THE YAKOFF AWARDS were created to bring the kayak fishing community together—to swap ideas, ask questions, share hacks and get inspired to MacGyver our boats for maximum fun and fishing. Structured like an NCAA-style bracket tournament, the inaugural YakOffs pitted top kayak anglers head-to-head in a friendly showdown.

Through stories, pictures, videos, interviews and engagement, the audience voted weekly on who moved forward in the competition. The winner of each weekly matchup was announced on the following Monday at noon EST.

Reader votes crowned Jake Suvak as the angler with the best fishing rig, and the first-ever YakOff Champion! As the winner, he earns:

• A spotlight in Kayak Angler’s Summer Print Issue
• A branded spotlight page on kayakanglermag.com
• The YakOff Trophy and bragging rights
• $2,500.00 USD cash prize!

As thanks for their participation in the tournament, YakOff voters were entered for a chance to win a decked-out, motorized kayak of their own, valued at over $3,400!