For the first time ever, the three major kayak fishing clubs in West Virginia came together to create a West Virginia State Championship event. Mountain State Kayak Anglers, West Virginia Kayak Anglers and Southern West Virginia Kayak Anglers host a tournament trail in the state every year and the anglers that compete are world class. Names like Matt Ball, Jodie Queen, Tim Issacs, Mark Edwards and several others all cut their teeth fishing these West Virginia tournament clubs.
Jason Plumley, Greg Kupfner and Coy Lehman are the club presidents that came together to form this event. All of the club presidents had the same goal in mind, and that was to give back to the WV fishing community. “The WV anglers are some of the best in the nation and deserve this title, this is a title that WV has deserved and needed for a long time” – Coy Lehman
The format of the event was something special that the clubs came up with. “This was a format that we all agreed on, we came up with something simple, something that any future club president should have an easy time with” – Greg Kupfner
To get a shot at the championship, you had to fight your way through the entire season. Here’s how it worked: At the end of the season, each club announced their angler of the year and top 12 standings. From those three top 12 AOY standings, each angler fished for the club that they finished highest in, and spots rolled down from there. Ultimately each club put 12 anglers in the event.
The entry fee was $50 and was a true 100% payout event. Each club crowned their own “Best Of The Best”, who each took home $300. And the winner of the championship was decided by the top scoring angler of the event. The State Champion took home $1200 cash.
The tournament venue was held at the Beautiful, Greenbrier County Youth Camp. The competition waterway was the amazing Greenbrier River. The Greenbrier is a kayak anglers dream, crystal clear water, breathtaking views, and an amazing smallmouth bass fishery.
The location of the event was hidden from competitors until two days prior, this added to the angler anticipation and attraction to the event. Pre-Fishing for the event was not permitted and each angler had to put up a 5 fish limit with a 12” minimum.
Everything in the event was designed to be extremely tough. Not only would they have to fish the entire season to earn a spot, but they would also have to put up a near impossible stringer for the time of year and must rely on their experience with WV waterways.
Tournament day was October 15, 2022. It was a beautiful fall day in West Virginia with morning temperatures down at 35 degrees. Some anglers traveled over an hour to their favorite spots and the day was an absolute grind. Out of 36 anglers, only 6 caught a limit and 13 anglers caught no fish at all.
The first ever, State Champion and Mountain State Kayak Anglers “Best Of The Best” was Coy Lehman with 75.25”
“Best Of The Best” for West Virginia Kayak Anglers was Evan Adamson with 71.75”
“Best Of The Best” for Southern West Virginia Kayak Anglers was Heath Mullins with 66.25”
“I was only concerned with running this event, the last thing I had on my mind was winning! My entire thought process was to crown a WV State Champ, there wasn’t ever a thought or consideration of winning. I am truly thankful of WV Anglers; I have met lifelong friends in this sport and get to spend time with family members that I wouldn’t normally get.
It feels like the day was just given to me, everything lined up perfectly. Our top 12 MSKA anglers rolled down one spot due to someone not being able to attend, then Blaine Winters won angler of the year for MSKA as well as SWVKA which ended up in a coin toss that I lost, putting Blaine fishing for SWVKA, I literally got to fish due to a coin toss giving me a roll down spot.
I fished right in front of the Greenbrier County Youth Camp, only because it was where we were having our awards, I wanted to be off the water to get everything setup early. All my fish came from right in front of the camp on a Z-Man, Big TRD and my last catch was at 10:17 in the morning. Simply being at the right place, at the right time, along with deep winter pool fishing with the Big TRD, Texas rigged did the job, I am a finesse fisherman and it paid off. I am so humbled and surprised at the same time, it’s such a mixed bag of emotions, I am just so very thankful” – Coy Lehman
Each club had various sponsors that provided an outstanding number of prizes for the event:
Marietta Adventure Company gave away a Wilderness Systems, Recon 120 kayak.
Fishing Online put up a spot on their fishing team to the winner and provided gift certificates.
Bernie’s River Stick Shop gave away a complete River Stick.
Kayak Angler Magazine covered the story.
Greenbrier County Youth Camp provided the venue for free.
Mountaineer RV & Outdoor Center, LLC paid for the trophies made by Ketch Products and First Responder Woodworking.
Bending Branches Provided paddles.
Elevation Sports donated various prizes.
ZPRO Lithium gave away a 12v, 100ah battery along with additional prizes.
And gift certificates were provided by Torqeedo and YakAttack.
