By Marty Hughes
The Kayak Adventure Series started out the season around the Ocala/Marion County area in the state of Florida recently. With numerous lakes and rivers to choose from, this KAS destination was the perfect place to not only catch big bass but also take in the gorgeous scenery and natural habitat. This opening event saw 89 registrations between all divisions, and the anglers looking for those big Florida bass were treated to a weekend they'll never forget. With November to February being the best months to fish here these anglers took advantage and caught some absolute monster fish!
According to runner-up angler Chris Bailey the morning started off cloudy and at around midday it cleared up and the sun came out. Air temps started out in the mid 50’s rising to 68 by afternoon. The winds were light and variable ranging from 5-10 mph from the northwest. The water clarity where he fished was very dirty with 2-3 inches of visibility. Let’s see what some of the top anglers presented for the most success.
Darrell Harellsen
Darrell Harrelson of Florida had only one fishing rod in his hands all day. He used a 7’10” XH Ark Lancer Tour series rod, a KastKing Speed Demon skipping and pitching reel, spooled with 65 pound JBraid. He was pitching to a reed line in two to three foot of water. With the poor water visibility he would drag his Power-Poles to find areas with a harder or rocky bottom. This unique strategy produced his big bites for the tournament.
Chris Bailey
The setup that did the most damage for Chris Bailey of Florida during the Kayak Adventure Series Ocapalooza event was a 7’6” Extra Heavy Enigma Flippin Rod paired with a Lew’s Custom Pro Reel and spooled with Strike King 65 pound Contra Braid. His bait of choice was a Junebug Medlock flipping jig with a Black/Blue Flake or a Black/Blue Swirl Bass Pro Shops XPS Crawdigy craw.
The areas Bailey fished he flipped heavy reed lines and let the jig soak as he could before reeling it out and moving on to the next pocket. He didn’t get very many bites during the tournament but the ones that he did get were high quality. He knew this tournament would take well over 100 inches to win so he focused and made sure he had the right mindset to key in on what the bass were actually doing. All of his bites came later in the afternoon with the final two bites vaulting him to second place in the final 30 minutes of the event.
The Junebug Medlock flipping jig with a Black/Blue Flake or a Black/Blue Swirl Bass Pro Shops XPS Crawdigy craw that Chris Bailey took second place with in the Ocapalooza.
Seth Taylor
Seth Taylor of Florida used a Berkley Stunna 112 in Stealth Shad. He also threw the 112+1 with short casts to get the bait deeper faster and more accurately to the deep spawning beds during heavy winds on Day 1.
Taylor also used a Yamamoto Baits Black with Red Flake Senko 5” which was wacky rigged on a Gamakatsu Finesse wide gap 1/0 hook.
Jeff Nerison
Jeff Nerison of Minnesota threw a Z-MAN Chatterbait Elite EVO Bama Craw with a Z-MAN Hella CrawZ green pumpkin trailer. He had this bait tied on a St. Croix Victory 7’2” H moderate casting rod paired with a 13 Fishing Inception 8.1:1 reel and spooled with 16 lb Sunline FC Sniper.
He also used a Bob4Bass Sparkie Flipping and Pitching Jig, 1/2oz, roadkill color, with a Strike King Rage Craw green pumpkin pearl trailer. This bait was paired up with a Scheels Outfitters One Series 7’2” MH fast casting rod and a Abu Garcia Revo5sx 7.3:1 reel spooled with 18lb Sunline FC Sniper.
Over the last hour of fishing, the Chatterbait produced all of his day one leading limit which included a 21.5” and a new PB on the very last cast at 24” and 8.63lbs. The jig managed Nerison two culls on day two, the biggest being 19” to hold on for 4th place.
Z-MAN Chatterbait Elite EVO Bama Craw with a Z-MAN Hella CrawZ green pumpkin trailer and Bob4Bass Sparkie Flipping and Pitching Jig, 1/2oz, roadkill color, with a Strike King Rage Craw green pumpkin pearl trailer
Richard White
Richard White of Florida fished the Ocalapalooza tournament on Orange Lake and caught most of his fish offshore. He caught his biggest fish, which was 20 inches long, with a 7 foot 2 medium, heavy Summit Dustin Connell fishing rod fitted with a Shimano Metanium DC reel and a white Jackhammer and shad pearl 6th Sense Ozzie 4.0 trailer. The other fish he caught, White used a Trika6x 6’10” medium power extra fast action with a Trika TI 100 fishing reel spooled with braid and a 12 pound Seaguar leader with a Spearpoint wacky hook with a black and blue Oracle stick bait. The other Rod he used was a Trika6x 6’10” medium power extra fast rod and Daiwa Steez Air fishing reel and braided line with a 12 pound Seaguar leader and a Junebug stick bait Texas rigged on a Spearpoint hook.
A closeup look at Richard White’s baits that included a white Jackhammer and shad pearl 6th Sense Ozzie 4.0 trailer. A Spearpoint wacky hook with a black and blue Oracle stick bait and Junebug stick bait Texas rigged on a Spearpoint hook.
Blake Abbey
Blake Abbey of Florida used the Bitter’s 6 inch Stick Bait (Bullfrog Salt & Pepper) to catch limits on day 1 and Day 2 of the competition. Fishing the Panasoffkee and Rodman Reservoir. His rod of choice was a Duckett Zeus 7’3” heavy action paired with a Daiwa CR 80 HS baitcast reel.
A closer look at Abbey’s baits used in the Ocapalooza. The Bitter’s 6 inch Stick Bait.
Rus Snyders
Rus Snyders of Tennessee put together a Berkeley Gilly rigged with a VMC 1/0 weedless Neko hook and a Kayakjak’s Outdoors 1/16th oz.Neko Button Head in green pumpkin special.
Snyders’ Gilly Neko components that helped him garner a 7th place finish in Florida.
Tim Isaacs
Tim Isaacs of West Virginia used a 7’ Medium Heavy spinning rod that he built himself with components from Mud Hole Custom Tackle with the blank coming from North Fork Outfitters. He paired this rod with a Daiwa Procyon reel and 20 lb. Power-Pro braid and a 16 lb. Sublime leader. He rigged up a Yamamoto 7” Speed Senko Texas rigged on a 3/0 Mustad 2X fine wire grip pin hook coupled with a ⅛ oz. tungsten worm weight on a bobber stopper.
A closer look at Isaac’s presentation. He used the Yamamoto Speed Senko with a Mustad 3/0 Wide Gap hook and a ⅛ oz. tungsten worm weight.
Richard White III
During the Ocalapalooza Tournament, Richard White III of Florida used the Oracle Fishing Flick Stick. The Flick Stick showed its value and proved to be paramount in receiving a top 10 finish for White. The Oracle Flick Stick is a bait he designed and manufactured for his company Oracle Fishing. It has angled segments running down each side of the bait which help the bait bend more in one direction than the other. This creates a faster or slower fall depending on the side you choose to wacky rig it on.
The Oracle Flick Stick is made of a soft-sinking plastisol which is made more dense with the addition of salt. The combination gives the bait a natural and faster fall rate which works very well in deeper water. The lake he fished during the tournament was predominantly 10 feet or deeper and being able to get his bait down faster was a significant factor of White placing within the top 10.
Brian Nelli
Brian Nelli is a full time kayak fishing guide out of South Florida since 2009. His success came on a DOA Lures Bait Buster and Yo-Zuri 3DB 110.
Nelli used this Yo-Zuri 3DB 110 for a top 10 finish.
Another bait that caught bass for Nelli was the DOA Lures Bait Buster.
The next event will be the Paris Reelfest held in Paris, Texas on March 23rd - Click here to learn how you can join in on the KAS fun.
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