Mid-Season KAS Recap: Points Races, Previews and Power-Pole Power Rankings

Strategy and tactics are the soul and heart of tournament fishing. You make a plan for the tournament or for the year and then you apply it. It’s made of spirit and muscle, travel and paddle. And every season, there’s a moment or two when you reflect on your progress and opportunities.

How am I fishing? And where do I want to finish my season?

If you are looking for opportunity, then the Kayak Adventure Series presented by GoPro should be at the top of your list. Why? Because at just past the mid-way point of the 2026 season, the races for Angler of the Year and Team of the Year are still wide open. An angler’s top three events count toward their final standings, and with two events remaining we know know win AOY and TMOY winner is someone who has at least participated in one KAS event. Great opportunities to continue to pile up top finishes still remain at the last two events!

And there is a new feature connected to an angler’s overall multi-year performance in the Kayak Adventure Series: the new Power-Pole Power Rankings (more about those below).

Before we preview the final two events of the Kayak Adventure Series 2026 season, let’s review the state of the different points races.

KAS Season Opener: Tallabassee

Our 2026 season began with a trip to the Florida panhandle where anglers chose between stained, clear and “I can see the crayfish from 30 yards away” water qualities in the Tallahassee area waterways. The “Tallabassee” event introduced new top sponsors like KastKing, New Primal and Chinook Seedery while anglers got away from the northern cold.

Richard White Sr. bested his own son by just .25” in the final standings to win the Kastking Individual Division. But because the father-son team did not compete in the Toyo Tires team Division, they left the door open for team Darkhorse Tackle (Zech Fullard and Ryan Parker) to win the top team spot. As a result, four different anglers set the pace for the new year.

Event Two: The Great Midwestivus II

James Miller held home court advantage as the Indiana native took the win in an impressive and fun fashion by catching big largemouth on a buzzbait! Ohio angler Chris Anderson also announced his presence and took the lead in the AOY Race after the Great Midwestivus II, which marked a return of the popular Midwestivus event that was held in OH the previous year. It was the start of a searing run that would see Anderson extend his lead at the midway point of the season and also see his “Strictly Sail and Paddle B Team” (with Jim Thacker) enter the conversation for the Team of the Year race.

Event Three: The New River Revival

The Realtree Fishing Real Time Leaderboard tells no lies: by the time it was over, the New River Revival had been won with a bag of Largemouth Bass. The new River’s Smallmouth Bass made it interesting, and they put up a great fight (as Smallies always do) in beautiful Pulaski, VA, as most of the top 10 was on the river chasing bronze. However, when it was over, Chris Anderson and Jim Thacker's largemouth had helped them take first place in the team standings, while Anderson solidified his spot as the Angler of the Year points leader with just over a 20 point lead, after he took the win in the KastKing Individual Division.

Event Four: The Juniata Regatta

It seemed as if Chris Anderson was running away with the AOY lead and potentially the title midway through the season after his VA win. However, we thought the same thing about Adam Coleman with his incredible start last year, and with the Broodstock II finale near his hometown. However, an incredible surge late in the season allowed Rus Snyders to take the AOY Title and Coleman finished 2nd. Could this year be similar or will Anderson hold on?

If it is similar, one candidate to unseat him would be the Juniata Regatta winner, Jordan Lovejoy, who also placed 8th in the previous event in VA. Jordan is fishing with a lot of confidence, great decision-making and he's at the point where, despite his young 20 years of age, he's racked up several years of tournament experience to lean on. He and his partner Jimmy Entwistle also took the Toyo Tires Team Division Title and may continue to team up for the final two KAS events in order to make a run at the TMOY as well.

However, Jordan isn't the only one to climb closer to Chris Anderson after the Juniata Regatta. Already sitting in 2nd place was Ryan Parker, our AOY Champion from season 1. He managed a solid 4th place finish and 94.4 AOY points to close the gap on Anderson (who sat this event out). Watch out, with how tight AOY just got with two events left to go, it's going to be another a photo finish at Broodstock III!

This year Broodstock is not "required" to be part of your 3 event score for AOY & TMOY. Odds are it will likely still come down to that event for all of those in the hunt, including some anglers in which Broodstock will literally make their 3rd event.

Previews and Power Rankings

The 2026 Kayak Adventure Series Kastking Angler of the Year will be crowned at Broodstock III, in Clarksville, TN this September. So will the Torqeedo Team of the Year from the Toyo Tires Team Division. With two events to go, expanded payouts and prizes for all of 2026 (as well as the Top Ten in the final standings of the AOY race) and a northern swing in the mix, new anglers and opportunities await.

As a result, anything can happen. Will an angler win the title with a late push, as we already noted Rus Snyders did in 2025? Or, will the angler who sustains consistency, as Chris Anderson has, clinch the crown? Will a wildcard suddenly appear - an angler who catches fire in the summer heat, and burns a path to the top? And what of the team race?

As we know, in fishing, anything can happen. One big bite and change an entire year. And big bites are on the horizon: in August, the Northwoods Bronzequest takes place in Marinette, WI. And finally, Broodstock will decide it all in Clarksville, TN in September. There, the Top Ten AOY anglers will receive prizes, as will the top three teams, when the final chapter of the 2026 Kayak Adventure Series season concludes.

Power Pole Power Rankings

But Team of the Year and Angler of the Year are not the only rankings in play. Starting in 2026, Kayak Adventure Series has introduced the all new Power Pole Power Rankings. These rankings compile an angler’s total overall score in the Kayak Adventure Series across several years and a rolling number of events, using a unique formula that may spark debate and show a multi-year level of confidence that they are the current overall top-rated KAS anglers.

Here too, we ask: who will rise in the rankings during the second half of the 2026 season? And where will you begin? With a bag of giant Smallies from the Northwoords Bronzequest? A deepwater limit from Green Bay? Some Lake Barkley Largemouth Bass or TN creek smallies? Or, all of the above?

Find out after you make your strategy, prepare your tactics and register below for Achigan's Northwoods Bronzequest!

Additional Info

For more information about the Kayak Adventure Series presented by Go Pro, visit: https://www.kayakadventureseries.com/

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© 2026 Kayak Adventure Series. All Rights Reserved. First published June 22, 2026.