Tag: Lake Champlain

Ryan Matylewicz Wins Angler of the Year After Epic 2023 Season

November 1, 2023 1 Comment

Consistency is one of the defining characteristics of any Angler of the Year. To earn the title, one must be consistent not for one event, not for two, but for an entire season.

This year, Ryan Matylewicz had one of those seasons.

The 2023 EKF season took us to some of the Northeast’s most premier fisheries, and Cayuga lake is arguably at the top of that list. Known for its world-class fishing and trophy bass, Cayuga Lake churned out fifteen limits over 90 inches, and many more close to it, at our first event of the year. Ryan’s limit of 96.75 inches, however impressive, was only good enough for third place—the first of four top-three finishes in 2023.

Following Cayuga Lake, EKF stopped at the famed Lake Champlain where challenging weather presented difficult fishing conditions. Ryan’s ability to adapt allowed him to net a limit of 97.75 and a second-place finish.

The third event of the season took EKF anglers to the St. Lawrence River, known to many as Smallmouth Disneyland. With many anglers fishing the river for the first time, the competition was wide open for those who located quality fish. Ryan’s 92.75 inches of fierce river smallmouth was enough to secure his first-ever EKF victory!

The final regular-season event of the year took anglers to scenic Messalonskee Lake and Great Pond. With both bodies of water known for their impressive smallmouth bass population, it presented anglers with a difficult decision on tournament day. Ryan decided that Great Pond would provide him the best opportunity for success, a decision that would pay off, landing him once again in third place with a limit of 94.5 inches.

With four strong finishes, Ryan was well-positioned in the Angler of the Year standings heading into the championship event on Lake George.

October brought shorter days and dropping temperatures after a period of record-breaking highs in the Adirondack region of upstate New York. Anglers had to come up with multiple strategies to provide them with the best chance to take home the championship trophy.

After day one, Ryan found himself sitting in sixth place and well-positioned in his pursuit of Angler of the Tear.

The second day of the championship saw anglers resorting to their backup plans and making on-the-fly adjustments. While Ryan remained consistent between both days, other anglers stumbled on day two. This opened the door for a fifth-place championship finish and the well-earned title of 2023 EKF Angler of the Year!

Congratulations on a steller season!

Consistency Pays Off for John Ferreira at the 2023 EKF Championship

October 23, 2023 0 Comment

The fall bite on Lake George is legendary—if you time it right.

The two-day Elite Kayak Fishing Championship took place on October 14–15, a time of the year when bass should have been bunched up across the lake, feeding and getting fat for the winter. A sense of excitement and anticipation filled the air as thirty-six of the Northeast’s top anglers gathered with one goal in mind…

Become the 2023 EKF Champion.

But while the autumn foliage and crisp fall breeze painted an expected picture above water, things weren’t so predictable beneath the surface.

Record-breaking high temperatures preceded the week of the event, which meant the water temperature was warmer than normal this time of year (or higher than anglers had hoped it would be). This presented a challenging experience for those seeking to take home the EKF championship trophy.

With the bass less predictable, and the fall feeding frenzy only beginning to turn on, consistency over two days would be the key to victory.

As Matthew Zapala noted before the event, “Consistency will be an issue with the temps the way they are and how random it can be when it’s like this.”

After a week of cool temps, some rain, and windy conditions, day one of the event presented mostly sunny skies and light wind. Smallmouth were active this day, with only one largemouth showing up in the top-five anglers’ limits.

At the end of the day, last year’s EKF Champion and Angler of the Year, Nick Audi, no stranger to the top of the leaderboard, found himself there once again with 95.25 inches. But with this being a two-day event, and with John Ferreira (94.5), Frank Matylewicz (94), Todd Dyer (93), and Rey Morales (90) close behind, there were no guarantees for victory.

Sunday arrived with a dip in air temps and a strong northerly wind for most of the day, changing things dramatically for some anglers on day two.

When the waves settled, Ryan Matylewicz landed in fifth place with a solid limit of 177.25 inches. Ryan covered miles of water, starting at the southern end of the lake each day before packing up and moving to a mid-lake area. A dropshot presentation was how he enticed them into the kayak.

With another strong performance in his first season with EKF, Rey Morales expertly used a jig to haul in 178.25 inches of both smallmouth and largemouth, giving him a very respectable fourth-place finish to cap off an excellent year.

     

On Saturday, smallmouth pushed Nick Audi to the top spot, but on Sunday his quality smallmouth bite had disappeared. A last-minute 20-inch largemouth saved the day, giving him a much-needed 4.5-inch upgrade, which was the difference between a sixth- and a third-place finish. He had 180.25 inches total.

Nick also landed the Three Belles Outfitters Big Bass of the event with a giant 20.50-inch smallmouth.

Frank Matylewicz and Benjamin Bornhorst also caught 20.50-inchers, but Nick caught his first, which was the tie-breaker.

As noted, consistency over two days was key for this event, and Todd Dyer’s persistence was on display as he finished in fourth place each day. His masterful jig work in deep water earned him a two-day total of 181.5 inches and a well-deserved second-place check.

     

While being consistent will always benefit an angler, luck can sometimes throw a wrench in the works. John Ferreira worked a large area of the lake for three days during pre-fishing, putting up over 90 inches each day, utilizing a variety of baits. Like Rey and Todd, the jig was his most productive bait, and on Saturday it resulted in his best day of the week with 94.50 inches. Everything was going his way.

Come Sunday, however, things changed. Before noon, John’s biggest bass was a 17.50-incher. It appeared that after five days his luck—or good fortune, if you will—had finally run out.

Under pressure, John remained focused and covered nearly ten miles in his tricked-out Jackson Kayak Take Two. It was a game of hide-and-seek, and finally, at 11:58 AM, he found the first of four big smallmouth that would ultimately propel him to the top of leaderboard.

In quick succession, John hauled in a 19.75, a 19, an 18.50, and a 19.25, among others that didn’t make the cut, to firmly secure the championship crown with 188.50 inches, seven inches over second place!

John’s ability to track down schools of quality smallmouth bass led to a pattern that held up for the duration of the event.

The top ten was rounded out by Benjamin Bornhorst (175.75), Matthew Conant (172.00), Matthew Zapala (171.25), Ken Wood (167.75), and Joseph Horgos (167.75).

Over the course of two days, thirty-six champion-worthy anglers put up 354 green and brown Lake George bass. Payouts totaled just over $6,000 (with more in prizes), bringing the season total cash payouts to nearly $50,000!

And with that, the 2023 EKF season has come to an end. This season would not have been possible without the support of Dakota Lithium Batteries, Three Belles Outfitters, and National Trade Services, as well as Bending Branches, Crosskix, Catch Co., Fresh Baitz, Harpoon Brewery, Hobie Eyewear, Lunkerhunt, Rogue Gear Co., and YakAttack!

Though our sponsors are the foundation on which we all stand and compete, we must always thank you, the angler, for making EKF the great success that it’s been! It has been an amazing season for us and we’re looking forward to making 2024 even better!

Jeremiah Savely Wins Big on the Connecticut River/Moore Reservoir

July 17, 2023 0 Comment

The third stop on the 2023 Dakota Lithium Elite Kayak Fishing Series presented by Three Belles Outfitters took place on July 8, 2023, on the Connecticut River/Moore Reservoir. Sitting halfway in Vermont and New Hampshire, the competition took place in an area where an abundance of small fish was present, making it a test of skill and strategy to locate the larger bass, which proved to be an exciting and challenging event.

One 19-inch upgrade for anyone in the top 30 would have put most in the money and given others the win!

Events such as this require a stronger mental game than most. It can be discouraging cycling through a dozen or more small fish before catching a keeper or an upgrade, all of which are also small. But whether you’re catching five-pounders or your total limit would have weighed roughly five pounds itself, it was a level playing field and someone always wins.

On this day, that someone was Jeremiah Savely, who was able to locate the elusive bigger bass and emerge as the victor with a total of 77 inches. (Rumor has it, his pre-fishing limit on the reservoir pushed him close to 90 inches, which, if true, would have been mighty impressive.) Jeremiah’s outstanding performance earned him a well-deserved cash prize of $1,918 and the coveted Elite Kayak Fishing trophy.

With very limited time to pre-fish on Friday, Matthew Conant didn’t let that stop him from putting up a total of 76.5 inches of bass on Saturday. He submitted his first bass—a giant 19.75-inch smallmouth—just a few minutes into the tournament. This was not only the first fish submitted to the event but also the biggest. Matt walked away with the Three Belles Outfitters Big Bass bonus of $500 and an additional $1,370 for second place.

Demonstrating angling skill and perseverance, New Hampshire’s Matt Lee launched himself up into the winner’s circle with two last-minute upgrades, securing third place with a total of 76 inches. His impressive performance earned him a cash prize of $986.40.

     

With a top-ten at Cayuga Lake and third place at Lake Champlain, Rey Morales has been on the hunt for that top position in the Angler of the Year leaderboard. With a fourth-place finish at this event, Rey’s 75.75 inches sees him now wearing the AOY crown, surrounded by $712.40 in well-earned EKF gold.

Finally, Donald Davis rounded out the top five positions, securing the fifth-place spot with a total of 75.25 inches of bass. Don fished a pattern figured out by his girlfriend while fun fishing the day before, thus his $493.20 was likely halved.

This tournament proved to be a testament to the anglers’ abilities to adapt and make the most of the conditions at hand. Although the quintessential “big bass” were hard to find, the anglers who found the right ones to win deserve just as many accolades as those who win on world-class bass fisheries. It’s a tournament, a competition, and you don’t win if you don’t earn it.

Congratulations to those in the winner’s circle, and thanks to everyone for showing up and making this a great event.

We had 52 anglers for this event and paid out nearly $6,000 in cash and more in prizes. With this event, Elite Kayak Fishing has paid out over $100,000!

Anglers submitted 352 bass to the National Trade Services Live Leaderboard, all but one of which were smallmouth. The lone largemouth was submitted by your winner, Jeremiah Savely.

Special shout-out to our elite sponsors, Dakota Lithium Batteries, Three Belles Outfitters, and National Trade Services, without whom we could not run these events.

Please support them whenever you can, as well as our other amazing sponsors: Bending Branches, Crosskix, Catch Co., Fresh Baitz, Harpoon Brewery, Hobie Eyewear, Lunkerhunt, Rogue Gear Co., and YakAttack!

Our next event is on the mighty St. Lawrence River on August 12. This fishery is legendary for a reason. Come join us!

Register here!

Nick Audi Triumphs in a Windy Battle at Lake Champlain

June 7, 2023 0 Comment

Known for its scenic beauty and abundant fish populations, Lake Champlain provided the backdrop for the second Dakota Lithium Elite Kayak Fishing Series event of the season.

Presented by Three Belles Outfitters, this world-class bass factory produces giant largemouth and smallmouth like few others, and it did not disappoint this weekend.

Leading up to the event, pre-fishing reports were great, but everyone knew the conditions—a sustained north wind in excess of 25 mph—on tournament day would eliminate some of the most productive areas on the lake. Despite the challenging conditions, which transformed the lake into a menacing beast, anglers braved the relentless, dangerous wind, demonstrating their skills and producing impressive limits of both smallmouth and largemouth bass.

Amidst the tumult, it was Nick Audi who emerged as the victor once again, demonstrating his exceptional adaptability and resilience. Not only did he claim the first-place title, but he also secured the Three Belles Outfitters Big Bass with a 20.50-inch smallmouth bass and the Double Down side pot.

Ryan Matylewicz, braving the windy main-lake conditions, secured a commendable second place with a total of 97.75 inches.

Following a top-ten finish at our Cayuga Lake event, and just a fraction behind Ryan at Champlain, Rey Morales claimed third place by putting up 97.50 inches before his spot became too treacherous to continue fishing.

     

The battle for the remaining positions was intense, with Jake Angulas, Mike Morcone, and Chris Gomes showcasing their exceptional angling abilities. Angulas clinched fourth place, amassing an impressive limit of 97.25 inches, while Morcone landed the fifth spot with 97 inches. Chris Gomes rounded out the top six with a noteworthy 96.75 inches.

Nearly the top twenty anglers put up over 90 inches of bass in their quest to win the highly sought-after Elite Kayak Fishing trophy, but in the end it was Nick Audi’s exceptional performance, marked by an impressive total of 99 inches of smallmouth bass, that secured his well-deserved victory.

With 62 anglers, we paid out nearly $7,500 in cash and even more in prizes.

Anglers submitted 139 largemouth and 243 smallmouth bass to the National Trade Services Live Leaderboard.

Check out the full results here.

As always, a big thank-you to everyone who supported this event!

And to Dakota Lithium Batteries, Three Belles Outfitters, and National Trade Services—THANK YOU!

Please support these amazing companies whenever you can, as well as our other sponsors: Bending Branches, Crosskix, Catch Co., Fresh Baitz, Harpoon Brewery, Hobie Eyewear, Lunkerhunt, Rogue Gear Co., and YakAttack!

Our next event is on the Connecticut River and Moore Reservoir on July 8. A relatively unknown fishery compared to Lake Champlain or Cayuga Lake, but we hope to see you there!

Register here!

Nick Audi Wins It All!

September 13, 2022 0 Comment

This past weekend, Elite Kayak Fishing ended its second season on the famed Lake Champlain, where thirty anglers battled it out for the coveted title of Elite Kayak Fishing Champion.

Also up for grabs was the Angler of the Year title, which going into the event had Nick Audi on top of the rankings, with Ken Wood and 2021 Angler of the Year Jake Angulas not far behind.

The stage was set for an epic event, but Mother Nature had other plans.

Expecting big fish and bigger limits, anglers were instead met with a very tough bite thanks to a run of cold nights and cold rain that brought the water temp down into the upper 60s. A moon phase—including a harvest moon—also undoubtedly had its own effect on the fishing. It was the proverbial Double Whammy on a lake that’s known for its world-class bass fishing.

After a tough day one, only four limits had been logged on the leaderboard, and only 70 keeper bass were submitted.

Fittingly, Nick Audi was on top, followed by Ken Wood in second. The battle for the Championship crown and Angler of the Year title was on!

But Nick had a commanding lead with 95.75 to Ken Wood’s 87.25, and Ken’s lead over Scott Rhodes was a mere 1.25 inches. Going into day two it looked like Ken and Scott were fighting for second and third because Nick Audi was untouchable.

That is until Sunday morning when Ken put up two big fish—a 19-inch smallie and a 20-inch largemouth—right out the gate, putting him in first place. All of a sudden, Nick’s 8.5-inch margin going into the final day didn’t look so big.

But Ken was unable to keep that momentum going and struggled to find more big bites, which opened the door for others.

Eventually Nick regained the lead, Ken dropped to fourth, and he, Simon Morgan, Jake Angulas, and Scott jockeyed for those remaining two paying spots.

In the end, Ken Wood was able to find a big enough limit to put himself back into second place, with Scott Rhodes also finding four fish good enough to keep him in third.

Torrence Davis and Simon Morgan rounded out the top five.

The Orion Coolers Big Bass—which was worth $500 and a 35-quart Orion cooler—went to Nelson da Costa, who landed a massive 22.50-inch largemouth…on a dropshot with 6-pound test!

And all the rest went to Nick Audi—Champion, Angler of the Year, and Double Down! He also won Tyler Sweet’s NY Kayak Bassmasters event that took place at the same time.

Nick’s two-day total was 184.25, winning by a margin of 12.25 inches! A well-deserved victory and a hell of a season with two wins, a 2nd- and a 5th-place finish!

We’d like to thank all the anglers who supported Elite Kayak Fishing this season. Much of this is new to us, so there have been a few bumps in the road, but we are learning and growing and in the coming year we are committed to making Elite Kayak Fishing truly live up to its name. Big things are coming!

Thanks to our amazing sponsors—Three Belles Outfitters, Bixpy, Harpoon Brewery, Dakota Lithium Batteries, Orion Coolers, and YakAttack—for all that you’ve done to make this trail a success thus far.

Special shout-out to Duke Weskamp and Ketch Products. for the baddest trophies around!

To Amanda Brannon and Reel Tournament Management for helping us manage and judge these events. Thank you!

And thanks to Messy Mike’s Barbecue & Catering for the amazing gift bag at our Lake Winnipesaukee event.

Check out the full results here.

And look for our 2023 schedule soon!

The Crowning of Champions

September 28, 2021 1 Comment

Elite Kayak Fishing’s inaugural season began on Cayuga Lake back on May 8, where seventy-four of the region’s best anglers laid the proverbial smackdown on hungry pre-spawn bass and the top ten collectively put up nearly a thousand inches!

From New York to Maine, to Pennsylvania and New Hampshire, it all culminated on September 18 at the first-ever Elite Kayak Fishing championship event—presented by Three Belles Outfitters and Bixpy—on legendary Lake Champlain, a worthy body of water to crown the 2021 Champion and Angler of the Year!


Trophies provided by Ketch.

Straddling the New York, Vermont, and Canadian borders, a small field of qualified anglers took to the northern waters of this world-class fishery and found quality bites while pre-fishing. But with a drop in temperature, increased winds, big waves, and a tougher-than-normal bite on tournament day, they had to make some serious adjustments.

With limited cell service for some, and limited fish for others, movement on the leaderboard was sporadic and slow. Familiar names—Jason Gardner and Jake Angulas—jostled for the top spot all day, but Steve O’Brien and others were right there with them.

When the standings went offline at 1 PM, Angulas had taken the top spot and was gunning for his third and biggest win of the season, while Gardner was nipping at his heels in second, and O’Brien had dropped to fifth.

As anglers got off the water and found cell service, the leaderboard lit up, with places shifting numerous times before the submission deadline.

At the end of it all, the Bigpy Big Bass went to Brian Baulsir, whose 20.75-inch largemouth was hard to beat, earning him $500 and a Bixpy J-2 Outboard Kit.

Sitting two spots out of the money when the leaderboard went dark, Steve O’Brien was able to put his legendary stick-catching skills to good use in the remaining two hours, wrangling in quality smallmouth and securing a few late-day upgrades to push him up into third place.

On tournament morning, while many anglers took one look at the waves and sought shelter from them, Jake Angulas did the opposite. He spent his day fishing offshore, riding massive Champlain waves, throwing a Ned rig and crushing big smallies in 50 to 70 feet of water. The pedigree of a true champion!

Although it appeared that Jake was primed for another Elite Kayak Fishing victory, Jason Gardner had something to say about it…

Jason found his limit early, but they weren’t the bass he needed to win. He made a move to a new area—which proved to be the right move—and began upgrading, ultimately culling all his fish and then some. Jason caught everything on a Z-Man Jackhammer, putting up 92 inches of smallmouth bass, and edging out Jake Angulas by a mere 1.5 inches to become the very first Elite Kayak Fishing Champion!

While Jake fell short this time, his achievements this season cannot be overlooked!

His fourteenth-place finish at Cayuga Lake may not seem all that impressive at first glance, but that was with a solid 89 inches of bass, just an inch from the top ten, two small upgrades from the win. He followed that up with back-to-back wins at Lake Messalonskee and Lake Wallenpaupack, and then took second place at Lake Winnipesaukee.

With his performance at Lake Champlain, Jake Angulas unequivocally earned the title of Elite Kayak Fishing Angler of the Year!


L to R: Lauren Furey from Three Belles Outfitters, Jason Gardner, Jake Angulas, and Dakota Lithium’s Craig Storms

Full results can be found here on Fishing Chaos.

Elite Kayak Fishing would like to thank Brian Baulsir and Adirondack Kayak Bass Fishing, for their help organizing this event.

Another huge thank-you to Dakota Lithium for providing food during our awards ceremony.

To all our sponsors—Three Belles Outfitters and Bixpy, Dakota Lithium, Savur Outdoors, and Jackson Kayak’s Orion Coolers—we could not have done this without you and your unending support this season. Thank you!

And a massive salute to all the competitors who supported this new trail and for buying in to our vision for establishing a regional series in the Northeast! It gets bigger and better from here…

See you in 2022!

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.