After the success of last years NTKBF event on the Brazos River. It only made sense to do another one this year! This event will be structured in a similar way to last years event. You must start at the Whitney Dam and take out at Dicks Outpost adjacent to the 2114 bridge. This year Backwoods is allowing people to paddle past the 2114 bridge and fish given that they paddle there from the official put in at the dam.

Like the PFD tournament on the Trinity there will be a fly fishing division and a conventional division. Tournament entry will cost $30 with a $10 big bass side pot. Big Bass will not be separated between the two divisions. There will be a 100% payout divided 60%/30%/10% in the two divisions. HAWG TROUGH will be the only measuring device allowed. If park regulations allow they will be for sale prior to the tournament but please plan ahead.

The tournament time table will be as follows:

4:30 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. check in. (Whitney Dam Launch Area)
5:00 a.m. captain's meeting.
5:15 a.m. launch and first cast
3:30 p.m. score cards in at Dick's Outpost at 2114 bridge
Award ceremony and location TBA

THIS TOURNAMENT WILL BE INTERESTING. As many of you know, Lake Whitney in that last month has been as high as 23 feet OVER POOL. Lake officials have been releasing water daily in massive amounts. The river has not been fishable from a kayak in weeks. Since they started releasing, the water levels have gone down about 16 feet on Lake Whitney. After phone conversations with the BRA, if consistent rains don't persist, water release will be back to normal for the event. Anglers will come in contact with what is likely to be a whole new river. New pools, flats, laydowns, and eddys should make for very exciting fishing as nobody will have a true advantage.

Prior to all the rain both fly anglers and conventional anglers were reporting very high catch rates with some very big fish mixed in! Backwoods does have a kayak trailer that will be used to transport anglers and boats from Dick's Outpost back to the put-in. We will however accept as much help as we can in that regard.

If you're interested in coming along please let us know on the Facebook link attached below:

https://www.facebook.com/events/904240156300406/

Further information on rules for the tournament will be posted on the Facebook event page! Come out and enjoy a laid back tournament on one of the most scenic waterways in Texas!

I'm in

Sweet!! I'm in

If I don't make the KATS event in Aransas Pass that weekend I will be in....

Count me in

I'm gettin amped! I have a feeling it's going to be some awesome fishing!

dang it!!! I'll be in LA that weekend!!

Knuckles and I are in for sure! Can't wait!!!

I'm in! Can't hardly wait!

Do we have to take out at dicks? I'm in either way just curious and don't like that hill we don't get along.

Also is backwoods doing a points race with this trail?

Take out is at Dicks as I understand it.

Right on my baby's due date! You guys have fun and be safe and catch lots of fish! I have yet to fish this stretch, need to get on it soon!

Backwoods will not be doing a points race this year. Just a series of river events. The next event will be on the trinity river in october.

You must take out at dicks. Thankfully there will be people there to help! You aren't kidding about that hill!

If you plan on attending the event, please rsvp on Facebook! And sign up online at backwoods.com/brazos

IN! you know if it's blue and black I'll be throwing it.

Online Registration is officially open via,

Backwoods.com/brazos

Would anyone be interested in a striper side pot? Word on the street is that a lot of stripers are going to get caught!

Glad you're coming Jay! Looking forward to seeing you there!

is there shuttle plans? how do you get from finish to start?

Backwoods will have a pick up with a kayak trailer. It will be a slow process but we will shuttle everyone. We will accept as much help as we can get in that regard.

seems like hauling individuals to their vehicles would be more timely. guess you can do both.

Backwoods Kayak Fishing Series--Brazos River Tournament complete rules and online registration are now available at http://www.backwoods.com/brazos

I still have 2 spots left on my trailer for shuttle!

jerry, if you need 2 more, chubbs and i will volunteer

Haven't fished a tournament in many years, but this sounds like a real good time even though there is no way I will place in this.

If anybody has room for a shuttle, I'll take you up. Probably have a buddy joining me too.

Be sure and find me at registration/check in!

Looks like my trailer is full folks!

wilco

Agreed that shuttling participants will be most efficient. Backwoods is looking to rent a passenger van to shuttle participants back to their cars.

That would be awesome. I'm sure you could even ask those that need/want to use the shuttle to chip in to help cover the cost.

Just to clarify, we are not allowed to use our cell phones for picture taking in this tournament, it must be a digital camera with removable card and or USB cable?

Thanks.

8 passenger minivan has been reserved to run the shuttle. Hawg Troughs are absolutely required as are digital cameras with removable cards or USB cable. Otherwise, it complicates and slows down the verification process, which no one likes.

Hearing reports of over 75 bass being caught among 3 people on day trips down there. Hope you all are excited!

Don't forget to let us know you're coming on Facebook and to register online at:

Backwoods.com/brazos

That is a bit of an exaggeration. It was no more then 74...

Is there a shut off date for online registration?

As far as I am aware the shut off date is 8pm the day before the tournament. I could be wrong though.

I can find out from the actual TD tomorrow.

Here is a few pics from today's outing on the Brazos. The biguns came out to play today! The tournament is going to be a lunker fest! See everyone out there.

is the put in point at riverside park?

Yes there is a gravel ramp and parking area

Just wanted to answer a few of the questions that have been coming in.


* Online registration will be cut-off at close of business for Backwoods at 8pm friday night.

* You can register the morning of the event with CASH only @ Riverside Park right below the Whitney dam.

* Hawg Troughs will be sold at a discounted rate at check-in before the captains meeting. CASH only.

* Please bring a sharpie to color the lines of your Hawg Trough in if you plan on buying one on site.

* Xcite Baits will be giving away a free sample pack of baits to the first 41 conventional division anglers that check in!



I'll be fishing in the Fly Division. Look forward to seeing everyone there!

We have reserved the party room at the Bosque Resort Restaurant for the tournament award ceremony. http://www.bosqueresort.com/restaurant.html
Also, Backwoods will be paying everyone's $6 fee for taking out at Dick's Outpost so no need to worry about that. The orange wristband identifier that you will be given at check-in will identify you to Dick's as a tournament participant. Shuttles back to the dam will start at 1:30 p.m. unless someone expresses at the Captain's Meeting that they plan to take out earlier. See you all Saturday morning!

Only 1" separated 1st-3rd I can tell you that....

1st- 85.5"
2nd- 85"
3rd- 84.5"

the fly guys did better, i heard. think one at least at 95".

Not true, 1st was 75.75" in the fly division. I finished with 75.75" as well but didn't place in the conventional.

those fishing lies bleed over to fly-fishers too it seems

And the winners are . . . ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

There was a fly fisher that had an amazing day. Due to some issues with pics he was unfortunately disqualified. I'm sure it was a very tough call to make as a tournament director but by the rules. Much respect gained from making a call like that. I can fish any Backwoods tournament feeling comfortable that everyone plays by the same rules. Good job! I will leave it at that as it is not my story to tell.

As far as the winners, I figured someone else would of chimed in by now as it is only my story in part.

1st- Jay Pershing 85.5"
2nd- Joe Davis 85"
3rd- Matt Scotch 84.5"

I to would like to thank Tim and the crew at Backwoods for a very well run tournament. With all of the complications of shuttles, and the very long stretch of river things went very smoothly. From what I hear everyone caught a ton of fish, but the bigger ones were much more shy. Several people were able to put together a couple of fish in the 16-20" range. It was a great day on the river.

By the way... Jay Pershin, the "g" fellow is a relative, but not quite the same guy as me.

See y'all at the next event.

Well, the truth is one of the fly guys did have over 90 inches. Unfortunately it was his first time to fish a tournament and he improperly took his pictures and they did not allow them per the tournament rules. He also had the big bass. Tournament fishing is always a "lesson learned". I promise you that next tournament he will be a force to be reckoned with.

Congratulations Russell Husted on a great day and there's always next time.

Oh yeah, I couldn't find any big bass but did manage close to a 200 fish day with sandbass, stripers, bluegills, crappie, and dink bass.

Backwoods posted the results on their facebook page last night.

Overall, the fishing was excellent for everything except the big bass. Caught close to 50 fish overall, mainly stripers, hybrids, white bass, small bass, and a catfish. Couldn't find the recipe for the bigger bass, but scratched out 50" in the fly division for 3rd.

What amazed me was that the better holes had been hammered that day, but were still giving up fish. The river is loaded and I believe the daily release of fresh water is keeping the fish frisky for most of the day.

Had a blast, especially for my first kayak tournament, looking forward to doing more of these. Had some serious yak envy for most of the day as well.

Great job guys! 90" on a fly rod is insane! ill bet he has his all his ducks in a row next time now! Gotta play by the rules if you want to win. Really like the Backwoods tournaments you guys do a great job!!

The final results from the Backwoods Brazos Tournament along with pictures from the event can be found at
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1101055909923455.1073741846.169388013090254&type=3
Thanks again to everyone who participated. I really had a lot of fun putting on this event. Looking forward to the next event on the Trinity River in Fort Worth on October 24. More info to come on that one. https://www.facebook.com/events/1596257077282508/

yeah, was a day of highs and lows. could do no wrong, except take bad pictures!!! strategy was to float and paddle down a couple miles till the sun came up. pulled up to the first real good group of structure and caught 9 bass off of it. first bass was actually BIG bass of the day coming in at 19 1/2 inches. also caught an 18, a 17, and a 14 incher there. by 730 in the am. broke off my lucky fly on even a bigger bass. only one like that one. then about 10 minutes later, that fly floated next to the yak, so I picked it back up, dried it off, tied it back on, and caught another two bass off that same structure!!!! basically would have won the tournament right then. caught 20 bass total that day, and yes total was well over 90 inches, think it was 92 exactly. was off the river by 130 thinking I was in pretty good shape.
no hard feelings except disappointment. respect to the process. know one thing for sure, I will be back, and fly fishing rules!!!!!

Man now that's a true sportsman! My hats off to you dude, ya go out, have a great day, follow that with some heart-wrenching news then get on here and relive it...congrats on a good day and thanks for being a good sportsman, we need more like you, you da man!

Russell, you have been a customer of mine for a long time and I have a lot of respect for you. Disqualifying your photos after your having such an amazing day on the water was very hard for me to do and I am glad to hear that you are not soured on the idea of fishing in another tournament. Your performance really opened the eyes of a lot of participants regarding the effectiveness of catching big bass on a fly rod. As a fly fisher myself, I would have loved to have seen you holding two giant novelty checks at the end of the day. I do hope that you will come out and do it again at our next tournament.

Hats off to Russell a new fly fishing force to be reckon'd with.