Ohio's Coleman Brings 102.75 Heat to Paris Reelfest
- Hank Veggian
- Mar 30
- 10 min read
Paris Reelfest wore out some fishing reels, sending not won but two anglers home with Crosskix Century Belts and the Reelfest also delivered a feature film’s worth of great memories. And like in any good western, there has to be a final showdown – and two anglers gave us a grand finale for the ages!
The location was nothing short of spectacular. That’s because Paris, Texas is poised to become a featured American bass fishery. With a new lake (Bois D’Arc) open and another (Ralph Hall Lake) on the way, Paris, Texas will soon be the envy of the fishing world and KAS anglers received a great early introduction to what is becoming a spectacular bass fishing destination. If you want to jump ahead to some of the photo galleries to see more scenery on and off the water and of the awards, click below.
And to think, Paris Reelfest was originally not even on the radar for the 2025 schedule for the Kayak Adventure Series (KAS) presented by GoPro. Now all the amazing bass that anglers fought and landed will make for GoPro highlight reels in what has become a great start to our second season.
Inside the historic Paris Community Theater at the end of the single-day event, we applauded competitors and handed out trophies. The Torqeedo Team Division champs shook up the SMITH Optics Team of the Year [TMOY] race, the Omnia “Tackle for Trash” prize went home with a deserving angler and the GoPro Big Bass Bling went to a bass that was nearly as round as it was long.
But the showstopper was the KastKing Individual Angler Division. While Ohio angler Adam Coleman lit up the Realtree Fishing Realtime leaderboard on TourneyX, Iowa’s Jordan Westerman was quietly assembling a bag to challenge the leader. When it was over, both anglers took home Crosskix Century Belts to commemorate a spectacular finish to a great day. That’s the second consecutive event in which that has happened!
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The KastKing Individual Angler Division
Hosted by the Paris Chamber of Commerce and beautiful Lamar County, TX, Paris Reelfest was the second stop of the KAS season. It was unusual for a KAS event, as it was held on a Sunday, with anglers facing a single-day marathon. Fortunately, the weather accommodated anglers, providing warmth, partly sunny skies and a strong breeze that stirred up the Texas bite.
After nearly two hours of competition, Tennessee pro Rus Snyders had landed one of the first limits of the day to lead the field with 78.75”. Nebraska’s Marty Hughes followed with a good bag of four fish for 61” and Missouri’s Ryan Reed held third with a limit of 58”. Hanging back in fifth place, Adam Coleman had three fish for a total of 46.5” – an inauspicious average length. But things would soon change…..
Slightly less than two hours later, Coleman’s average length had ballooned to nearly twenty inches per fish as he took over first place with a total limit of 99.” And his bite was literally still warming up. behind Coleman, Texas angler Larry Hill moved into second place with 88.5” and Rus Snyders held third place with 84.25”. Like two actors who work together often to make hits, the weather and the season delivered big culls – both Hill and Snyders would finish in the top five with an average length of more than 19” per fish.
No angler gained more from those big culls than Adam Coleman. As the day progressed into the early afternoon, he culled yet again. It was his fourth and final cull, and it placed him at 102.75”.
Jordan Westerman was still out there, however, and he was stacking big bass. One of them – a 22.50” monster – had a belly like a steer.
Wester man’s fish would win the GoPro Big Bass Bling prize (and new GoPro Hero 13 Black), while Coleman hung on for the win despite Westerman’s fierce late flurry.
And Coleman did so despite a long trip from Ohio with a plan that originally had other goals in mind.
“I originally planned to fish the Bassmaster event but the qualification fell through. I kept my travel plans to go to Texas, so when I spoke with Drew Gregory I decided to keep everything in place so I could also fish Kayak Adventure Series. I had some fun fishing at Lake Fork but also wanted to get out and fish our lakes. You know how it is, we put a lot of effort in to our sport, so I pre-fished hard for the event.”
“I couldn’t access a ramp at one lake and I didn’t feel I would do well at Bois D’Arc. Lake Bonham had some great fish but I didn’t get enough bites. At Crockett, I knew I could get a limit fast. Based on weather conditions, I hoped the big ones would move in and that’s what happened. I felt like I put the work in, and to have it come together the way I hoped it would, was amazing. This sport will humble you quickly because there is so little we control. It was awesome to have the weather and bite come together, and to have it [the awards] on that stage was so cool. This was my first national level event after a lot of local and regional tournaments. I hope KAS continues to grow, because Drew puts on a great show.”
In addition to the three thousand dollars he won for first place, Coleman also won a $250 gift certificate from Kastking, The NOCQUA Power Bonus, Toyota BONUS BUCKS and the Omnia Pro Contingency ($200 to Omnia Fishing) that gives Omnia gift cards to the top Omnia Pro subscriber. Which, by the way is just $49/year but you'll get a $50 gift card to Omnia Fishing just for registering for Omnia Pro using code "KASPRO." Learn more about all the bonus programs here.
Marty Hughes was awarded the Day 2 Darkhose prize presented by Dark Horse Tackle who honored the prize despite this being a 1-day event. Marty finished 1st out of the money and the team decided to give the prize to whoever was indeed first out of the money, which was Marty.
Coleman is now in a good position in the NOCQUA Angler of the Year race. Coleman also continued to thank his wife Lacey and Falls Outdoors of Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio for their support. When asked if he would attend the next event in South Boston, VA, he said “That’s the plan!”
Torqeedo Team Division
In addition to winning Big bass Bling and second place in the individual division, Jordan Westerman added another honor to his outstanding day at Paris Reelfest - he was the top angler on any team in the Torqeedo Team Division. Team Minner Shakers featured Westerman with Rus Snyders, who did the heavy lifting early on as the team figured out the bite. Westerman then sealed their victory and added a second team trophy to his KAS resumé (he and Kristine Fischer won the team division last season on the Wisconsin River).
In the meantime, Team Jackhammer Bros, consisting of Phillip Wyatt and Bryan Howell, came out strong in the early going. At mid-morning, however, Team Mariner Sails and its teammates Dan Nguyen and Larry Hill took over the top spot, posting 167.50” to the 162.75” posted by the Jackhammer Bros. Team Fish-I held third place with 130”.
It looked to be a battle between the morning’s top two teams; Mariner Sails kept the pressure on, increasing their total limit to 178.50”, while the Jackhammer Bros only added a few inches to their limit. And then Westerman’s bite heated up, he and Snyders made big culls, and Team Minner Shakers made its presence known.
Jordan Westerman and Rus Snyders finished their team outing with a total of 198.5”, besting team Mariner Sails’ final limit by 13.5”. Team 007 made a late push to take third place, while team Fish-I secured fourth place with its father-son team of Jason and Tim Isaacs. Jackhammer Bros placed fifth overall.
Snyders told the crowd that he mainly junk fished, and his own lures were a combination that included a spinnerbait, Senko and jerkbait. Westerman told the crowd at the awards ceremony that his focus had been offshore. Once there, Westerman dialed in the deep bite and delivered victory for the team.
We asked Westerman to explain his decision after the event. He said that it was about sticking to his original plan. That plan was productive in practice, to say the least:
“I caught about 103” in a couple of hours on Thursday. And then I had 106” and 110” in practice on two other lakes, so I knew that I was fishing the right way. I just had to find the fish, which wasn’t going to be easy in the wind…
I actually started my day on the spotted where [Adam] Coleman won the event. I knew something was happening there because a bass boat was on the spot for five hours during practice. But after 10-15 casts, I went offshore. My first bite was the 22.5”, but I didn’t catch another until noon. At one point I went near Rus and threw a spinnerbait for ten minutes, but I knew I had to go back. When the wind changed direction, I re-positioned and caught fish right to the end. It was all about making the right cast with those light baits.”
Westerman also wanted to thank his main sponsors Westee’s Screen Printing and the Eco Fishing Shop.
Of the top teams at Paris Reelfest only Team Fish-I had a previous showing (they placed third at Ocalapalooza). They will be in a strong position when the Team Optics Team of the Year [TMOY] Standings are posted, having taken third and fourth place points at back-to-back events.
Rus Snyders will also be in a strong position in the TMOY standings, but with two separate teams. Snyder’s pairing on team Minner Shakers with teammate Westerman creates a dilemma for Snyders, who now has placed in the money in two events - with two separate teams. Will Snyders continue freelancing or will he take one team to the top of the SMITH Optics Team of the Year [TMOY] race?
"Near" Missed Opportunities in the Z-MAN Micro Finesse Micro Bag Division
Z-Man Micro Finesse “Micro Bag” division had a handful of anglers in it. After Ocalapalooza, where a two fish bag won the micro-bag pot, maybe some anglers went after the big bites. The result would have been a lost opportunity for anglers BUT at the last minute before uploads were due (and before the KAS staff even realized there was a submission before awards) David Gurley was able to upload a lone single 9.50 bass to take the entire micro-bag winner take all pot! It's challenging to catch a small bass less than 10 inches (Micro Bag are bass between 5 and 10) this time of year in Texas due to the fact that all bass are about a year old at this point. Well, Gurley somehow found one that probably was born from a late spawner (probably late April 2024) and had yet to reach the 10 inch maximum. It's a game within a game and Gurley got it done for an additional $125!
Looking ahead to the South Boston Bass-A-Thon, with fisheries containing spotted bass and smallmouth bass as well as Largemouth, the next event will be an ideal place to compete for the Micro-Bag Trophy. Will we see someone get 5? Get back to an under 30 inch limit? Director of Fun Drew Gregory said “Those will be fish that are one year old, and because Spotted Bass don’t grow as fast the next event will be a great one for Micro-Bag competitors.”
Missed Opportunity for Finman Fishing High School Division
The Finman Fishing High School division was a missed opportunity, as younger anglers had a chance to test themselves against a strong field. Being a one-day shootout, and on a Sunday school night, probably affected the high school anglers. We expect a bigger turnout at the Boston Bass-A-Thon, so if you know high school anglers, get them registered for the event!
Top Lady Angler, presented by the Women's Fishing Federation
Meisje Pagan was the Top Lady Angler at Paris Reelfest. Landing a three fish bag of 43.25”, she fished beside her husband Mat Pagan as Team Haze Gray. It is the first time in KAS history that a team angler (not an angler in the Individual Division) has won the Top Lady Angler recognition.
Bass U Brunch
Abby Abondanza, Jody Queen and Drew Gregory, hosted a seminar on chatterbaits on Saturday night, in a twist on the event (usually it is at lunch on Friday). The room was filled with anglers who came to hear tips. A special thanks to the Holiday Inn Express in Paris Texas, who delivered a great breakfast for an evening brunch!
Autism Raffle thanks to Old Town Fishing, supporting Autism Anglers (501c3).
The generosity and understanding from the anglers in Texas was incredible. Thanks to Old Town Fishing for donating the Sportsman 120 to be raffled off for Autism through the Autism Anglers organization. Due to the event being a unique one-day shootout, the anglers agreed with tournament director Drew Gregory to take the kayak on to the next event and continue to sell more raffle tickets since there wasn't enough time to really sell as many as this tremendous kayak deserves for Autism. Gregory announced that anyone who donated from Texas will get double the amount of raffle tickets for their generosity and understanding and desire to do the best for the charity as we possibly can.
FINAL THANKS TO HIDDEN GROVE RESORT & PARIS, TX
KAS extends special thanks to Hidden Grove Resort for their outstanding hospitality. The ammeneties and location for anglers and their families were as good as we've ever seen. We hope to be back just as soon as we can!
Paul Allen and the Paris, Texas Chamber of Commerce were gracious hosts. Their commitment to growing our sport is amazing, and KAS is grateful for their support and how we were able to show the kayak fishing community what the Paris, TX area has to offer outdoorsmen and women!
UP NEXT!
The South Boston Bass-a-Thon (South Boston, VA) is up next! Kerr Lake and surrounding fisheries will be primed and ready when anglers from the big kayak fishing scene descend on their waters in early May!
ADDITIONAL INFO
For more information about the Kayak Adventure Series presented by Go Pro, visit: https://www.kayakadventureseries.com/
To watch the Paris Reelfest awards ceremony, click here.
Click here to learn more about Go Pro cameras.
Click here for complete KastKing Individual Event Realtree Realtime Leaderboard standings from Paris Reelfest on TourneyX.
Click here for complete Torqeedo Team Event standings from Paris Reelfest on TourneyX.
Click here for complete Micro Bag Event standings from Paris Reelfest on TourneyX.
© 2025 Kayak Adventure Series. All Rights Reserved. First published March 28, 2025.
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