Kayak Fishing COMPETITION: How To Get Started
Recently, I wrote an article about Getting Started Kayak Fishing. Obviously, you must start kayak fishing before you can compete in a kayak fishing competition. Aside from the obvious, it gets a little overwhelming (and often intimidating) for new anglers and even seasoned anglers that are new to the kayak fishing community.
Over the years, I have created several videos to help guide this process and I will provide links to those at the end of this article. So, let’s jump into the world of competitive kayak fishing.
I think the biggest mistake anglers make early on when considering competing at any level is getting in their own head. Questions like, “Am I good enough?” or “Will I embarrass myself?” or “What happens if I don’t catch a fish, or good fish?”
The best way to approach this is easier said than done, but here it is. You just go fishing. Pre-fish when and where you can for larger live events to boost your confidence and usually your success rate if you choose to jump right into live events. But, there is a better way and I will simplify it as best I can.
First, I am offering two options. However, I am not assigning precedence to either of them over the other and I truly feel that if you do both, it’s the best one-two punch you can use to provide a solid foundation for assessing your tournament fishing abilities, enjoyment and building your confidence. The alternative is that you fish without the building blocks, fail to have any success and that ultimately leads to eroding your existing confidence and questioning your ability.
Before you start, the best advice that I can give you is to enjoy the process, the experience, the camaraderie, the highs and the lows and embrace the entire experience rather just the day(s) of actual competition.
Here we go.
Find a local, regional, state (or all the above) club, group, trail or series and participate there and support those organizations. Build your fundamentals, improve your skills and develop the right mindset. Work on your time management, gear management, pre-trip planning, reading water, map study and all the other parts of the game before spending extra money on higher entry fees, travel and other associated costs.
Fish in the KBF STATE CHALLENGE Series. This is the foundation builder for competitive kayak fishing in my opinion and I am admittedly about as biased as you can be about a topic because this is where it all started. So, naturally if this is where most competitive kayak bass fishing started, it only makes sense that it’s where new anglers to competition should start and seasoned anglers should continue to hone their skills. It’s called the CHALLENGE Series for a reason, so you can challenge yourself and use that to become a better competitor and a better overall angler along the way.
To help support Kayak Bass Fishing and our ability to provide opportunities for anglers, please considering Joining KBF.
Helpful Links:
How To Get Started – KBF Challenge Series
Getting Started Fishing Kayak Tournaments
Getting Started – How to Approach Your First Tournament Season