Tag: Central Jersey Kayak Bass Fishing Club

History Helps Secure a Big Wallenpaupack Win

Presented by Three Belles Outfitters and Bixpy, the third Elite Kayak Fishing event of the season took place on Saturday, July 14, on the beautiful waters of Pennsylvania’s Lake Wallenpaupack.

Forty-five anglers from all over the Northeast battled heavy recreational boat traffic and tight-lipped bass in hopes of taking home the coveted Elite Kayak Fishing trophy and earning a spot in the championship event on Lake Champlain later this year.

Lake Wallenpaupack is very popular with locals and visitors alike—which everyone fishing the event learned as the flotillas of pontoon party boats and deck boats made their way across the lake and parked on top of prime fishing areas like coves, flats, humps, and points, while wake boats and jet skis zipped around and created endless waves that battered everything and everyone relentlessly.

All of this undoubtedly made the notoriously tough fishery even tougher.

Known for being a stingy fishery—and stingier in the summer—Lake Wallenpaupack stayed true to its reputation by only giving up 67 scorable bass, with only 30 anglers entering fish, and only two managing a five-fish limit.

Despite the limited number of fish caught, the top ten anglers found themselves in a tight race, their position at the top precarious at best. One 12-inch bass was worth five or six positions!

Jason Gardner separated himself from the pack early, putting up the day’s first limit by 9:30 AM and having the lead for much of the day. He would later have a fish denied, but before that could happen local angler Rich Toepfer swooped in and snatched the lead with a solid limit of his own.

Having grown up on the lake, Rich was poised for the victory…until late in the day a talented angler from New Hampshire happened upon some offshore structure, something that did not appear to be very abundant across the lake.

Historical knowledge of a fishery often helps anglers win events, but occasionally history itself offers up something from another time…

Jake Angulas had just one 16-inch bass before coming upon an old building foundation in deeper water around noontime. He worked that area with a ned rig for the remainder of the tournament and landed four bass—two of which topped 16 and 17 inches—propelling the young hammer to the top and nailing down his second Elite Kayak Fishing victory!


The winner, Jake Angulas

With back-to-back wins, Jake also sits atop the Angler of the Year leaderboard, and with our next event on Lake Winnipesaukee in his home state, all eyes are on Jake. No pressure!

Lake Wallenpaupack’s top five paying spots were rounded out by two other New Hampshire anglers, Adam Rourke and Stephen Smith, and the Bixpy Big Bass prize went to Danny Fontaine, who hauled in an 18.75-inch smallmouth late in the day.

Elite Kayak Fishing would like to thank Danny Fontaine, Brian Thomas, and the Central Jersey Kayak Bass Fishing Club for helping make this event possible.

Special thanks to our incredible sponsors—Three Belles Outfitters and Bixpy, Dakota Lithium, Jackson Kayak’s Orion Coolers, and Savur Outdoors—for the support and prizes!

And a huge thank-you to all of the anglers who made the trip for this event!

As mentioned, we’re heading to New Hampshire’s legendary Lake Winnipesaukee on August 14. Register here on Fishing Chaos!


Lake Wallenpaupack Replaces Lake Hopatcong

When we found out we would not be granted a permit for Lake Hopatcong, we looked at other locations nearby, most of which unfortunately turned out to be reservoirs used for drinking water. After much research, our next best option seemed to be Candlewood Lake in Connecticut. We even alluded to this on our Facebook group page.

Another choice was the Delaware River, and others suggested the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania, but neither was the right choice. The former being tidal and having a reputation as a mediocre fishery; the latter being too far out of the region in which we want to host these events (for the time being).

We had all but committed to Candlewood when someone suggested a large reservoir in northeastern Pennsylvania. Lake Wallenpaupack.

After some research, we decided this was a better option, as it would allow us to keep an event down in that part of the region rather than holding it on Candlewood over two hours to the north.

Danny Fontaine and Brian Thomas of Central Jersey Kayak Bass Fishing Club went to work securing a permit, which was just approved, so it’s official: our July 17 event will be held on Lake Wallenpaupack in northeastern Pennsylvania!

Check out the event page for more details.


Kayak Anglers Announce New Northeast Tournament Series

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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