Kayak Bass Fishing seems to be in big trouble, but is it dead or just down and out? Anglers not getting paid, tournaments getting canceled, it doesn’t look good. I go over some of the other kayak fishing tournament options anglers should probably move to now for more stability and in the event KBF shuts down their live event schedule at some point.
I travel around the country fishing kayak bass tournaments including the Bassmaster Kayak Series, Hobie Bass Open Series, All American Kayak Series, and the larger regional events!
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I don't think that there will be enough participation for multiple nationwide events. I agree with you that it is a bottom up sport. The local clubs are where it is at. Bassmaster and Hobie likely have the national scene locked up. It just costs too much to compete in national event trails where you have to spend thousands for travel and entry fees. Plus, you have to miss work. If you are not doing some recon and/or pre-fishing…you are not going to have a good shot at cashing. Obviously, if it is a body of water you have fished a lot in the past…you may be able to get away with not pre-fishing…but the added time to do this costs extra money and time from work. The whole nationwide online format really isn't viable. Not all bodies of water or regions are equal. So anglers who have access to bigger species of bass or better quality fisheries will have an advantage. That model may have worked during COVID lockdowns…but not now. Until you have large corporate sponsors or local businesses willing to donate/sponsor tournaments…the money comes from entry fees and it costs money to run events. So it is never going to be 100% payback until there are businesses willing to add money to events. They will want to be able to put a number to the return on that investment. In the business world, if it doesn't make dollars…it doesn't make sense…especially in a recession.
The longer he waits to sell it, the cheaper the price tag will be.
Don’t you have some fishing to do or something? 👎👎
This is exactly what kind of Video I said needed to happen. Something for new Kayak anglers to see before they see KBF YouTube videos.
Clickbait at best…..😂👍🏻😂🤣😂🤣😂🤦♂️🤦♂️KBF dead? 🤣😂🤣😂This statement should haunt you…..for being so quick and eager to “project” any negative outcome for KBF. There will always be a few that just “choose” to go negative…make better choices. Your statement says MORE ABOUT YOU….than KBF, IMHO.
Over promise and under deliver is the KBF way.
I gotta be honest. Last time I saw a mouth like that… it had a hook in it
With the popularity of the sport going nowhere but up the fact that an kbf organization is tanking obvious points to miss management! I personally would never fish an event associated with a history of non payment to anglers! Also I think some guys could step up and create an organization just as big as hobie or bass and have success in the mid to west states!
Here in North Carolina we have 4 great local clubs and over the last couple of years have been starting to cohost tournaments with one another, if something were to happen to KBF then this would provide an avenue to keep the local clubs viable and draw national tournaments to NC
I started a BASS Nation State club here in Colorado and it's taking off.
Our payouts are great and we all travel well. I'm excited about 2023 and what the future holds for Colorado Kayak Bassmasters.
~James Strawbridge
I’ve been around since the beginning of kbf. Before Facebook and social media took off. Many of those of us around then used the message board to discuss rules and challenges and where we wanted the sport to go. Which most wanted it to get to the point where someone could actually make a living fishing tournament trails. Hate Chad or love him, he in my opinion pushed the sport in the right direction but his inability to make payouts in a timely matter has slowed the growth of the sport. Many of the folks that were Owed money got a bad taste in their mouth and disappeared. Hobie started to step up on a national level and now bass nation. I’m starting to get the urge to jump back in tournaments. Even joined bass again after 20 years. The problems I see are the sport getting away from what made it appealing to many people. An affordable way to compete bass fishing. With folks rigging $20000 kayaks and living on daddy’s money while they travel the country fishing It’s getting out of reach for the average working man or woman to be competitive. One thing tho I was hoping to see when I joined BASS was a way to show the organization that the only reason I joined was because they have started supporting the kayaks. That would be our best bargaining chip we have to show them we have a big enough following to be worth the investment.
Sitting at my campsite on Table Rock doing tackle prep for tomorrow. Just a grateful rookie. Happy that my club seems really cool. Thanks for starting said club. I really dig your channel and podcast too. Is Hoover the CEO of KBF? I assumed that after watching some of his stuff, but wasn't sure.
My local club was a KBF affiliate for one year. That's all it took to turn a whole bunch of folks off. Yes, I think KBF is in trouble. I would not be surprised if this is the last season.
Personally, I see Kayak tournament fishing at the national level as peaking or reached it's peak. Managing expectations and keeping anglers happy will be key. Just don't see how it can grow much more from a national trail perspective.
As you said, many regional clubs like ours MAKBF (Mid-Atlantic Kayak Bass Fishing Series) , Queen City, MOYAK, NSKA etc already have guaranteed money clearing $1k-$2k for the winners. As we continue to foster the relationships with the larger national trail like Bassmaster/BASS Nation, Hobie BOS and even the Native Big Bass, I think they will come to areas outside the typical big fish factories more. What you said is key though, local anglers absolutely NEED to show up in full force to keep then coming back. Another way to help bring them to your local area/state is to do some leg work for them ahead of time. Having an already established relationship with that local tourism board or at very minimum a solid POC for folks like Steve O and AJ to negotiate with is a critical piece of the equation many folks miss when they complain about trails not coming their way.
Well Said, NSKA and Local clubs are growing
The problem we ran into here in Kentucky with the BASS Nation program is that the BASS Nation (Bass Boat) part of it demanded a percentage of the entry fee payouts. When I asked what it was for and what the kayak anglers paying a cut to the Nation would get I was told to help pay for "The Newsletter and website". I laughed and said thanks but no thanks. I wonder if other states are like that or if our was just trying to rip us off.
Small clubs. And get your club to sign up for the All American Classic free of charge.
The Texas Kayak Bass League (TXKBL) is taking over the Central and SouthWest parts of the state. The anglers rival any National trail
I'm in KBF currently. Honestly, if it is sold, hopefully they work out some of the issues (lots of issues) that been plaguing it. With that said, I'm thinking for next year I'm going to go Bass Nation instead. KBF is just too unstable, and the money issues is not only the root of it, but a massive complicating issue that just compounds it even more. I know Jeff knows this. But if you don't have a Bass Nation in your area, it only takes 6 folks to start one. I have looked in to that and that does seem appealing.
Not hating on anything to be clear, nor jealous. Been down this road with other organizations outside of bass fishing and it never ends well.
Great thoughts shared in this video Jeff 👊 Would love to see you back fishing NSKA if you can 😎
Michigan needs a Bass Nation