Tag: Lake Winnipesaukee

Announcing the New England KBF Partner Trail Series

February 19, 2020 0 Comment

It started as an idea. A single regional event, hosted by many of New England’s and New York’s various kayak fishing groups, working together instead of against each for the good of the sport.

That was 2018, and we ran out of time.

We readdressed the idea again last year, thought that a standalone regional trail series would work even better. Instead of all groups working on one huge event, allow one or a few to host a single tournament in a series of them, culminating in a championship event.

But again, we ran out of time.

This year we were determined to get it off the ground. Jason Gardner and I reached out to Brian Baulsir at Adirondack Kayak Bass Fishing and Chris Smigz at New Hampshire Kayak Fishing, asked if they and their groups would be willing to jump on board and make this thing a reality. They happily agreed.

Having a little behind-the-scenes insight into Kayak Bass Fishing’s plans in the coming years, it just so happened that our idea perfectly aligned with KBFs vision for the future. And so our little regional trail series has morphed into something much bigger. Higher stakes, bigger rewards!

And so without further ado, we are very excited to officially announce the 2020 New England KBF Partner Trail Series, the very first of its kind!

Stop 1: Lake George, New York, May 23, hosted by Adirondack Kayak Bass Fishing
Stop 2: Great Pond, Maine, June 6, hosted by Maine Yak Anglers
Stop 3: Charles River, Massachusetts, August 1, hosted by Massachusetts Kayak Bassin’
Stop 4: Lake Winnipesaukee, August 22, Championship Event hosted by New Hampshire Kayak Fishing

The first three stops are concurrent events—Lake George is also the KBF Trail event, Great Pond is also a Maine Yak Anglers event, and the Charles River is also a Massachusetts Kayak Bassin’ event. Each will be its own separate tournament on TourneyX. Anglers may fish one or both.

Here’s what’s at stake:

• Top 10% at each of the first three events qualify for the KBF Partner Championship on Caddo Lake, October 17–18
• Top 10% at each of the first three events qualify for the KBF National Championship
• Top 30% at each of the first three events qualify for the New England KBF Partner Trail Series Championship on Lake Winnipesaukee, August 22
• Top 10% (minimum 10) at the New England KBF Partner Trail Series Championship qualify for KBF TRAIL Series Northeast Regional Championship on Lake Messalonskee and China Lake, September 12–13

Entry fee for each event is $50, with an optional $10 Big Bass Brawl side-pot (purchased through the KBF store), split 50/30/20.

The Lake George event is already on TourneyX, if you wish to register now.

There are just four events this year, but we plan to double that next year, involving more groups. We want this to be a true regional series, with all kayak fishing groups working together for the good of the region, for the betterment of the sport and, most important, its anglers.

We are excited for this series and what it means for the sport in our region. And as always, we’re happy to be working alongside Chad Hoover, Joe Haubenreich, and everyone at KBF. There may be some new kid’s in town, but KBF is still the biggest and baddest around, and with them we are thrilled to take this to another level.

For more up-to-date announcements and details, please join our Facebook group.

If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to either me, Jason Gardner, Chris Smigz, Brian Baulsir, or post it in our Facebook group.

Big Win At Winni

July 8, 2017 0 Comment

BIG congrats to Mark Johnson, who came out on top today in our very first KBF Trail Event on Lake Winnipesaukee. A $690 payday! Nice.

Thomas Mee (aka Tom Kringle) took second, and Jason Gardner placed third. Mark and Jason previously qualified for the KBF National Championship, so their qualifying slots rolled down to Matt McGee and Frank Kulig.

We did a split lunker pool for largemouth and smallmouth. Ken Wood got the biggest largemouth of the day (18.75) and Mike Elrick got the biggest smallie (18.50).

Congrats again, everyone! We really appreciate you coming out. Let’s do it again next year!

On a smaller lake.

Special thanks to Mike Sales at MGC Fishing Equipment and Supplies for the giveaway loot and swag!

Read on for a more detailed write-up courtesy of KBF’s Joe Haubenreich:

KBF TRAIL, WINNIPESAUKEE RANKINGS & REWARDS are now posted on the KBF Calendar Event web page.

23 bass yakkers whacked ’em on Winnepesaukee today. KBF was delighted by the turnout for this first New England event. Many thanks to Ken Wood and Mass Kayak Bassin for pulling this event together and making sure it came off without a hitch.

Mark Johnson posted 83.75 inches of bass on the LOWRANCE Leader Board to seize first place, which came with $690 and 100 KBF AOY Points. Mark’s performance merited a qualification to the 2018 KBF National Championship but he qualified earlier this year, so that slot rolled to Matt Mcgee of Maine, who turned in a respectable 81 inches today.

Thomas Mee was two inches behind Mark. At second place, his winnings came to $345 and 97 KBF AOY Points. Thomas qualified to compete for $100K next March on Kentucky Lake…which might be about the time he’s ready to take a break from Connecticut’s lingering wintry weather.

Like Mark, Jason Gardner (ME) is already Paris-bound. Taking third place, he pockets $115 in winnings plus 94 KBF AOY Points. The slot he would have taken went, instead, on past Mike Elrick (MA, 79.25″, 5th place) to Frank Kulig (MA, 78.50″, 6th place).

We appreciate all who turned out for this TRAIL Series Tournament. We’re looking forward to our return next year. Congratulations to those who fished their way to the top!

Click here for Rankings & Rewards.

Click here Photos & Details.

Register for the Lake Winnipesaukee KBF Trail Event

June 26, 2017 1 Comment

Okay, folks, the registration and tournament info pages for the KBF Trail event we’re hosting on Lake Winnipesaukee on July 8 are live!

Lake Winnipesaukee KBF Trail Event

This event is open to KBF members and non-members, though non-members pay an additional $25 admin surcharge on top of the $50 entry fee. This surcharge can be used toward a KBF membership within one week of the end of the tournament.

At 30 anglers, AOY points will be awarded to all participants who are KBF members at the time of the event, and at least five National Championship slots will be awarded. Payouts go to 10% of the field (not a 10% payout overall, as the graphic kind of suggests), and the minimum payout for first place is $1,000! It goes up from there. If we reach 100 anglers (or possibly 50), NuCanoe will award to the winner a brand new NuCanoe Pursuit. Expect additional prizes and raffles as well.

The host venue is Funspot in Laconia (579 Endicott Street North). We will meet there in the parking lot on July 8 at 5 AM for a brief Captain’s Meeting, and then again at 5 PM (inside, second level party room) for check-in and the awards ceremony.

Please register as early as you can. The more anglers who sign up early, the more it encourages others to do so as well. And I would suggest finding lodging as soon as possible, as this is event is very close to July 4 and places to stay nearest to Winnipesaukee will likely become harder to find the closer we get to July.

For all the tournament info you need, click here. To register, you can do so here on TourneyX.

If you have any questions, let me know!