Kayak Adventure Series "The Great Midwestivus" Top Baits
- kayakjaknebraska
- Jul 10
- 9 min read
Updated: Jul 14
By Marty Hughes
Presented by Omnia Fishing, where you can purchase most of these baits and get a $50 gift card when you purchase their Omnia Pro app ($60) by using code KASPRO
If you’ve ever listened to “Day 4” on Bass Talk Live then you have certainly heard former Bassmaster Elite Angler Frank Scalish talk about all the big bass he catches in that region. Ohio waters can put up some big bags and it was certainly the case when the Kayak Adventure Series came to the Springfield area recently! And Ohio anglers were well represented as seven of them were in the Top 10! This unique series is fast becoming a favorite among top anglers from across the country though because of the adventure it brings for the anglers. Let’s see those baits that brought the Top 10 anglers so much success!
Dylan Rupp of Ohio not only delivers UPS packages but also delivered the biggest bag of all in the Kayak Adventure Series event with his ZMan Evo 3.8 oz. chatterbait and a black/blue Zako trailer. He used a Bass Mojo 7’2” moderate/heavy action glass rod and a Daiwa Tatula SV TW baitcast 103 reel with a 6:3.1 gear ratio. Rupp was in a pinch for his second presentation but made it work with a ½ oz. Spring Ding ZMan spinnerbait on a Bass Pro Tournament Special 6’6” medium fast rod paired with a Shimano Excence 8.1 reel and 65 lb. Power Pro line.
Rupp shows his two setups that produced a victory in the “Great Midwestivus.”
Adam Coleman of Ohio did the majority of his work with a Texas rig at the “Great Midwestivus” event. Using a bullet weight anywhere from ¼ oz to 1oz. brought on most of his bites with the lighter weight getting most of them. He used 17lb Seaguar AbrazX, and a 7’6” NRX heavy fast action rod with a creature bait in 0-1ft of water, He was targeting bluegill bed areas in the 1-3 feet of open water between shore and the Lilly pads. Coleman would slowly drag until he felt them pick it up and then hammer home the hookset! The “Booyah Pad Crasher” frog pictured below is a warrior! “It has seen some things!, according to Coleman. He fished that on a 7’5” IROD Genesis III Magic Stick and 65 lb Seaguar smackdown braid. He picked that up when they wouldn’t eat the Texas rig or in low light situations. The frog definitely got him some bigger bites but they weren’t eating it great all day so he had to switch things up. He used the jackhammer to cover water outside of the pads. Adam has been cashing some big checks this year and this diversified approach earned him another top finish in the Kayak Adventure Series!
Collin Lamkin of Illinois relied on a black and blue 3.8 oz. Zman Jackhammer with the stained water conditions where he was fishing to catch all of his bass and (catfish). He abandoned the idea of “matching” skirt and trailer combinations and opted for a bright chartreuse and light blue 3.3” Keithech Fat Swing Impact swimbait as a trailer for heightened visibility. When he ran out of those he switched to a 3.5” X-Zone Swammer that was similarly colored.
All of his best bites came along submerged grass lines near relatively fast current and he wasn’t shy about a fast retrieve when bringing his lure over the submerged grass.
Lamkin used a 6’8” St. Croix Bass-X Medium Heavy Fast (old version) paired with a Daiwa Tatula 100 HSL 7.1:1 ratio reel spooled with 14 lb. Daiwa J-Fluoro Samurai.
Rus Snyders of Tennessee is no stranger when it comes to top finishes in major tournaments. He said, “There was a ton of open water for this tournament, but my team partner Steve Baker and I decided to commit to the Great Miami River because of its reputation for big smallmouth.” Because of the heavy rains the week before, conditions were constantly changing. During practice Snyders focused on rocky banks with a crawdad DT-6 crankbait fished on an Irod Gabe’s Rip Rap Special. He caught a few fish doing that in the tournament, but most of his larger fish were caught around the willow grass on a 1/4 oz bluegill swim jig. He paired this with an Irod Sniders Sniper Rod and 40lb braid.
Eric Tracy - Indiana had his work cut out for him Saturday after a rough Friday session as he only had two fish to show for his efforts. . He chose a great section of river to float Saturday, and the bladed jig bite was hot early on with two 18.5's coming off the same riffle on back to back casts. These fish smashed a shad colored version of this bladed jig from Blue's Baits. With a Tennessee Shad "Minner" from Bizz Baits. The Old Town kayak with AutoPilot was key here to help him spot lock in about 15’ of rapidly moving water.
Later, a big cat ended up breaking the bladed jig off, so he switched over to an Xcite Baits medium diving Crankbait. With the NK motors blazing past him running to hit all the best looking cover Tracy decided not to try and race them in the AutoPilot, but slow down and bang the crank off rocks. This really paid off as he was able to pick up a lot of nice fish mid river for a 92" finish.
St Croix spinning rods with Shimano Sedona reels are his “go to” for gear. Tracy give’s a shout out to his wife for her support as he travels to these amazing Kayak Adventure Series events; and special Thanks to Moving Water Outfitters in Indiana for helping him get rigged up with the Old Town Autopilot and Shimano reels.
Tracy’s Top Baits:
Blues Baits bladed jig with Bizz Baits "Minner"
Xcite Baits XB-1 DD Silent Crankbait "The General"
Josh Nickel of Ohio fishing in only his second ever national trail event, and it just happened to be in his own backyard! Alum Creek Lake is his home lake and fishes it pretty much every weekend. After a disappointing showing in our local trail on this lake earlier in the year. Nickel was absolutely exhilarated to be able to put together the best bag he’s ever had in a tournament, let alone his home lake. He caught his limit on a black and blue ZMan Jackhammer chatterbait with a Hog Farmer Spunk Shad in black and blue to match using his Shimano Curado 200 HG on my 7’ MHF Dobyns Fury Rod using straight 20 lb. Power Pro braid. After Nickel caught his limit he knew he was going to have to find big fish that would cooperate. Luckily, that happened for him. Around 5:30 P.M. Friday as he was fishing around some bluegill beds right around the channel that runs through a grass flat. He decided to switch over to a Bucca brand Trick Shad in “Threadfintastic” color which he was throwing on a 7’ MHXF St. Croix inshore rod and a Shimano curado 200HG using 20 lb. Power Pro Braid with a 20 lb. Sunline assassin FC fluorocarbon leader. He made a cast over the grass flat and worked the lure in. As it got to about 20 feet from the kayak he was able to see it working back and forth. That’s when it happened, this absolute bruiser of a fish came out of nowhere and absolutely inhaled the trick shad. He reached for the Yakattack Leverage landing net and was able to land his personal best tournament fish, and also what ended up being the biggest fish in the tournament! Nickel would go on to finish 6th overall and catching the biggest bass had him absolutely stoked in just his second national event.
Jarrod Kalinowski of Ohio used two combos the entire tourney. These included a 7’4” medium heavy/moderate fast St. Croix Bass X paired with a Shimano Curado 17 lb. Seaguar fluorocarbon and a 7’9” Dobyns Fury swimbait rod paired with a Piscifun Alijoz 300 with 20 lb. Pline copolymer. He used a ZMan ⅜ oz.Minimax in Bluegill with a ZMan Chattershad and a 7” Trashy Bass swimbait in Thready. He uses a Jackson Coosa FD kayak when fishing tournaments.
Kalinowski ended that Friday in 6th place and on the following Saturday morning he caught a giant in the first 10 minutes and led for the first couple of hours. He went to the same spot both days and on the second day he traveled a little further up to seven miles downstream and then back up without a motor. He has been kayak fishing since the summer of 2022. He was gifted his Grandad's pole and ever since he has been at it like a crack addict! He started chasing smallies about two and a half years ago. He does all this in honor of his Grandpa who got him into fishing. He just never really appreciated it when he was younger, so he just wants to prove himself and honor his legacy for as long as he can fish.
Chris Anderson from Ohio fished Cowan Lake both days which is his favorite lake. It is a lake that fits his style and has won multiple tournaments on Cowan and it was fishing well for him this year. To have success the lake needed to be on and flawless fishing.
Four of his five keeper fish were caught on a 3/16th and 5/16th “Baby Advantage” jig with a Zoom Z-Craw Jr. trailer fished on rock drop offs in 6-9 feet of water. The other keeper as well as a couple fish that were culled on the ZMan Jackhammer in “Bruised Pumpkin” with a 4.5” Missile Baits “Spunk Shad” in “Superbug.” You can see in the photo that he had to fish it slow enough to knock the paint off the blade to trigger the right bite.
Anderson’s kayak of choice is a 2025 Hobie 360XR from Strictly Sail and Kayak in blue ash.
His jig setups consisted of a Shimano Metanium Shallow Edition XG on a Fenix Feather MH for the 3/16 jigs and a Shimano Metanium DC on a Megabass Levante Brailist for 5/16 jigs. His third setup was a Shimano Metanium Shallow Edition on a Megabass Levante Diablo Spec R. Anderson nearly had a perfect day but one fish wrapped around some pads that may have helped and one jig fish that would have culled at least two inches which hurt but he didn’t complain with the bag he had already caught.
A great side story to Anderson’s accomplishment was that it was Father’s Day weekend and being a “girl” Dad and his daughter (Avery) paints his toenails before every tournament. His wife and daughter drove from cincinnati to Springfield for the awards. All in the spirit of the KAS.
His kayak is a 2025 Hobie 360XR from Strictly Sail and Kayak in Blue Ash. I’m a member of the Strictly Sail Fishing Team. If there is any way to thank or promote them it would be great.
Bryan Slaton of Ohio had most of his success fishing channel swings with rocky banks. He also caught fish near flooded grass as the river was about a foot and a half higher than the normal summer pool. The higher river levels exposed crawfish habitat and the smallmouth were cruising close to shore. A lot of his fish had mouthfuls of crawfish so he stuck with a craw presentation for the majority of the tournament. He used a Daiwa Kage All Around Rod with a Daiwa Tatula 100 and a 8.1:1 ratio spooled up with 14 FC Sniper Fluorocarbon. He used a Golden Shiner ½ oz. Evergreen Jackhammer trailered with a 3.3 inch 6th sense Stroker Craw in green pumpkin burst trimmed down to make a compact presentation.
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