For the past eight years, the Tidewater Kayak Anglers Association (TKAA) has been the only kayak fishing club to participate in the Catchin’ for Kids Anglers Club Challenge. And each year in this battle of paddle versus prop, the paddle anglers give the motorboaters a run for their money. This year, the tournament directors and Mother Nature threw the kayak anglers a curve. Still, the self-propelled fishermen hit a home run.
Kayak Fishermen Take on Motorboaters in Angler Club Challenge
The Challenge pits members of local fishing clubs against each other to win bragging rights and collect toys for needy kids. Tidewater, Virginia, is one of the best saltwater fishing destinations in the world, and the local fishing clubs claim some of the best anglers in the area. Each club puts together four teams of four anglers. Each team heads in a different direction to target different species. In a field full of boats ranging from skiffs to sportfishers, the other clubs obviously have the advantage…or so they think.
At the 2015 event, the forecast called for small craft advisory that had motorboat clubs feeling lucky. During the captain’s meeting the night before the tournament, I heard the competition snickering and whispering that the kayak anglers were screwed. Then the organizers threw in another challenge. They stipulated that the four anglers in each kayak team stay within shouting distance while fishing. This took away the advantage of four kayak guys splitting in four directions when the boaters had to stay in one boat.
Bluster continues on tournament day
The morning of the tournament, the weatherman was right for once. The teams were faced with 25-knot winds and angry seas. Each kayak team headed in a different direction to target specific species. The weather had us scrambling. The skinny water team came up blank on speckled trout and redfish. Two teams caught respectable spot and croaker in water too tight for big boats.
The biggest contribution came from a team that drove across Chesapeake Bay to Virginia’s Eastern Shore and launched at a breakwater off Kiptopeke State Park. Because this team was able to work tight to the structure and stay out of the wind, they were able to catch trophy flounder, keeper grey trout, big croaker and spot.
Fine results in foul weather
At the weigh-in, our expectations were as low as the barometer. But when the top fish were added to the leaderboard, it became obvious that the kayak anglers had the win. The boat anglers thought they had an advantage in the bad conditions, but it turned out to be a disadvantage when the only places to hide from the wind and waves were too tiny to fit a big boat.
Foul weather and foul play didn’t stop kayak anglers from winning the 2016 Catchin’ For Kids Anglers Club Challenge. | Feature photo: William Ragulski
