Kayak fishing tournaments are more than a competition to see who can catch the biggest fish. These gatherings often host hundreds of paddle and pedal anglers and create a community of enthusiasts sharing experiences and fish stories. Kayak anglers can compete at in-person events or online tournaments.

At in-person events, anglers meet up to compete in a one- or two-day competition head-to-head in a specific region or waterbody. Online tournaments allow anglers to fish anytime and anywhere. Using a smartphone app, competitors enter an online tournament and submit photos of their best catches. At the end of the time limit, tournament officials calculate the results and announce a winner.

While many anglers join a tournament for the camaraderie and challenge, big-money competitions are growing across the world pushing the sport to a higher level. Whether you sign up for fun or to win a fortune, there is a kayak fishing tournament in the coming year for you.

Person standing on fishing kayak and fishing
Fish for fun, or fish for the big bucks. | Photo: Courtesy Perception Kayaks

By type of fishing

Kayak bass fishing tournaments

Largemouth and smallmouth bass live on every continent except Antarctica. These aggressive alpha predators are active year-round, making them a perfect target for competitive anglers. For kayak anglers, bass are an easy target in rivers, lakes and ponds. In the past decade, kayak bass tournaments have gone from grassroots gatherings to big-money events with hundreds of participants and winners taking home thousands of dollars. There are local tournaments sponsored by clubs and outfitters, and huge events in the world’s most famous bass destinations drawing pro anglers who battle it out for thousands of dollars in prize money.

In between meet-up events, anglers fish online tournaments. Anglers fishing an online tournament sign up online and register their fish and keep track of their score using a phone-based application. Kayak fishing tournaments revolutionized the catch-photo-and-release (CPR) format. To log a catch, the angler uses their phone to take a photo of the fish lying on a measuring board along with a tournament identifier. The photo is uploaded to tournament officials who determine the length of the fish and add it to the angler’s score.

Not only do participants see what other competitors are catching, but fans can follow the action from home. Kayak bass tournaments are super accessible for any level angler. Wherever you live, however you fish, there is a kayak fishing tournament waiting for you this weekend.

October 2020

November 2020

Kayak crappie fishing tournaments

An easy way to get the whole family involved in tournament fishing is a local crappie tournament. Not only are crappie easy to catch, but many tournaments allow anglers to use live bait, so it’s great for kids and new anglers.

On the other end of the spectrum, pro crappie anglers will pull out every trick to catch the biggest slabs and heaviest stringers. Many big-time boat-based crappie tournaments are now adding a kayak division. As well, many online tournaments have recognized the popularity of crappie fishing and local kayak fishing tournaments are including crappie prizes to attract a wider base of participants.

Crappie fishing tournaments are done for 2020.

Saltwater kayak fishing tournaments

Modern kayak fishing was born on the coasts and the first kayak fishing tournaments were focused on saltwater fishing. Today, saltwater kayak fishing tournaments are annual events with huge turn outs. With a vibe like kayak-fishing Woodstock, huge meet-up tournaments with a party atmosphere attract hundreds of anglers to target popular species like striped bass, redfish and yellowtail.

[ Kayak Angler Buyer’s Guide: View all saltwater fishing kayaks ]

In the south, several inshore tournament series combine regional events into a multi-tournament trail crowning an overall Angler of the Year. And, there are plenty of opportunities for anglers to participate in online events for redfish, sea trout and flounder. Anglers looking for a bigger challenge and a raucous good time should check out saltwater kayak fishing tournaments.

October 2020

November 2020

Man paddling an orange sit-on-top fishing kayak
Get out there and get fishing. | Photo: Courtesy Wilderness Systems

By state

Indiana

October 2020

North Carolina

October 2020

Virginia

October 2020

November 2020

December 2020

Online fishing tournaments

Online fishing tournaments allow anglers to fish anywhere and anytime while competing for cash, prizes and bragging rights. After registering for the tournament, anglers use their smartphone to send photos of their biggest fish lying on an official tournament ruler with an angler identifier in the photo.

Results are updated in real-time so competitors can see where they stand. Watching on their smartphones, fans can follow the competition from anywhere. At the end of the tournament period, results are calculated and a winner is announced. Online tournaments are popular with new anglers and old salts.

These app-based competitions cover every corner of the world and many of the most popular species of fish. There are different formats, time limits, species focus and other features that make online tournaments a big hit with anglers at all levels of the sport.

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Ric Burnley
Kayak Angler editor Ric Burnley has been kayak fishing since the dawn of the sport. In 2007, Burnley wrote The Complete Kayak Fisherman, with chapters on how-to make a PVC rod holder and glue a fish finder transducer to the hull. In 2013, he landed his dream job as editor of Kayak Angler magazine. Burnley is a regular contributor to Salt Water Sportsman, Sport Fishing, Outdoor Life, In the Bite and other print and online publications. Burnley lives in Virginia Beach with his wife, adult daughter, daughter’s boyfriend and daughter’s two cats. Experience In 2004, Ric Burnley stole his first milk crate from behind a 7-Eleven and fashioned it into a gear crate for his Ocean Kayak Prowler 15. Many years and many milk crates later, Burnley has witnessed the rise of kayak fishing from a bastardized fringe element to a legitimate industry with millions of devotees. The journey to becoming an angler started early in Burnley’s life. His father, Eric Burnley, is a renowned outdoor writer and former fishing guide, so the boy grew up in the cockpit of a charter boat and in the pages of national magazines. After college, Burnley lost easy access to his father’s boat, but not his passion for fishing. Once he had exhausted the limits of land-based angling, Burnley decided to try out a new thing called kayak fishing. About the same time, Burnley was looking for extra work to pay for his expensive addiction. His father, editor of the Mid-Atlantic Fisherman Magazine, offered him freelance assignments for the weekly publication. That led to a position as regional editor at Salt Water Sportsman, publication of The Complete Kayak Fisherman and editorship of Kayak Angler. Meanwhile, Burnley and his partner-in-crime, “Kayak Kevin” Whitley were exploring the boundaries of kayak fishing. With the bountiful Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean as their playground, the two anglers were the first to target big red drum, cobia, trophy striped bass, monster black drum, sheepshead and many other species. Once inshore species were exhausted, Burnley loaded his kayak onto motorboats and fished for bluefin tuna, blackfin tuna, king mackerel and amberjack. All the while, Burnley shared his experiences and knowledge with anglers through print, photos, video, radio, seminars and online. Almost 20 years later, Burnley continues to fish obsessively and share the stories. His recent projects for Kayak Angler cover the latest trends in forward-facing sonar and remote-controlled electric motors. Over the past two decades, kayak fishing and Ric Burnley have come a long way from PVC rod holders and stolen milkcrates. Education ● Radford University: BA English; Virginia Teacher’s License. Highlights ● Other Interests: Mountain biking, traveling, hiking, surfing and skateboarding ● Day Job: High School English teacher at an alternative school for at-risk students Fun Fact Ric’s name is a contraction of Eric. Ric is named after his father, Eric Sr. To differentiate between the two Erics, Mrs. Burnley removed her son’s E. To this day, she writes the boy’s name ‘Ric, with an apostrophe replacing the E.

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