Category: Organization News

Discussing the 2022 Schedule on the Breakdown Podcast

December 10, 2021 2 Comments

Ken Wood, Adam Rourke, and Jason Gardner joined John Ferriera on the latest episode of The Breakdown to discuss changes to the 2022 Elite Kayak Fishing tournament schedule, COVID-19 pandemic restrictions affecting at least one event, the Hobie B.O.S. conflict, and more.

Check it out below!

If don’t want to watch or listen to the podcast, here is the full schedule:

May 21 – Messalonskee Lake, Maine
Jun 25 – Oneida Lake, New York
Jul 16 – Connecticut River, Massachusetts
Aug 27 – Lake Winnipesaukee, New Hampshire
Sep 10–11 – Lake Champlain, New York/Vermont (Championship)

Click the Schedule/Results link at the top of this page for more details on each event.

Championship Changes

August 18, 2021 0 Comment

After careful consideration, we have made some changes to our upcoming championship event on Lake Champlain.

QUALIFICATIONS

Originally, to qualify for our championship, anglers needed finish in the top ten or acquire 800 total Angler of the Year points in our first four regular-season events.

After speaking with a number of anglers, gathering insight from our sponsors, and going over the numbers again, we realized we needed to bring the goal posts a little closer.

Now, anglers who finished in the top ten at any of our first four events or acquired 600 Angler of the Year points are qualified to fish Lake Champlain in September!

To see if you qualified, click here to check out our current Angler of the Year standings.

If you have fished our events and do not see your name listed, please follow this link and become an Elite Kayak Fishing club member on the Fishing Chaos website. It’s free!

BOUNDARIES

After experiencing the Hobie B.O.S. event on Lake Champlain back in June, seeing anglers traveling hundreds of miles to pre-fish different parts of the lake, we decided to add a hard boundary for our championship event.

For our 2021 championship, we will now be focusing on the northern half of the lake.

The northern boundary remains unchanged and is the United States/Canada line. Don’t cross it (seriously, you could be arrested). The new southern boundary is the Ausable River on the New York side across to Colchester Point and Malletts Bay on the Vermont side. Anything south of that line is now out of bounds.


New boundary line for our 2021 championship

We will be returning to Lake Champlain for our 2022 championship, and for that event we will focus on the southern end of the lake, where the northern boundary will be the Ausable River across to Colchester Point.

We won’t make a habit of changing things so late in the season, but with this being our first season, having gained experience and knowledge from our first four events, we feel these changes make sense and will be a benefit for all those involved.

We hope you understand. If you have any questions, please reach out.

Dakota Lithium Powers Elite Kayak Fishing

May 4, 2021 0 Comment

Elite Kayak Fishing is amped to announce that our 2021 season will be powered by Dakota Lithium!

One of the most supportive companies to not only the kayak fishing industry but also the anglers, Dakota Lithium should be no stranger to you. Whether you need a long-lasting battery to power your GoPro all day, run your electronics or your motor, Dakota Lithium has you covered, from 7ah all the way up to 200ah!

Their 10ah Power Box—a universal and mobile power station equipped with two USB charging ports, a 12v socket, binder posts, and high-efficiency LED flashlight—is built to power all your passions! And their new Multi-Function Power Inverter is the perfect companion to the tournament angler or outdoors enthusiast. Paired with any Dakota Lithium battery or solar panel, the Power Inverter takes DC power and transforms it into AC power, ideal for powering equipment such as laptops, CPAP machines, and small TVs and appliances while on the road or off the grid.

With batteries that last 4x longer than traditional batteries, you’ll be hard-pressed to run your battery down in a single outing, and it’s all backed by a best-in-class 11-year warranty and world-class industry support. Come out to one of our events this year for your chance to win one of these great products!

Check out Dakota Lithium online at their website or give them a like and follow on Facebook and Instagram.

Savur Outdoors Partners with Elite Kayak Fishing

April 29, 2021 0 Comment

Elite Kayak Fishing is pleased to announce Savur Outdoors as a series partner for the 2021 fishing season!

Savur Outdoors offers retrieval devices designed to recover lost fishing rods, action cameras, and fishing bows. We’ve all had days on the water where the conditions were challenging, only to get back to shore and discover an expensive piece of gear is missing. Using the same science behind inflatable lifejackets, Savur’s products deploy a float with sixty feet of fishing line attached, allowing you to recover your gear. If your gear is submerged, Savur’s floats are reloadable, allowing you to get multiple uses out of the same product.

Savur Outdoors provides options made to fit a wide range of fishing rods in a variety of different color combinations. The action camera float integrates into existing camera mounts, preventing any obstacles from capturing your adventures on the water. The gear float attaches with a key ring to anything you don’t want Davy Jones keeping.

We are excited to be working with Savur Outdoors and we will be giving away some of their floats during our events for the 2021 season!

Give them a like and follow on Facebook and Instagram, or check them out online at their website.

Jackson Kayak’s Orion Coolers Sponsors Elite Kayak Fishing

April 27, 2021 0 Comment

Elite Kayak Fishing is proud to announce Jackson Kayak’s Orion Coolers as a series partner for the 2021 fishing season!

Jackson Kayak is widely regarded as an industry leader in quality and innovation, and like their world-class kayaks, Orion Coolers delivers unparalleled performance and durability in the outdoors industry using the same quality materials to create high-performance, roto-molded coolers.

These coolers offer two inches of insulation throughout, ensuring your food or beverage of choice stays cold longer. Certified bear-resistant by the Interagency Grizzly Bear Committee, Orion Coolers meet bear-resistant food storage regulations on public lands in grizzly bear habitat. Each cooler comes with a variety of features like built-in bottle openers, non-slip feet, and tie-down points, making sure your cooler is with you every step of your adventure.

Jackson Kayak’s Orion Coolers offer a wide range of options for anyone seeking to be Outdoor to the Core, and Elite Kayak Fishing will be giving away via random draw one 35-quart cooler at each regular-season event and two 45-quart coolers at our championship event on Lake Champlain!

See you on the water!

Like and follow Orion Coolers on Facebook and Instagram, or check them out online at Jackson Adventures.

Elite Kayak Fishing Announces Title Sponsor

March 7, 2021 0 Comment

Elite Kayak Fishing is very excited to announce that Three Belles Outfitters will be the title sponsor for our inaugural season!

Three Belles Outfitters, located on the Niantic River in Niantic, Connecticut, has long been recognized as the premier outfitter in the Northeast. Carrying such brands as Jackson Kayak, Hobie, Feelfree, Bonafide, and Native Watercraft, it’s easy to see why it is the one-stop shop for your outfitting needs. In addition to sales, Three Belles has a kayak and SUP rental fleet, an extensive kayak rigging department, kayak fishing charters, kids’ programs, and they host corporate events.

Through their online store, you can order kayaks as well as all your elite rigging brands, such as YakAttack, RAM, YakPower, YakGear, Nocqua, Lowrance, and BerleyPro. Not sure which kayak to choose? Stop in and demo several, and pick the one that works best for you.

If you want to save a little money, reach out to one of the National Fishing Team members—Ken Wood, Jason Gardner, Cory Pelletier, Tyler Sweet, or Joseph D’Addeo—before you shop! Long drive to get a kayak? No worries! Three Belles ships and offers a delivery service within a 200-mile radius of the shop.

Ted Douglas, who oversees sales and rigging, is very knowledgeable on all brands of kayaks and is always willing to answer questions, give a price quote, and goes out of his way to help ensure products are sent out right away.

Three Belles manager, Lauren Furey, is as passionate about this sport as any of the competitors. When asked about partnering with Elite Kayak Fishing, Lauren said, “We are excited to partner with EKF. Their dedication to growing the sport of kayak fishing and creating a dedicated kayak fishing trail series for the Northeast region is a game changer. Their pioneering spirit and future plans for EKF matched TBO’s core principles, all of which provides an amazing opportunity for growth and support in the Northeast.”

The motto at Three Belles Outfitters is “life is always better on the water,” and we couldn’t agree more, which is why this elite kayak outfitter was the obvious choice for the Elite Kayak Fishing trail!

Like and follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.

EKF on the Jigs & Bigs Podcast

January 12, 2021 0 Comment

This past weekend we had chance to sit down and discuss all things Elite Kayak Fishing with the guys from Jigs & Bigs. We’ll be working with them on our events this season. More on that in the future, but for now give the latest episode a listen.

And if you’re inclined, follow them on Facebook and Instagram, where they do giveaways and all that good stuff.

EKF Payout Structure

January 4, 2021 0 Comment

The subject of payouts can be a touchy one. Everyone wants transparency, but sometimes there is far more involved than most outsiders realize, and transparency can become a liability. On the other hand, less transparency, for reasons justified or not, can lead to rumors, and…well, rumors are always true, right?

Luckily for us, our payout structure is about as straightforward as they come.

ENTRY FEES

Regular Event: $125
Championship Event: $175

FROM THE POT:

Big Bass: $500 (based on at least 50 anglers)
Admin Fees: $5 (per angler)

BREAKDOWN OF ADMIN FEES

Payment for judges
Payment for host directors (distributed at end of season)
Payment for banners, trophies, tournament HQ rental fees, etc.
Permit costs
Miscellaneous fees

There it is: 96% payout. Simple. Sweet. To the point.

Elite Kayak Fishing was built for tournament anglers by tournament anglers. We wanted to have some of the best payout percentages in the industry while also taking care of our partners, the directors, whose assistance is invaluable to our success. We feel like we have done that here.

We also have sponsorship deals in the works for prize packages and product giveaways, which will only increase the overall payouts.

This trail is for you, not us, and we aim to prove that.

For a full a breakdown out to 150 anglers, click here.

Kayak Anglers Announce New Northeast Tournament Series

January 3, 2020 0 Comment

KAYAK ANGLERS ANNOUNCE NEW NORTHEAST TOURNAMENT SERIES

What started as a simple idea for a one-off tournament has evolved into Elite Kayak Fishing, a full-blown tournament series for kayak anglers in the Northeast, with five events scheduled for their inaugural season, including a championship on the mighty Lake Champlain.

Founded by Jason Gardner, Ken Wood, and Adam Rourke, with the assistance of Matt Charette, Elite Kayak Fishing is a kayak fishing organization aimed at creating more opportunities for anglers to compete at a higher level without having to travel thousands of miles to do so.

For years, some of the best anglers in the country, performing on the biggest stages that kayak fishing has to offer, have come from the Northeast. “When KBF decided to scale back and drop their regional trail series, we created EKF to fill that gap,” said Ken Wood, when asked why there was a need for another tournament series. “We want to offer the highest level of competition in this region because many of the anglers are already competing on that level, only now they can do it much closer to home.”

Jason Gardner added, “Without a way to compete regionally, we feared this level of competition in the Northeast could go stagnant.”

Leveraging the various fishing groups and dedicated kayak fishing ambassadors throughout the region and country, Elite Kayak Fishing represents a collaborative effort to expand the sport of kayak fishing in a region that has less support than any other in the country.

“It was important to us that we work with other directors and kayak fishing groups in the region,” Adam Rourke said. “Not only is their knowledge and input invaluable to our success, that success will hopefully have a positive effect on their groups and more importantly their anglers.”

Indeed, for this inaugural season, Elite Kayak Fishing has partnered with five of the biggest tournament groups in the region: New York Kayak Bass Fishing, Maine Yak Anglers, Central Jersey Kayak Bass Fishing Club, New Hampshire Kayak Fishing, and Adirondack Kayak Bass Fishing.

“The goal is to work with new groups each season.” Jason Gardner pauses, then adds, “And possibly one day expand into other regions. Time will tell. But for now the focus remains on the Northeast.”

Elite Kayak Fishing has also partnered with Kayak Bass Fishing, as the first-ever Partner Trail Series, and will provide anglers with opportunities to qualify for the annual Kayak Bass Fishing National Championship.

In addition, Anglers will also be given the chance to qualify for the All-American Kayak Classic.

The culture of Elite Kayak Fishing is simple: expand the sport of kayak bass fishing and have fun doing it.

For more information, visit them online. For media and sponsorship inquires, please contact Matt Charette at matt@elitekayakfishing.com

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