Tag: Kevin Amaral Jr

And the 2020 Knockout Series Champion Is…

The 2020 Knockout Series kind of flew under the radar this year, for whatever reason. Some of you reading this may not even know what it is.

The Knockout Series is a bracketed series we started back in 2016 and have run every year since. Turnout this season was lower than last year, but still thirty-two anglers signed up and battled it out in head-to-head matches over the course of the season. Four rounds leading to the championship round which took place yesterday between Bruce Levy and Kevin Amaral Jr.

To get to this point, Kevin had to best Dave Bibo, Paulo DeMorais, Patrick Brown, and reigning Angler of the Year Joe D’Addeo, while Bruce had to get past Chris Catucci, Gabe Portes, Peter Arruda, and Dennis Kiroff. No easy paths to victory by any means.

Bruce and Kevin fished Norton Reservoir for the championship match, which may seem like an odd choice given how tough it fishes more often than not. But luckily for them, the fish were hungry yesterday.

Kevin started by fishing the islands and points, which are always good for some fish, and they were yesterday. When the bite died, he moved shallow without any luck for a time. Toward the end of the day, Kevin made his way to a shallow cove that still had some grass, and big bass were in there crushing bait fish!

The spinnerbait bite was on, and while he caught some fish, he lost some others, including one close to five pounds.

While Kevin found that shallow, grassy cove late, Bruce found it early and had his three-fish limit and was culling almost immediately. He caught all his fish burning a white Jackhammer and spent the day culling 17-inchers!

When all was said and done, Kevin’s best three went 46.25, while Bruce hauled in a hefty 53.50, claiming the 2020 Knockout Series Championship crown by more than seven inches!

Awesome job, buddy!

You, too, Kevin. Great job out there.


And the 2019 MAKB Angler of the Year Is…

The Massachusetts Kayak Bassin’ Angler of the Year race is a tough one. Points are based on an angler’s top twenty-five bass of the season, plus bonus points awarded for finishing in the top five. Seems simple enough, right?

It’s not.

Anglers wishing to become the MAKB Angler of the Year need to compete in a minimum of five events, consistently catch limits, put quality fish on the board, and finish in the top five. None of those alone will do it.

And we have a lot of excellent fishermen in this group, so getting to the top, or even close to it, is a great achievement and something to be proud of.

So it is my pleasure to officially announce the 2019 MAKB Angler of the Year: Kevin Amaral Jr!

Kevin fished in nine tournaments and caught 44 bass (not including culled fish) this year, racking up two wins, three second-place finishes, and a fifth-place finish. He also had lunker largemouth and smallmouth once each, both of which were fish that contributed to his Top 25 season length of 410.50. Add to that 23 points from his top-five finishes, and his winning total season total length was 433.50!

His 20.75-inch smallmouth was also the biggest bass caught during any of our ten events.

Consistency is the key, as I mentioned, and the without a doubt Kevin performed at a consistently higher level than the rest of us this year. A well-deserved victory, my friend! Congrats.

Here are your top ten anglers for 2019! Great job, fellas!

Kevin Amaral, Jr. – 433.50
Ken Wood – 420.00
John Ferreira – 406.25
Gabe Portes – 397.25
Paulo DeMorais – 397.00
Lee Kennon – 388.25
Bruce Levy – 384.75
Donald Davis – 383.00
Steve Scott – 378.50
Bruno Casagrande – 377.25

Click here to check out the full 2019 Angler of the Year standings.

Congrats again, guys!