Great Midwestivus II Recap: Plymouth, IN, Rolls Out The Red Carpet for Midwestivus Fishing, Food & Fun!
- Andrew Gregory
- 2 days ago
- 12 min read
Kayak Adventure Series (KAS) presented by GoPro held its second event of the 2026 season in beautiful Plymouth, Indiana, right in the heart of Marshall County. For the first time in KAS history, anglers were given the ultimate freedom—able to fish any public water within the county, along with select nearby rivers and lakes just beyond its borders.
Anglers from 13 states quickly discovered just how special the Marshall County fishery truly is. What makes this area so unique is its position within three distinct watersheds. To the north, eligible waters flow into the Great Lakes via the St. Joseph River. Running through town, the Yellow River heads west, eventually joining the Mississippi River near St. Louis. Meanwhile, the southern Tippecanoe River meanders south, feeding into the Wabash River—forming the Indiana/Illinois border—before ultimately reaching the Ohio River near Paducah, Kentucky.
Three watersheds. Three directions. Endless opportunity.
With such a diverse playing field, the big question heading into the event was simple: which water type—and which species, largemouth or smallmouth—would rise to the top?
As it turned out, the top 25% of the field (who all earn cash or prizes) cracked the code across a wide range of water types. Without giving too much away just yet, these standout finishes came from a mix of locations that proved to be just a little more productive than the rest…
Lake of the Woods - Marshall County Lake (Yellow River/Kankakee Watershed)
A small Marshall County lake (in Tippecanoe Watershed)
Chain of Lakes in Marshall County (Yellow River/Kankakee Watershed)
Worster Lake (Yellow River/Kankakee Watershed)
Tippecanoe River
St. Joseph River
St. Joseph River Tributary
The beauty of kayak fishing is its versatility—it excels across all of the waters mentioned above. In fact, it’s the smaller lakes, ponds, rivers, and creeks that draw many anglers into the sport in the first place.
In KAS, the challenge is simple: which one of these options will put me on top this week?
Before diving into the competition, it all started with a warm welcome from Visit Marshall County and the city of Plymouth, Indiana, as anglers were treated to food and entertainment at Opening Ceremonies.
With Yellow River Tap & Eatery serving as tournament headquarters for the week, anglers had a place to relax, attend fishing seminars, and enjoy outstanding pizza, wings, BBQ, and more.
Anglers from 13 states were represented, combining to register 859 total bass across 132 entries spanning all divisions.
Opening Ceremonies Gallery
(photo credits to KAS Production Team)
Friday morning gave anglers a chance to sleep in, relax, and learn at the Bass U Brunch. Fisheries biologist Reid Morehouse delivered an outstanding seminar focused on one of his specialties—crawfish. Anglers gained valuable insight into one of bass’ primary food sources and why it plays such an important role in both tournament strategy and everyday fishing success.
Meanwhile, Yellow River Tap & Eatery kept everyone fueled with an unforgettable breakfast pizza—topped with egg, cheese, and a rich sausage gravy base that stole the show. It didn’t take long for anglers to start saying it was the best breakfast pizza they’d ever had.
Bass U Brunch Gallery
(photo credits to KAS anglers & KAS Production Team)
Huge thanks to all the sponsors who make KAS possible, and especially those who contribute Items to the $100 Angler Welcome Bags for the 1st 50 who register. The headline product of this event was that the angler got to choose between a KastKing Rod Rack or a pair of KastKing sunglasses!
With Opening Ceremonies in the books and valuable insight gained from Dr. Mudbug at Friday morning’s Bass U Brunch, anglers were ready to hit the water for the 3:00 PM start of the KAS “Afternoon Sesh.”
Quickly becoming one of the most popular elements of the KAS format, the Afternoon Sesh gives anglers a unique opportunity to fish an evening bite on a weekday—4.5 hours to get their feet wet and start dialing in a game plan.
New for 2026, an added layer of excitement comes in the form of a $250 bonus awarded to the angler leading after Friday’s session concludes.
KASTKING Individual Angler Division
The Friday “Afternoon Sesh” got off to a fast start, with anglers immediately catching and uploading fish during the 4.5-hour window. Less than 30 minutes in, Josiah Bihary—one of the New Primal “Next Up” Division anglers—posted the first limit of the event (mid-70s) to the Realtree Fishing Realtime Leaderboard powered by TourneyX.
The production team quickly caught up with Bihary, who was dialed in on a strong largemouth bite in one of the area’s smaller lakes. While filming, he added a key 18-inch upgrade on a spinnerbait, capitalizing on the rainy, windy conditions that had the blade bite firing.
Meanwhile, as Bihary continued to cull in small but critical increments, the rest of the field was filling out limits with quality fish that would prove to matter. On the river, Eric Scrivner made an early statement, becoming the first angler to break the 20-inch mark with a 20.25-inch smallmouth—a fish he later talked about on stage. He caught it flipping soft plastics around man-made river structure, setting the tone for what was shaping up to be a diverse and competitive leaderboard.
Scrivner never completed a full limit on Friday, but with three quality smallmouth already on the board, he quickly became a name to watch heading into Saturday.
As Bihary continued upgrading his limit—pushing past the 81-inch mark—James Miller entered the conversation in a big way. He landed what would ultimately become the “Booyah BIG BASS” of the event—a 22-inch largemouth that earned a $500 prize package. Caught shallow on a buzzbait, it was the kind of fish that could anchor a winning bag.
Fans following along on the leaderboard knew that if Miller could back it up with four more mid-length solid keepers, he’d be a serious threat to take the title.
By the end of Friday, Miller had done enough to claim the overnight lead at 86.75 inches—earning the $250 Friday bonus in the process. The storyline heading into Saturday was simple: did he have more fish, and could he squeeze out a few more key upgrades to push past the 90-inch mark? While his bites came less frequently than others in the field, there’s no doubt every angler would’ve gladly switched shoes with him—or at least his kayak.
Saturday brought a much cooler start, with morning temps leading into highs in the mid-60s. Lines in went at 7:15 AM, giving the field until 3:00 PM to track down Miller, who returned to the water looking to build on his lead. With confidence high, he kept the buzzbait in hand and went right back to work.
Behind him, Josiah Bihary picked up where he left off, dialing in a strong frog bite and steadily climbing the leaderboard. Cole Lawrence also entered the mix after a slow Friday, making a key adjustment and finding success on both smallmouth and largemouth in the river.
Elsewhere, top female angler Jamie Young and eventual 5th-place finisher Justin Kivett began to surge, each just a couple of big bites away from entering true contention.
Still, as the morning progressed, Miller started to separate himself, turning the tournament into a tight race between a handful of contenders—Eric Scrivner, now with a full limit, along with Bihary and Lawrence—all chasing down the leader.
While all of them remained just one 21+ inch fish away from truly challenging Miller, the focus quickly shifted to the race for second place.
Cole Lawrence made a strong move, culling up with an 18.50-inch smallmouth to pair with an earlier 18.50-inch largemouth, briefly taking over second. But while Lawrence was consistently upgrading in the 17–18.5-inch range, it became clear those fish would make it difficult to gain much more ground.
Meanwhile, Josiah Bihary had already shown his area had the size to compete, landing a 20.75-inch largemouth on a Z-MAN chatterbait earlier in the day—and still holding a 16-inch fish in his limit. That left the door open.
Around 1:00 PM, Bihary capitalized with an 18.75-inch upgrade, reclaiming second place for good. From there, the final order settled in, with Bihary finishing second, followed by Lawrence in third and Scrivner in fourth.
James Miller continued to separate himself from the field on Day 2, leaning into the shallow-water big-bite pattern he’d dialed in late on Friday. Despite heavy pressure on his lake during both practice and the event, he stayed committed and executed—grinding his way to a winning total of 96.75 inches.
Key upgrades of 20.50, 18.50, and 16.75 inches helped him extend his lead and put the tournament out of reach.
On stage, Tournament Director and founder Drew Gregory joked, “Man, must’ve been tough throwing a buzzbait all day to catch some mega Indiana largemouth.”
Miller laughed and admitted that the buzzbait was the difference-maker—calling up the kind of big bites needed to win and proving to be the key pattern for the event.
Miller took home over $4,500 in total earnings—including his Team Division winnings—making him the clear on-the-water winner at Great Midwestivus II. Plus, he earned an additional $300 In Omnia Fishing Credit by winning the Omnia PRO bonus! Of course what matters to most who win Is the hardware and he of course took that beautiful 1st place Ketch trophy as well.
But beyond the payouts, the real victory was shared across the field. With smiles seen throughout the week, it was clear the mission of KAS was accomplished—delivering an unforgettable experience where, in the end, everyone walked away a winner through the adventure.
It’s also worth noting that Great Midwestivus I—held in Ohio last year—was won by Dylan Rupp with 96.25 inches. With Miller (an Indiana native) topping that mark at 96.75 inches, he may have delivered one final dagger across the border.
Ohio anglers will now have to wait another year not only to reclaim the title, but also the Midwestivus record in the KastKing Individual Angler Division.
Angler of The Year Standings have been updated and OH at least can take one last jab at Indiana on the heels of this event, as Nick Anderson (Cincinatti, OH) was able to slide Into the lead In the AOY Race after 2 events. Angler's best 3 events (out of however many they choose to fish) will determine the AOY Champion, to be crowned at Broodstock III, In Clarksville, TN In September.
On-The-Water Gallery
(photo credits to KAS anglers & KAS Production Team)
From the Air Gallery
(photo credit to KAS Production Team)
TOYO TIRES Team Division
James Miller capped off a dominant performance by “double dipping,” as his 96.75 inches helped he and Larry Reyes secure the win in the Toyo Tires Team Division with a combined total of 182 inches for their 10 bass.
On stage, the duo admitted they didn’t overthink their approach. Both were confident in their individual game plans, choosing to fish the same lake to stay in communication if adjustments were needed—but in the end, very few were. Reyes backed it up with a strong individual showing as well, finishing inside the Top 10 with 85.25 inches.
Each angler walked away with $750 on just a $75 entry fee, making it a perfect icing-on-the-cake moment to go along with their individual success.
The Ozark Bandits—Cole Lawrence and Zach Bray out of Missouri—claimed second place with 174.25 inches. Leaning into their “Ozark-style” strengths, they targeted smallmouth in the rivers and made it work on unfamiliar—and higher-than-ideal—water. Their performance proved that even in tough conditions, the fish are still there to be caught… and they came just shy of taking the win.
Rounding out the Top 3 was Team Buckeye Bassin’—Josiah Bihary and Clayton Carter.
During practice, the Ohio duo took a divide-and-conquer approach, exploring both rivers and lakes across Marshall County. After splitting up on Friday, it became clear Bihary had found the right area. His spot was loaded with fish, prompting Carter to join him there on Day 2.
The adjustment paid off, as Carter was able to secure a solid five-fish limit, helping the team lock in a third-place finish. Carter’s strong jump from Day 1 to Day 2 also earned him the “Day 2 Darkhorse” award, given to the angler who climbs the most positions on the leaderboard.
For his performance, he’ll receive a six-month subscription box from Darkhorse Tackle "We Fish"
TOP 10 Teams
Team of the year each win a Torqeedo motor in their TMOY package that Is building with additional prizes from Power-Pole, Bending Branches, DEFIANT Lures, KastKing, Yak Attack, SMITH OPTICS and more.
REBEL "Live Flex" Micro-Bag Division
Chase Carlock claimed the Micro-Bag title—and the $400 winner-take-all prize—in the $25 entry division. He told Drew Gregory that it all started with an unusually small fish he caught during practice. From that moment on, he committed to targeting the Micro-Bag—and it paid off in a big way.
The rules are simple: only bass measuring between 5 and 9.75 inches count, and anglers must record a full five-fish limit to be eligible to win. Carlock not only completed his limit, but also set a new all-time record with a 27-inch total—edging out Doug Biddle's previous mark of 27.50 inches from last year’s Susky 5 Slama-Jama event.
Chase was even filming with his GoPro, capturing some of the most entertaining Micro-Bag moments of the event. The footage had the REES Theater crowd laughing, as they watched a grown man celebrate a 5-inch bass like it was a trophy fish.
As you can see below, even the guys on the boat weren’t quite sure what to make of it.
New Primal "Next Up" Division (under 21)
New Primal, the Official Meat Snack of Kayak Adventure Series, also serves as the presenting sponsor of the “Next Up” Division—created to bring together youth, high school, and college anglers under one competitive umbrella.
To no one’s surprise, Josiah Bihary claimed the title in this division, adding it to an impressive weekend that also included a 2nd-place finish in the Individual Division and 3rd in Team. His prize for winning the Next Up Division was a new YAKRODS spinning rod, valued at $250.
Bihary documented his entire adventure using a GoPro and plans to release a full Great Midwestivus II episode on his YouTube channel soon—so stay tuned.
"BOOYAH Big Bass" Award
A 22-inch largemouth anywhere in the Midwest is considered a true giant—and James didn’t just catch one, he did it in tournament conditions. That fish proved to be a difference-maker, helping carry him to a first-place finish.
For landing the Booyah Big Bass of the event, Miller also earned an additional $500 prize package, including a gift card to Lurenet.com—where he can stock up on Booyah and other baits—along with a gift card from Bending Branches for a new paddle.
AFTCO Bank Bag Cleanup
AFTCO has yet again provided KAS with trash cleanup "bank bags" so that we can leave the area's we visit better than when we arrived. Angler's participating in the cleanup took at bag from Thursday's check-in and collected trash on Friday and/or Saturday from the water (when they see something) of the boat ramps and accesses that often times collect unwanted litter that ends up in our water. 6 Anglers took the time to bring back full bags of trash, and those 6 will receive a $25 gift card thanks to AFTCO!
Raffle Kayak
Huge thanks to Old Town for donating a Sportsman PDL 120 Pro to raise money for kayak anglers
who would like to use this scholarship money to become certified by the American Canoe Association as a Kayak Fishing Instructor. $1500 was raised at this event!!
David Paddack, from Indiana, was the winner of the 120 PDL Pro at this event and as you can see Is about as happy as one can be about it.
Awards Photo Gallery
(photo credit to KAS Production Team)
FULL AWARDS REPLAY
BONUSES PROGRAMS
"Unhooked" presented by DHUKR
Great Midwestivus anglers have until May 12th to submit any entries Into the "Unhooked" presented by DHUKR to be eligible to win up to $500 If their "lost fish" clip Is chosen as the best lost fish clip. Here is the winner from Tallabassee.
Click here to buy a DHUKR tool today – you never know when you will need it to get a hook out of you safely and keep you on the water!
Crosskix Cross-Country Prizes
In addition to sponsoring the popular Corsskix Century Belt, Crosskix shoes sponsors a new award this year. The Crosskix Cross-Country Prize goes to the two anglers who drove the farthest to fish each KAS event. Below are the winners from The Great Midwestivus.
Crosskix is also giving away 2 additional pairs at each tournament to two anglers who are fishing their very first KAS event. Kyle Turner and David Hackathorne were those winners In Indiana.
Also, for the first 18 (36 anglers) in the 2026 KAS season who sign up as a team for at least 3 events (making them Team of Year eligible) Crosskix will give each of those 36 anglers a new pair of Crosskix! Huge thanks to Crosskix for making this possible!
First & Last Light Bass presented by Guardian Angel
"Angler's Cut" Presented by GoPro
One angler will still win an additional $1000 ($500 cash + new GoPro) for submitting the best GoPro clip/s from the event. KAS gives anglers about 3 weeks after the event to find their best GoPro footage and submit it to the Anglers Cut form here. The winners all season will be shown on the big screen at the following KAS event. For more information about this program and all the bonus programs KAS and it's partners offer, click here to visit the Bonus and Contingencies page.
Josiah Bihary also earned an additional $500 through the “County Bounty” Bonus, awarded to the highest-finishing angler who stayed within Marshall County during the event. That bonus pushed his total weekend winnings to nearly $2,000.
Cole Lawrence claimed the NuCanoe Bonus, and with his Top 3 finish, earned a $500 gift card to NuCanoe as part of the program.
Looking Ahead
The New River Revival will be held in Pulaski, VA, on May 15-16, 2026. For more info, visit :https://www.kayakadventureseries.com/new-river-revival
Additional Info
For more information about the Kayak Adventure Series presented by Go Pro, visit: https://www.kayakadventureseries.com/
To watch the awards ceremony, click here.
Click here to learn more about Go Pro cameras.
© 2026 Kayak Adventure Series. All Rights Reserved. First published April 30, 2026.
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