A few things about this year’s season…
RULES
First and foremost, read the rules. We are partnered with Kayak Bass Fishing, therefore we have adopted their Competition Rules Standards, which you can find here.
Whether you’re new to kayak fishing or have fished with us before, please read the rules and make sure you understand everything. If you have questions, please ask.
While we follow the bulk of those rules, we do have an addendum to them, some minor deviations that are specific to Massachusetts Kayak Bassin’. Please read them as well…
MEMBERSHIP
MAKB does not require a membership to fish our events. However, if you wish to qualify for Kayak Bass Fishing (KBF) or B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series events through our trail, you must be a member of that respective organization.
For instance, if you wish to qualify for the KBF National Championship, you must be a KBF member (Ambassador level excluded) prior to the start of our event.
The same applies to the Massachusetts B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series Championship.
No retroactive qualifications!
Purchase your KBF membership here.
B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series membership info forthcoming…
APPROVED MEASURING BOARD
Everyone needs to have one, and only an approved measuring board will be allowed. No exceptions!
Check out this document for additional links to purchase, as well as some pros and cons on each.
*Please note that due to the recent FlexGate controversy, the major kayak fishing organizations—KBF, Hobie B.O.S., and B.A.S.S. Nation—will be changing their rules regarding approved measuring boards, if they haven’t already done so.
The Ketch Board will become the new industry standard (a new composite board is coming in June, priced at $29.99). While we’re not yet sure if we’ll implement any changes for 2020, it is in your best interest to purchase a Ketch Board if you plan to fish any events hosted by these other organizations.
IDENTIFIER HOLDERS
One of the most important items we need in kayak tournament fishing is our event identifier.
The universal identifier holder is the TourneyTag. This is a simple strap-and-pouch design, but it works with all boards on the market.
You can purchase it here.
If you go with the Ketch Board (highly recommended), consider picking up Jim Strunk’s Flip-It Tourney ID Holder. Designed for the Ketch Board, this simple yet ingenious product is a must have. His current stock (sitting at 47 right now) will be it for a while, as his season is about to start as well, so grab one while you can.
You can purchase it here.
TOURNEYX WEB APP
While there are a handful of phone and web apps out there, the Big 3—KBF, B.A.S.S. Nation, and Hobie—use TourneyX. MAKB does as well, so you must have a TourneyX angler account.
Register here.
Please use your real name, and if you also have a KBF membership or plan to purchase one, please use the same e-mail address for both.
These accounts are free, unless you wish to pay for the “pro” account ($30 annually), which gives you access to additional stats and features.
When you create your account, or if you already have one, consider affiliating yourself with Massachusetts Kayak Bassin’ (MAKB) through TourneyX’s Clubs feature.
TOURNEYX PHONE APP
You will also need on your phone the TourneyX PRO app (you can download it from the app store on your phone) or a link to the website.
We use TourneyX for uploading and judging submissions, and either will work for uploading fish. I would suggest having both just in case there are any issues with one or the other.
Please note that on your phone you will also need to have location services turned on and allow TourneyX access to your phone’s location. If you upload fish without this, your fish will be denied (if you’re even allowed to upload them).
TOURNAMENT REGISTRATION
You will not be able to sign up for any event until 7 PM the Sunday before each tournament. Once it goes live on TourneyX, a link will be posted on the Facebook group page.
This is the fairest way to do it, as we max out each event. Quickly. If you miss out, we will create an alternates list.
We are considering running secondary events on the same day, depending on how many alternates we have. We’re still exploring this idea…
If you have any questions, let us know.