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
