North Texas Kayak Bass Fishing Tournament Upper Middle Brazos River August 9, 2014

NTKBF Upper Middle Brazos River

Look forward to seeing you all...

WHERE: Lake Whitney Dam to 2114 Bridge, Brazos River
WHEN: Saturday August 9, 2014
CHECK IN TIME :4:45-5:15 AM
CHECK IN LOCATION: WHITNEY DAM LAUNCH AREA
SHOTGUN START: 5:15 AM
WEIGH IN/LAST CALL FOR SCORECARDS: 6PM AT DICK'S OUTPOST AT THE 2114 BRIDGE
ENTRY FEE: 20$, 5$ BIG BASS (100% payout)
PAYOUT: 60/30/10 for 1st, 2nd, 3rd.

NO OFF LIMITS PERIOD

This is a NOT roadrunner event. You must launch at the Whitney Dam and paddle the river entirely to the takeout at the 2114 bridge. Fishing any part of the river above the dam or below 2114 or any other body of water during tournament hours will disqualify you.




RULES:

-Only Black Bass will be scored (Largemouth, Smallmouth, Spotted Bass, Guadalupe Bass)

-Artificial lures only (yes you guys can throw the A-Rig if you must)...

-One line in the water at a time, fishing only from kayak or canoe or SUP

-Human-powered kayaks and canoes only (sorry tubers if you're reading, but we're trying to promote a kayak bass club)...

-Communicating electronically with other participants during the tourney about fish locations, patterns and lures is forbidden.

-CPR (Catch, Photo, Release) only, identifier in pic, in kayak...

-Wade fishing is allowed, but the picture of the fish must be on the measuring board, physically inside the kayak.

-Only one person per vessel. Solo anglers in tandem vessels and canoes are okay.

-Digital Cameras and PHONES ALLOWED for the pictures.
(if your camera uses a proprietary memory card, bring your wire)

-Out-of-bounds areas: Any area of a lake or river that is cordoned off as off-limits to kayaks/boats/watercraft and is clearly marked as such is also off limits for fishing during the tourney. This includes the area just below the dam.

-Best 3 fish. I give you an identifier that morning. Every time you catch a fish, you take a picture of it on an acceptable measuring stick. Each pic has the identifier in it, CLEARLY VISIBLE, or it doesn't count. Winners are determined by combined total length. If possible, try and leave only one pic of each fish you want us to score on your card/phone...

-LATE SUBMISSIONS/CUT OFF TIMES : The cut off to submit your fish photos is 6 PM sharp. NO EXCEPTIONS! DON'T BE LATE!!! AND PLEASE ACTIVELY SEEK ONE OF THE TOURNEY JUDGES! (They'll be hunched over computers scoring pics). It's not their responsibility to seek you out!

-PIC SHOULD BE LEFT SIDE UP (facing left), BOTTOM LIP AGAINST THE BUMP BOARD, TAIL NOT PINCHED OR CURLED, WITH NOTHING OBSTRUCTING THE MOUTH OR TAIL OF THE FISH!!! Failure to adhere to this could disqualify the fish or result in a length deduction of up to 2 inches. This is about what it should look like. The identifier does not have to be on the fish, just in the pic...



We round down to the nearest 1/4 inch mark on your measuring board, so this fish would scored as 19.00 inches.

Examples of Acceptable Measuring Sticks

HAWG TROUGH (Available locally at Cabelas and Mariner Sails; online at Hook1 and Austin Canoe and Kayak)


Check It Stick



Plano Bump Board (though we MUCH prefer one of the above!)



Homemade measuring sticks not allowed. The HAWG TROUGH is by far the easiest for us to read, so if you're even remotely interested in doing more than one of these, then really it's what we STRONGLY recommend. If we can't read something clearly, then we'll either not score it or give it the lowest measurement that is plainly visible in the pic.

Post any questions you have to this thread fellas...

Here we go!! This is going to be a fun one!!

Be on the river once! Looking forward to paddling my PA

Is the plan to buddy system it to and from launch and take out?

Yeah how is everyone going to get back to their vehicles after weigh in? Paddle back?

Well... I don't have a formal answer to the shuttle issue. Ideally everyone would show up with their shuttle arrangements taken care of in advance. Perhaps we can start a thread here and maybe on FB that matches buddies up so that this isn't an issue? Any odd men out will be taken care of by myself, Jason and anyone else who could help us out. What I do know is this: we are kayakers and as such no one will be left high and dry...

Sounds good. Would Dick's be a safe spot to park a trailer? I need to verify the date but if I can make it, I could bring my trailer and take 4 kayaks back to the put in.

nice

Yes it's totally safe Chris.. That would be awesome if you could help out with that. There is of course dicks itself... I have seen him shuttle large groups.. He of course has a price but that's an option as well. We've called and left a message but haven't heard back from him yet.


As we get closer to the event we may need to tinker with the logistics a bit. We could have everyone show up at the dam at 430-5, unload yaks, pair up, drop vehicles at dicks and return for the shotgun start with several guys at the dam watching over yaks and gear for a 6 am shotgun start...

Ill need some sunscreen . August is rough and 5 gallons of drinking water. Sounds fun.

Yes PLENTY of room for your trailer at Dicks

Looking forward to this!

Yeah this is a really awesome idea, guys.

I paddled from the Whitney Dam to Dicks last week, and it was a total butt-whoop.

The anglers are definitely going to want to plan accordingly.

There will need to be a lot of strategy and muscle involved in this one (peddle drives will definitely go from an advantage to a disadvantage).

Looks like I'll be paddling the Slayer Propel at this event.

I plan to be there. Sounds fun!

Here is a little secret to fishing that river . Yall find bass schooling in 6 inches of water. And im not being sarcastic.

Exactly my thoughts. Never in my 25 years on the Brazos have I ever had to change client itineraries due to of all things...a "tournament".

not fishing this by any means since I sold my kayak and have work...

...but as for scoring fish... I wouldn't score the example you posted a 19 at all, I'd close his mouth and score him 18 3/4". You guys don't have rules on closed mouth and flat tail fin, straight tail for C.P.R. weigh in?

I am looking extremely forward to this one ... not sure how many fish will be caught, but I anticipate that there will be a wealth of stories/tall tales that we will still be sharing years from now!

Thanks to Tom/Jason for thinking outside the box!

Shane I admit I hadn't thought about this from the perspective of a guide that fishes there... I see your point, but I think there's the possibility that this could be good for your guide business too... In the end we're talking about one day on 8 miles of public waterway here... Not sure what else to say about it, other than I think it'd be cool if some of the 'Brazos guys' fished it...

And Mulholland the 'mouth open, bottom lip touching, non-pinched tail' policy is the easiest way to get a quick pic of the fish so you can get them back in the water ASAP.. Bigger fish in particular don't always want to cooperate by closing their mouths... a few years ago we had the closed mouth rule and I watched a newbie during the tourney take about 28'pics and almost 3 minutes trying to get a pic of an 18 incher with mouth closed... I don't think he ever succeeded... This open mouth, natural tail lay is also the policy for the KATS series in Austin, which is the largest, longest running and most well-attended kayak bass tournament series in the nation. I figure if it works for them for almost 10 years it can work for us too...

Very well said Tom.

This trip sounds like a lot of fun, I will do my best to make this. I have never been to the Brazos. Can anyone share any insight on what to expect? I'm not looking for anyone's secrets, just some general knowledge of what to expect.

How long of a paddle is it?
Skinny water?
What preparations are necessary?
Will my sit in Kilroy do ok on this water?
Any rapids to be concerned with?

Again, not looking for anyone's fishing tips/secrets...I would just like to know a little more about the water, safety and what to expect.

Thanks guys!

I know you like to fly fish... you will like this river. Last weekend I caught some fish on white rabbit tail clousers. I'd bring a at least a 7 weight because the fish on this river are powerful. Your Kilroy will be fine. Make sure you bring a rope to tie to the front of your yak to make dragging it easier in the skinny spots. The depth varies and rapids aren't really a concern. Paddle is approximately 8 miles.

Can you fish this tourney tandem?

Appreciate the insight. I'll likely bring my 6wt and 8wt. Good call on the rope for dragging. Floating line not sink, right?

Exactly my point. 8 miles of public waterway that has had and continues to struggle with documented Golden Algae outbreaks and has received little to no TPWD stocking support in years.

A short notice venue or date change up for a guide trip is one thing but I would imagine for a tournament it is quite another matter. Out of respect for the tournament participants, you could have picked another venue and limit exposure in those two areas.

Turning loose a horde of competition driven tournament fishermen with a mandatory prolonged documentation and handling process during the hottest month of the year on a relatively small stretch of river that has little to no stocking support is not a good idea. Ecologically or otherwise.

Does this mean we are not allowed to wade fish? Only fishing seated in your kayak?


-One line in the water at a time, fishing only from kayak or canoe or SUP

Honestly... You could really benefit from having both out there... If you need to have one though I'd go with floating.

finaly something within driving distance to me, im in. i love that river

It's gonna be hot but I'll be there. I'll have a trailer to help shuttle if needed.

Looks with all the trailers and trucks shuttling is not going to be a issue. This is looking like one of those tourneys you can't miss.
Oh and yes I'll be making the beloved little canoe trophies, err well Mrs Ninja will be.

Shane out of respect for you I won't just leave this hanging. I know I speak for a lot of people on this board when I say we have great regard for you and your relationship to this river. Your passion for it is what introduced many of us to it in the first place. Behind the scenes there has been a lot of discussion about your position on this, and your objection to it is not something that is taken lightly I can assure you. But what you're asking us to accept is the premise that a catch, photo, release tournament is an egregious misuse of the resource. It's not. The fish in that river are subjected to far worse stresses in the form of constant air boat traffic, unauthorized vehicles in the riverbed, and the dangers of deep hooking that go along with live bait presentations. These things pose a much greater threat than a CPR kayak tournament with artificial lures on one afternoon, one time in a year.

It is possible to respectfully disagree.


JTB- wade fishing is allowed, but pictures of the fish must be in the kayak... You yourself don't have to be sitting in the yak, but the fish on the board pic must be clearly inside the yak..


Darjeeling- Only one person per vessel. A solo angler may fish from a tandem kayak or a canoe though.

Just seen this post I'm in for sure!

Tom, you echoed my thoughts on your last post. Well said as usual.

I was looking on youtube and there has been a tournament on this stretch of river a couple of weeks ago .Looks like they had around 7 or 8 people show up , did anyone notice it hurt or affect the river any. Never heard of algae below dam , like to here about that one. And you are right about no stocking , the only way the river gets stocked from my experience is when the gates are open .And the lake has to be high for that to happen . Last time was march of 2012 .TPWD only stocked the whitney spillway with smallmouth . And that was only for three years , read it on there website.

This may have been covered already but how do we get back to our vehicles after the paddle? Is there a shuttle service that will take us back?

This is the best explanation yet for this type of CPR! Thanks, Tom!

And, I regret that I will not be able to fish the tournament but the BassGrabbers Championship is now the same day and I'm in the top 5 over there so I have to try and get my money back.

If that changes I'll see ya'll on da river.

Glad to see these getting started for the year, Tom and Jason run a great series for sure, Unfortunately will be working that weekend, would have been great to see everyone for sure.

With all due respect to Shane, I see his point in protecting "his" water now that below PK is all but dead right now. That being said, its public water, catch and release. As far as bringing a "horde" of new anglers to to the river, Shane did that several years ago by offering guide trips all up and down it with reports full of pics. Didn't take long for anyone with a brain to know exactly where he was catching all those big bass and stripers for you to see lots of "amateurs" fishing in "his" spots. Again, Shane probably knows more about the Brazos than most, but him protesting a kayak tournament there is kinda hypocritical in my opinion.

Dave

So what happened to this tourney thread? What are the final details?

Dave

Is this tournament still on?

yes, still on

Yep... We're still hammering out some details but in terms of fishing it nothing's changed: be at the dam at 4:45-5:15 with the official start at 5:15... Be at the ramp at 6 pm at dicks... Still not sure if we're gonna do the weigh in there or at another area establishment... We have lots of guys showing up with multi yak trailers and trucks, but it would be most ideal if you had a buddy you had paired up with beforehand with one of your vehicles at Dicks to shuttle you back to the the dam...

Anyone camping out the night before? I'm thinking about getting a camp site in Loafers Bend next door.

Tom,
Just to clarify. The tournament is from 5:15 to 18:00?

i will def go its only 30 mins from the casa. its gonna be hot and sticky in that little river going to be fun and finaly get to meet some of you guys.

Yes Jerry that's the time frame we set.. Yes it's pretty liberal but we want to make sure everyone has plenty of time... It is a requirement of this tourney that you put in at the dam and paddle the full distance to the takeout remember... Putting in elsewhere and just fishing a section disqualifies the angler...

Okay, it looks to be about 11 miles so that's understandable.
I'm thinking that I'm going to defer to this tournament.
I have a trailer that will haul 4 yaks so add me to the shuttle list.
We can drop at the river and take my truck/trailer to Dicks for pickup.
I like the Loafers Bend idea.

Awesome jerry thx! This is going to be a agin and memorable tourney

Checked my schedule and have a hall pass for this one.
I also have a trailer that will haul 4 kayaks if needed or if anyone wants to buddy up i'm game.

Jerry the actual paddling distance is a hair over 8 miles FYI... A long way to be sure but a little better than 11 miles... And thanks for bringing those trailers guys! Gonna be hot but fun!

looking forward to this.....little over 2 weeks away. anyone else planning on camping Friday night?

I'm pretty sure that I'm going to camp.
I also plan on bringing my trailer to help shuttle.

I recommend Loafers Bend for camping. Nice campground nearest the launch.

Well at least now you have a good excuse to give your clients if ya don't catch fish for the next few months.

Read the whole thread and see no where about Dicks charging to take-out on his property? Comments?

I was told on Facebook that he is charging for take-out. I just talked to Dick's and they said $6 per boat.

Yes my apologies about not mentioning the takeout fee... I sort of think of it like say the ramp fees at most lakes. 6 dollars.

Don't miss a good time!!!

Does anyone want to go do a little pre fishing this Sunday it's my only day available untill the day of. Sure would be nice to fish it at least once before the tournament.

I have a feeling that stretch of river will be beat to death by Sunday......

Your probably right! Especially with the cooler weather.

And so will we by Sunday the 10th!!!

Who's camping Friday night?

I'm camping Friday and Saturday at the Americas Best Value Inn in Hillsboro!

I figured you were bringing out the Casita Jerry? Looking more and more like Im gonna miss this one....

I would have except I'm bringing the yak trailer to help shuttle.

Is this tourney open to anyone?

Yes anyone and everyone

Man, I'm pumped for this. Me and a few guys will be camping at lofer Friday night. Forecast on Saturday is looking perfect. This should be a blast.

RSN it's gonna be fun for sure! More fish will be caught at this tourney than all other north texas tourneys combined this year... We will see smallies, spots and LMBs weighed in on this one. I expect some nice fish to be taken on the fly. And the scenery you'll see while paddling, along with the clear 60 degree water coming out of the dam will really up the ante I guarantee. Sure will beat trying to fish at some white capping muddy trash lined metro area lake crawling with skiers, jet fleas and dooshnozzle powerboaters by A MILE... Unless you like pedaling and fishing in those circumstances LOL... (Some do!)

Some housekeeping stuff guys...

The weigh in will be held at the Bosque Resort which is located right next to the dam. The plan for now is for everyone to be at Dick's/2114 bridge at 6pm after a 5:15 launch. We'll get everyone loaded up and time to get back to the dam and transfer yaks and gear as needed then get over to Bosque Resort for weigh in... If everyone's gets there by 7 I think we can have everything scored and done by 7:45 at the absolute latest. People will be able to head back to DFW with more than an hour of daylight left. They have some really good food BTW and they do serve cold adult beverages in an air conditioned environment... Gonna be a blast fellows.

Here's the website for the Bosque Resort:

http://bosqueresort.com

A few other things...

Artificial lures only... Use of live bait disqualifies you.

You must put in at the Whitney Dam and traverse the entire length of the river down to 2114 in order to be qualified at weigh in. You may NOT fish any part of the Brazos above the Whitney Dam nor below the 2114 bridge nor any body of water not defined as the Brazos River or its tributaries along this route. Paddling past the 2114 bridge will disqualify you.

Human powered kayaks, canoes and SUPs only. Use of electric or gas-powered motors will disqualify you.

Please consult the rest of the rules at the beginning of this thread or as posted on the NTKBF facebook page if you have any other questions.

Yep this is looking like it's going to be awesome!!! Can't wait to get started. The three fish limit is going to make this a very close one (like to the .5 inch)

Yep, can't wait!!!

Man I wish I could make this one.

I'll be there. Tom and crew, would it be alright if my son paddled his kayak down the stretch while I fish? He'll be in his own kayak and not fishing. Just thought it might be a good opportunity for him to see the Brazos if I was going to be there anyway.

Chris of course that will be fine... He'll remember his first trip on that stretch for a long time coming.

Father and son outings seem to be successful with the son getting the bigger fish......I know your son can fish - you may want to rethink your strategy.

He can but lately he has been into this scavenging, paddling, river runner mentality. I've been letting him run with it. He likes to fish but is so interested in looking at all the bugs and birds and creatures he hasn't been fishing. I'll give him the option and see what he wants to do. If he does fish, he WILL catch the bigger fish.

Chris,
I think several guys are bringing their sons.
I'm hoping that one of the youngsters wins it!
(of course young "is" a state of mind)

i wont be there i have to take my family to my sisters baby shower i will be in the colony, she lives like 1 min from lake lewisville ill be out there fishing during the shower trying to catch something on a lake i know nothing about. sad day.

I just talked to Zeke and he wants to fish in the tournament. Guess I'm for sure not going to win now

Looking forward to seeing you guys Saturday!

I'm rooting for Zeke!

Looking forward to seeing everyone.
Do we have a count in how many are coming and just how many trailers we need. Not being familiar with Dicks, are we going to be able to park there without a fee? Also truck and and trailer takes up allot of space, will there be room?

I think this could be fun. Looking forward to fishing this stretch of the river.

Cudadude there's room at dicks and $6 a boat to park there

Should be fun. This is my first tournament so looking forward to a good time. Will be camping Friday at Lofers with Redsoxnation, Gonefishing84 and 1 or 2 others. See you all this weekend!

Who is bringing trailers? I won't have mine (in the shop getting painted). I'll have my truck and bed extender but may need to buddy up.

I'm bringing mine and Joe is bringing his. We can both haul 4 yaks each.

Me too! I'll need a lift back. Look forward to it guys.

James, I can put three in my truck bed if you want.We can meet at drop in, drive to Dick's, I'll leave my truck at Dick's and can haul us back to put in. Let me know.

I really hate to miss this one guys. After pre-fishing I was looking forward to making this my 4th NTKBF victory in a row

But work popped up this weekend and gave y'all a break

Have fun take and take lots of pictures. I might show up for the weigh-in if I can swing it.

Man, I was looking forward to tryin to beat the Champ!!!
Maybe next time!

Sent you a text CP

Got it. See you there!

Reading through the entire feed it looks like mjmfc, cudadude, and myself will be there with trailers.
I can haul 4 on my trailer and (if somebody feels strong) 2 on my truck.

Sorry guys a lot going on here...

First off, thanks again for bringing your trailers fellas! Jerry yes looks like you, Cudadude(Joe), MJMFC(Michael) and Jason will be using his father in laws trailer... That's four, so sixteenish yaks on trailers, your truck (+2), my truck (+2), jasons truck (+2)... If we have a few more trucks at Dicks carrying two apiece I think we'll be good to go...

We're gonna have someone shuttle you guys up from dicks that morning after you drop your yaks at the dam and then the trailers down to dicks... I'm going to pm you guys now about some of the details..

Sounds like a plan...wooohoo.

Don't feel to bad about missing it Matt. Its going to be a completely different bite with that many boats on the river together......Looks like I will be missing this one as well. To many projects at work im trying to wrap up.
Good luck fellas! Look forward to seeing the reports.

Good news, bad news.

First the bad: Dan and had to postpone our trip back down the to Pecos this weekend. Last weekend it was rain; this weekend we can't get onto the ranch where we need to get on and off the river.

The good news is that we can now come down and fish Sat. TXwhitacre has graciously offered me the use of his Cuda, and we still have a Scrambler that Dan can use.

Looking forward to seeing everyone.

Anybody down here today ?

I wish! Gonna miss this due to out of town family stuff. Good luck to all that get to go!

Guys went for 3hrs today caught 15 had about 47". They we generating. Hey this is gonna be a good one!

Absolutely Jason it's gonna be good...really hoping to put the first win in the books out of a kayak Saturday. Also hope to find my hook/weights box I lost last Saturday.

Good sign! But leave some for the rest of us! Can't wait for this.

Okay guys less than 48 hours out...

Some things I want to emphasize and clarify:

- there is a 6$ fee at the takeout... Cash only

- please try and have exact change at 4:45-5:15 registration...

- Jason (ninja) will be fishing the event. He and I have both participated in these in the past. He won't be scoring his own fish and will only score others if there's a time crunch. I don't anticipate that at all.

- Smartphones are allowed for this. They will need a zoom feature in order to be acceptable. Please don't think that an old flip phone will suffice. But also remember that the in and out nature of this stretch means that waterproof protection for all electronics is highly advisable. Cameras with removable sd cards are of course acceptable as well, but if yours is older and has a proprietary card, you need to bring your cable...

- the nature of this event is very different from a roadrunner style event at a lake. I'm confident that the shuttling issues won't be a problem, but the current 5:15 start is tentative. If we have to push it back because of unforeseen logistical delays we will do that. If, for example, it's 5:15 and Jerry Hamon (who is volunteering his trailer) is en route back from dropping off his trailer at Dicks for communal use at the end of the day, WE WILL WAIT A FEW MINUTES FOR HIM. We will not penalize someone for being generous enough to help us all out.

- I WILL be waiting at the dam until approximately 730 AM after I have released everyone. If someone arrives late I will be allowing them to enter the tourney assuming they meet all other criteria. They will be at a sizable disadvantage fishing behind everyone else but I'm allowing it if they are unexpectedly delayed.

Doesn't look like any rain or storms are a possibility. But it's going to be extremely hot!!!!





REPEAT!!! IT'S GONNA BE HOT!!!! Take all precautions to prevent dehydration and heat related illness. Each individual on the river that day should have available to them 4-6 quarts of cold water/Gatorade at a minimum. This is not simply a question of comfort! It's a question of safety!!! Water and sports drinks on ice! It's actually a good idea to start hydrating tomorrow in preparation for Saturday.

Looking forward to Saturday guys!

Bring more water than you think you'll need guys

No worries. I only fished a 1/4 mile or less.

Good luck guys

Along with the water, you might want to consider a back-up camera if you plan on using the phone option. Early in the morning was no problem for me when I went a few weeks back. But late in the day my phone had actually overheated! Most smart phones have a feature to protect them and won't let you turn them on if they get too hot. I had mine in a pocket on my pfd and about the time I wanted to take a pic of my first 20" of the late afternoon the phone was dead. I had to borrow a camera to take a pic of the following 20, 19, and 18 that I caught in that same hour

Don't worry Jason, 47" will be enough for third... maybe...

Great tip coach! Over heated smart phone not good.

Also 47" came from locations I know nobody fishes. Try looking at my reserves haha

The way the river is fishing I see 55+ just to place ,there's some big girls swimming around that stretch

The beloved trophies!!

Those are stellar! May the best man win!!! Just wish I could vie for the shot to bring one of those bad boys home!

Good luck.

Good luck guys be safe!

Have a blast folks. Be safe and catch fish!

We ended up with 3 anglers coming in after the initial launch for a total of 30 participants... Quite a few more than I expected... They're on the river now... I'll try to have results posted this evening...

Can't wait to see the results.

Me too. Awesome event.

My money is on ole' Don Brazos.

Ive got my moolah on the NINJA, sorry I couldnt make it, hope everyone had a blast

x2

I wanna see lots of pics. Sorry I couldn't make it but my cuda made a appearance!

Results:

Chris Anglin 56.75 inches (360.00)

Jay Pershin 56.00 inches (180.00)

Jason DelFraisse 53.00 inches (60.00)

Big Bass Jay Pershin 21.50 inches (145.00)

Congratulations guys!





I hate my job!

His wife is on this forum now. She goes by tx girl.

Nice to see who won and placed, congrates! I bet it was a fun time. looking forward to pics>.

Congrats to the winners and what a great turn out! Looking forward to seeing everyone at the next one (Lake Texoma)!!

Outstanding turnout - kudos to Gutcheck for advertising and coordinating this and turning it into a successful event! Congrats to winners - nice payouts - can't wait to hear and see more about everyone's adventures.

Nice job guys. Congrats to Chris on the win.

We had a amazing turnout!! 30 hardcore anglers battling 100 degree TX heat for 12 hrs. And everyone had a great time!! Thanks for coming out guys!!

I'll let Tom post the winners. I will say I missed 3rd by a 1/4" with 52.75" so close lol. My biggest went 20.75"

Photo time! Post if you got em!


Glad I brought these

Congrats on the Win Chris!
Looks like everybody had a good time, wish I'd of been able to make it.

Like wise enjoyed the pics James, keep them coming guys!

What's the date on that one?

Great pics James.

What an incredibly run tourney and great turnout! Tom and Jason, Thanks again guys.

I had an absolute blast. Can't wait until the next event.

I too would like to thank Tom and Jason for a well run event. There were a TON of possible scenarios that could have made this very difficult. But all were organized and handled well. I can't wait til the next time.

I didn't get any good morning photos as I had put my head down and paddled hard to get ahead of the crowd to a couple of choice spots. Unfortunately, that plan backfired a bit. It was only my second time on the river, and I suppose the time of day, and time between the last trip contributed to me paddling right by where I wanted to stop. I was nearly at Dick's when I saw Tom fishing from the bank and realized I had paddled the whole stretch with only about 2 dozen casts to show for it. After seeing James' pictures I kinda wish I had hung back with the crowd and fished with everyone else.

In the end it all turned out well. I caught a ton of 12-15 inchers. I hear just about everyone else did the same. 4-5 people had a 20" on their stringer too. The river is such a great stretch to fish.

I'd also like to thank all the folks that brought trailers to help shuttle people back and forth. What a great crew of guys to volunteer to help everyone out. Especially Mike, who went to track down my keys when my seat ended up traveling in a different truck than my yak.

The places were close at the top end of the tournament, and from what I hear, fractions of inches separated a few of the guys just out of the money. Here are my best 3.

It was a real fun time, met some new people and caught a few fish. Thanks for the pictures James.

Didn't get any pics this time, but had a blast and got to meet a few of you, and catch up with some others I hadn't seen in while. The weigh-in location (Bosque Resort) was a good choice too--nothing better after a hot day on the river than air conditioning and cold beer.

Thanks to Tom and Jason for a great job.

JT Gator mind if I post some of your awesome pics on Facebook ?

Not at all bro

Ole Don was a no-show!

This was a great time! Really enjoyed the day, seeing old friends and making new ones. Tom and Jason did an awesome job putting this thing together.
I'd like to snatch a few pics for a Yak Outlaws write up of the tourney.

Pack your bags for North vs. South on Texoma Oct 4th!

[/quote]Pack your bags for North vs. South on Texoma Oct 4th![/quote]
Those Okie's think they got something on us!!

Its was awesome seeing all the new faces at tourney. Hope y'all keep coming!

I had a blast as well. Got to fish with some great folks. My app said that all my kayaking back and forth covered 12 miles. My shoulders are feeling it too. The water was up just enough where dragging wasn't a necessity. I'm not so sure that river doesn't fish better after lunch. I got to see Jason's big fish and saw a couple more fatties swimming around. Clever fish in that river. Lost a few nice ones (no monsters but good strong fish) that loved the grass. And whoever posted about fish liking shallow water, that was definitely a true statement. Tom and I both almost stepped on a NICE bass that was hiding in no more than a foot of water in some shade. My big for the day was 19.5". I'll be back on the river for sure.

Congrats to everyone, looks like a lot of fish were caught. Great pictures James!

Great pics so far James and Coach!

Is that going out of Buncombe again this year? I'm in for almost anything on that lake!

Big thanks to Tom and Jason. This was my 1st tournament...and it was good time. It was a long, hot day, but well worth it to paddle such a beautiful stretch of the Brazos River. Met a bunch of good people. Everyone was extremely helpful and nice. Also, thanks to the guy who helped me haul my Ascend 128t up the hill at Dick's. I owe you a cold one. Until next time....

Check out my latest article on Yak Outlaws about the tournament.
Special thanks to James Belekanich, Kevin Dismuke, and Dustin Doskocil for use of their photos. A big thanks to Gutcheck and Ninja for putting together a "sweet" tournament.
http://www.yakoutlaws.com/ntkbf-tournament/

Nice article Jerry. Jerry your a beast my friend, tuff old man! I'm impressed. I know 30 yr old that couldn't handle 12hrs on that river in that heat. Hats off to ya sir!

Thanks Jason! I got a second chance on life in 2012 and I intend not to blow it!