Last week marked one of the biggest annual events for kayak bass anglers, as the KBF National Championship kicked off from October 13–15. Competitors came from far and wide to test their skills in the waterways around Shreveport, Louisiana. In this video, 2016 KBF national champ Matt Ball and his running mate Tim Isaacs prefish Caddo Lake and share their tips on “breaking down the water…to get five big fish on the board on tournament day.”
Prefishing Tips from the KBF National Championship
Caddo Lake straddles the border between Texas and Louisiana, covering 25,400 acres of swamp and bayou. An internationally protected wetland, the lake is home to one of the most extensive flooded cypress forests in the U.S., and the cypress trees make a stunning backdrop for some excellent bass fishing. Ball and Isaacs cover the miles—up to 20 a day—in their Torqeedo-equipped kayaks, power fishing as they go. “Just trying to put as many casts in the water as I can,” explains Ball.
Based on the day’s conditions, Ball and Isaacs search for patterns of activity to help them find the bite. Satellite footage on Google Maps can be a big help. “We had some hits right in this little pinch point right in here,” Ball says, pointing at his phone. “Like a flurry of bites, so I’m kind of scrolling out on this map and looking for other places that have pinch points.” He also uses Google Maps to track the distance between spots.
Productive Prefishing Takes an Inquiring Mind
“When you’re prefishing you’ve got to take everything in,” Ball advises as the pair hunts for secondary patterns. “And if you have wind on tournament day,” he continues, “that’s going to play into a lot of these trees that are out in the open, whereas right now we’ve been catching a lot of our fish along the edge. So, just keep your mind open…because the conditions today are generally not going to be exactly the same on tournament day.”
In addition to some nice catches, Ball provides a walkthrough of the new video catch-release procedure for this year’s KBF championships. Isaacs also shows off the pedal steering modifications on his motorized kayak, allowing it to turn on a dime.
For more “instructional fishing videos that focus on the little stuff,” check out The Little Stuff on YouTube.
