The 2nd KBS Open is right here in Texas on Sam Rayburn Reservoir near Lufkin, TX on February 28th. This is a 100% payback tournament trail with a ton of sponsor giveaways being given away to all the participants. All prizes go to random winners, everything from a Jackson Big Rig, Power Pole Micro Anchor, and much more. Total prize value given away at Open #1 in Florida was $13,000. Over 70% of the field walked away with cash or a prize worth more than their entry fee!

Captain's meeting is Friday the 27th at 7:00PM at the Cassels-Boykin Park pavilion. No check-in on Saturday morning; first cast is at 7:00 AM and all fish must be logged in the iAngler Tournament app by 3:00 PM. Weigh-in starts at 4:00 PM.

Full details on the event can be found here: http://www.kayakbassseries.com/#!events/c1bs6

The cost to become a KBS member is $50 (good for the 2015 season) and the entry fee at each tournament is $100. You can register here: http://www.kayakbassseries.com/#!events/c1bs6

Full rules are available on our website, and here are the CPR rules:


I'll be there prefishing the week before, so hit me up if you want to join! Look forward to seeing some of you guys down there. Here are a few photos from Open #1:

Jackie and I will be at the event, looking forward to seeing everyone. Who all is going to make this event? Going a day early to do some fishing and relaxing.Jackson Kayak is giving away a Big Rig via a drawing, lots of other great prizes.

I think I'm the only one from Austin making it. Where do you guys plan to stay? Still haven't figured that out yet.

We will be camping and Robert and crew are in a cabin. We are staying at this little location

[Url]http://jacksonhillcabins.com/ /[url]

Look forward to fishing with you again bud. We're staying at Jackson Hill, they have tent sites (saw on FB you were planning to go that route) and so does Cassels-Boykin where the weigh-in is at. Jackson Hill is about 5 minutes away, right across the bridge.

Thanks, I'll have your camera and anchor with me too haha. I think Rayburn will have some big fish caught if the weather stays stable. Gonna try and get there thursday evening. I had an appointment I couldnt reschedule of I'd be there in the morning.

I will see you guys on Thursday night. I plan on tent camping @ Jackson Hills

Regular registration ends this Saturday, so register this week to save $25 on your entry fee. Registration is looking good and we have $8,000 worth of prizes that will be given away to randomly drawn participants just for showing up. At the 1st tournament in Florida, John Champion walked away with a Jackson Big Rig despite not catching a fish on tournament day.

56 inches took 1st place in Florida (best 3 fish)... I'm thinking we can blow that out of the water down in south Texas. Looking forward to showing them Floridians how we do it here in Texas!

Register here: http://www.kayakbassseries.com/#!register-pay/c81g

Planning on getting there on Wednesday night. No idea where I'll be staying, but looking forward to it nonetheless!

I'm planning on attending as well...

I will be there as well probably make it in on Thursday night. Good luck everyone!

Look forward to seeing you guys there! Hope I get to hand the trophy to one of our Dallas boys.

You boys have fun and be safe!

Todd Driscoll yanked this 12.6 pounder out of Sam Rayburn on Friday. I'm thinking we're going to spank the 56" first place that won it in Florida...

Everything is bigger in Texas

Yep +1

Got my spot at Jackson Hill. When I gave the lady my last name she told me, "thats different, where you from?" hahahaha I just said 'Murica. I forgot this is East Texas, seeing Mexican in a kayak is equivalent to seeing a bear on a bicycle. See you fellas next thursday!

Hahahaha

Is Autumn coming down with ya?

I got signed up for the tourney. Woot! Looking forward to making the trip. Got a question about the iAngler app. It is asking for a coupon code. Is this given at the time of the tourney?

Im trying to talk her into it. I hear the area is really nice but I think she's gonna stay home.

Campsite @ Jackson Hill reserved. I'm ready for this Ho-down!!!

Private messaged you but we will manually register you for the tourney in the app next week. In the meantime, you can use the iAngler Practice Tournament to play around with and make sure you're familiar with how it works. We'll also be there to help with any issues you have at the Captain's Meeting, or feel free to call us if you have issues or get stuck while you're practicing with it.

Regular registration for this tournament ends Saturday night at 11:59PM (tomorrow). Register by tomorrow to save $25 on your entry fee.

Registration is looking good, excited for a great event! See you guys down there.

Cool! Didnt know if it was user error!

KBS Open #2 is this Saturday! Looking forward to a fun event. Weather's rough today but it's warming up every day leading up to Saturday.

It's not too late to register! http://www.kayakbassseries.com/#!register-pay/c81g

Sure would like to fish this but I have a ton of things going on right now. What's our last shot at registration?

Robert - I'm registered and looking forward to the tournament. I have a concern about the lack of cell coverage on the lake and logging fish into the iAngler App. Will we be able to do this at the final checkin? DOes this have to be done before checking in at the end of the day? Will there be someone there to help those of us not familiar with the app? Thanks.

Ken

Normally, they have a hot spot setup at weigh in just incase something did not get sent to iAngler. The app is very easy to use, but there will be several people around that can help.

You can register online until tomorrow or you can bring $100 cash to the tournament. The $50 membership must be paid online though, and that will be up all season long.

Hey Ken. We will go over all this at the Captain's Meeting too, but all fish must be submitted in the app by 3:00pm. So you may have to plan for service issues and get off the water prior to 3:00 to submit your fish if they aren't going through. When you submit a fish out of cell service range, it saves it as a draft. So you'll have to submit it later once you have service.

And yes, we'll be there to help you with any issues you hvae with the app. Be sure to practice before you come down, and we can answer any questions at the Captain's Meeting. I'll also be available by cell on tournament day but again, service could be an issue there so we'll want to get it worked out tomorrow night.

We had poor service in Astor, FL at the 1st stop but had no issues.

The fish were biting today and it's warming up! See you guys down here!

Thanks Robert. I'll follow up with you tomorrow night.

Ken

Wow...that sounds like a major hassle just to promote the use of some App. Why not just use cameras like everyone else. It would be easier and you don't have to rely on cell phone coverage and, with only 3 fish each and 48 anglers, if they all catch 3 fish, you'd have that totaled up in less than 30 minutes.

I don't think Robert is trying to promote the app. I have spoken personally to the owners of the app and they are not interested in making money with it. They are fish and game biologists and are just interested in the data the app provides. It's basically a way to collect data about how many and what size fish are caught. Using it as a scoring system for CPR tournaments is just a convienent coincidence. I think what Robert is trying to do is two things. First he is trying to speed up the process from when cards are turned in to when they can present awards. I have been at tournaments with very experienced tournament directors and even with only 30 to 40 anglers it can sometimes take an hour. No fault of the TDs, that's just how long it takes to diligently go through everything and make sure you get it right. Secondly, tournament bass fishing is great unless your not in the tournament. In that case it's about as much fun as watching paint dry. CPR tournaments are even more boring for spectators because we dont even bring in live fish. The app allows people not in the tournament the chance to check in throughout the day and watch a live leaderboard. That's how I know that today Matt Scotch was leading with almost 50" when I checked at around 11am.

There's going to be issues with the technology just like anything else. But I applaud Robert for at least trying it. I'm confident that 3 to 5 years down the road this app or a similar one will be the norm.

Maybe, but I quote "So you may have to plan for service issues and get off the water prior to 3:00 to submit your fish if they aren't going through" which makes it sound like an angler would not get to fish all the way to the finish time because of technology issues. When the technology is "running the show" instead of an angler's ability to catch fish, then that is a major problem.

I think the App is a neat addition. I was watching it earlier and it added a sort of excitement as a spectator. Granted, I agree with the fact that a fisherman shouldn't be limited by technology. But maybe there could be an addition to the App that allows everyone to save their fish as drafts. Stop fishing at 3pm, and have the fish submitted at the TD desk when he/she checks in before a prescribed time.

Looks like Jason Delfraisse got the win today with his best 3 going 54.25". Congrats to him on the win!

Congrats to Delfraisse! That dude's getting good at taking home the big payout!

The mans in beast mode!!! Congrats Jason D!!

Nice! Congrats Jason!

Sam Rayburn was a blast. thanks Robert for all your effort and assisting everyone with the iangler app. i managed to land two fish . 16.00 and 14.25. struggled to get a 3rd. congrats to all the winners. Jason Delfrassie showed everyone why this was his home lake.

Tournament anglers live and die by technology, and skill/technology are absolutely woven.

Your peddle drive might malfunction.

Your paddle might break.

Your fluorocarbon may not behave in bad weather.

Your reel might jam.

Your FF or GPS might not work properly (and this will certainly seal your fait).

Your truck may not start.

The list goes on.

Just trying to offer an unbiased perspective. I don't fish tournaments so I don't really have a dog in this hunt. I can say, however, that the tournament realm (in any sport) involves the total mastering of all elements. You miss one little piece and you lose (and I think that makes it even more elaborate and exciting).

I do understand your concern, though. There is always some new "barrier" to negotiate.

One of the coolest pieces of our sport is the fact that we release fish immediately and get them back in the water, safe and happy, as soon as possible. Technology makes this possible (with a camera or an app) and I think we should all support the evolution of the practice. Streamlining the process for all parties, in the long run, should result in the positive.

Congrats to the anglers and a big thanks to all of the cogs in this wheel. I know the work isn't easy for anyone in this weather.

First, everything you listed is true of all kayak tournaments, I'm specifically discussing the use of the app at this particular kayak tournament. But, since you don't fish tournaments DP, that is probably why you missed my point. When some anglers are able to fish the entire time just because they have cell phone service and are able to put all their fish photos in the app and continue to fish, and others have to stop fishing and come in early because they didn't have cell service and they have to drive back to the weigh in site to use the app, well, that is a big problem.

In order to be fair, everyone should be allowed to fish the same amount of time, right up to the finish, and then those people who didn't have cell service can put their fish in the app when they get to the weigh in site.

Congrats to Jason and all the others who fished what appears to be some tough conditions. Despite the concerns of some, and maybe a few growing pains, I have to admit, this was pretty cool. I didn't follow the Florida tournament, but I did follow this one (maybe because it was in Texas or maybe because I was snowed in), and the new technological aspect was yet another factor in a long list of factors that make or break kayak fishing tournaments.

Also, did you guys see the list of competitors? Its like a Who's Who of Kayak fishing. A big congrats to Robert for pulling this off...Regardless of which side of the fence you come down on (technology wise), the scope of this tournament makes it a huge amount of work, and interesting as hell. The verdict: two thumbs up.

Congrat Chris!

Also the app thing is/was really a non issue. No tournament will ever be perfect for everyone and no matter what changes are made not everyone will be happy. No one that actually attended, had issues. Also they were more than fair with letting people launch literally whenever they wanted after the friday cap. meeting. All other tournaments you have to wait to run to your launch site after the morning of captains meeting. So on sam rayburn you could have lost 2 hours of fishing time due to that but, KBS handled that "issue". If you dont like the app so be it but it actually save a lot of time during weigh in.

Congrats Jason, might have to come out of retirement

Glad to hear things went well.

everyone has some good points, about the IAngler app and technology running the show . it's just part of the game!!! For me it's also about having fun and meeting people with the same passion. KAYAK FISHING. thanks Alan Sladek for great time on the water. Marcus happy birthday bud.

Congrats Jason!!!

Thanks everyone. As far as the iangler app, I think that it was awsome personally.

Congrats to you Jason. I had a good feeling you'd kick our butts. I am one who didn't have service anywhere on the lake and I still loved the iAngler app. If only it could help me beat Jason...

Congrats to everyone running the KBS event. It really was an awesome event!

Congrats again Jason awesome win! Was really good to see everyone this past weekend spent a lot of time with Duc and Alan thanks guys enjoyed the time spent tremendously! I had another lousy tournament thought I was on fish for tournament day but conditions didn't work out for me but there where some great stringers turned in congrats to all that placed. Want to thank everyone involved with the tournament once again great job. The I Angler app for me is great it's great being able to see what's caught and kind of know where you are I didn't have any problems with signal while using it here in Texas did have a few spots in Florida that caused problems but really I think it is a great way to do the tournaments

Hey Robert,

Was wondering if a video recap would be posted like for the Florida tourney. I really enjoyed it.