The difference between kayak fishing and traditional bass fishing is the measurement method used and the accessible locations. During kayak tournaments bass are measured by inches instead of pounds using the same measuring device.
“A kayak is different from a bass boat in so many different ways, but one of the biggest is the areas that you can access in a small boat versus something in a power boat.”
Kayaks are preferred over power boats due to their economic advantage. Power boats use a lot of fuel where kayaks are a cheap, easy and an affordable way to fish during tournaments.
“Where I was fishing today there’s no way you could have gotten a power boat up in there if you hadn’t had a kayak. There’s no way you could have accessed that kind of water,” added Wallen.
Wallen said growing up in eastern Kentucky fishing has always been a part of his life.
“It’s something my parents did, it’s something my grandparents did, and I think that’s something that you find all throughout this area is that people love to fish” Wallen added. “It’s just something that I think everybody loves to do and kayaks make it easy for everybody.”
A group of about 50 participants competed for the first-place award of $2,000 with giveaways of reels, accessories and a kayak.
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