Some things in life just go together; peanut butter and jelly, baseball and hotdogs, chocolate and peanut butter, pretty much anything and peanut butter to be honest. Today we are going to discuss one of those magical pairs; bass fishing and competition. There are dozens of different styles of fishing; fly fishing, crappie fishing, catfish fishing, stripers and hybrids, ice fishing, trout fishing, walleye fishing, surf fishing, deep sea fishing. They’re all great, but bass fishing has reached a different plane in the public consciousness, largely because of tournament fishing. Even guys that don’t tournament bass fish like to keep an unofficial count with their buddies to see who catchers more, or bigger fish. To quote the immortal philosopher Snoop Dogg, competition and bass fishing go together like peanut butter on jelly on gold. 

The problem with tournament bass fishing (well, the first problem…there are a few) is that it’s expensive. Nobody hosts bank fishing tournaments. Some tournament anglers have boat payments that rival their mortgage–assuming they didn’t have to take out a second mortgage to build a shop or second garage for their boat–and that doesn’t even count gear, travel, and entry fees. That makes the barrier to entry very high (and makes it a very un-profitable endeavor…subscribe to see our future article on the death of professional tournament angling). 

For guys that want to experience the fun and competition of tournament angling, kayak tournaments are a great option. Kayaks are a fraction of the cost of a bass boat. I have two–one was a hand-me-down from my father-in-law and the other was purchased used for $200 on Facebook marketplace–that have served me well in local kayak tournaments. Even with electronics and a trolling motor, my “tournament setup” cost me less than $500. The kayak is sitting upside down in the yard, and the motor and accessories are in a storage closet inside. Even with that very basic setup, I’ve won several small tournaments. It doesn’t have to be expensive or complicated. 

There’s a lot of content online about getting started in kayak tournaments–all of it helpful–but there’s not really a “one-stop-shop” you can go to that puts all the info you need in one place. We will try to do that here!

Catch, Photo, Release

The first thing you need to understand about kayak tournaments is that they are “catch, photo, release”, or CPR for short. You don’t keep fish for a weigh-in; you measure, take a picture, and let them go. Flukemaster has a really good video where he breaks down what that means and what you will need to participate in a CPR tournament

Fish Online Tournaments First

Flukemaster also raises a very good point about where to start. Fluke suggests starting with an online tournament, like the monthly KBF Challenge series. This allows you to fish on your own time, on your own water, and dial in your routine. Because these online tournaments last all month, it’s not going to be the end of the world if you spend half of a trip tinkering with your kayak setup to be comfortable tournament fishing, which is inevitable for most people. If you fished a one-day event, taking a lot of time to iron out the wrinkles in your setup will basically ruin your entire day.

The online tournaments take a lot of pressure off and allow you to learn from experience, instead of stressing over getting everything right before you hit the water. The guys at Aggressively Average Angler did a video during their pre-fishing for a larger one-day tournament that brings up some great things to think about regarding your setup. As they mention in the video, they’ve spent considerable time learning the hard way what works and doesn’t work in their kayak. The online tournaments give you a chance to do that while you’re learning the CPR format.

Charge your PHONE!

By the way, this video gives a VERY important tip: charge EVERYTHING. It sucks to get on the water and find out your trolling motor or electronics don’t work (been there), but it REALLY sucks to find out your phone doesn’t have enough battery to make it thru the day. Once your phone dies, your tournament is over. It’s impossible to submit anymore fish. So make sure your phone is charged, and consider carrying an extra external battery.

The Aggressively Average Angler guys also raise an important point about kayak selection. How much do you need to spend on a kayak? Realistically, you need to spend enough money to be safe. If you’re fishing at the local city park as part of an online tournament, pretty much any boat will work. You can fish in a $75 Pelican that you found on FB Marketplace. It may not be comfortable, and it may be pretty annoying, but you can do it. If that’s all you can afford; go for it. Just don’t go fish a tournament on Lake Lanier in June in that $75 Pelican; if you don’t die, you will at least fear for your life.

More on Kayak Safety

Besides picking the right boat for your tournament (or more accurate, picking the right tournament for the boat you own or can afford), there’s some required safety gear that will be helpful. Most tournament require PFD use the entire time you are in the boat. Once again, the guys at Aggressively Average Angler have a video on picking a PFD.

You’ll also need a flag (I use a cheap flag made for bicycles), a whistle, and some tournaments require nav lights if you have a motor. I use this portable unit from Amazon.

Tournaments for Your Average Guy (or Gal)

The Bearded Fisherman also has a good video on getting started in kayak tournament fishing, specifically what it’s like fishing tournaments from the prospective of someone that’s got lots of other things going on in life. Kayak tournaments are especially accessible because they fit better in the schedule of being a husband, a dad, a business owner, or just a young professional in general.

Personally I find that fishing tournaments actually makes it EASIER to fit fishing into my schedule. My wife is a planner.  Having a tournament schedule that’s set in January allows me to get those days on the calendar early, which means we’re planning our weekend around that fishing trip instead of trying to squeeze a fishing trip into a business weekend. Even when I was single, fishing tournaments increased my time on the water because it motivated me to go practice. I didn’t spend time thinking about “should I fish lake x or lake y”, I just fished the next lake on the tournament schedule (or sometimes the lake that I needed the most practice on, subscribe below for a future article about practice strategies).

Bass fishing is great on its own, but mixing in a little competition is even better. If you want to experience a little peanut butter on jelly on gold, consider giving kayak tournament fishing a shot this year. If you do, make sure you join the club and subscribe below for more tips and tricks to make your trips more successful and a little more affordable.