TallaBassee Recap: Tallahassee Kicks Off 2026 KAS Season with Big Bass & BBQ
- Hank Veggian
- 2 days ago
- 10 min read
Kayak Adventure Series (KAS) presented by GoPro opened its 2026 season in sunny Tallahassee, Florida, where a diverse fishery surprised anglers all week long with big bites and a range of hard-fighting bass species. From centralized Lake Talquin to Merritts Millpond to the west or Lake Miccosukee to the east, or all the way down to the scenic rivers such as the the Wacissa, Aucilla, and Chipola just to name a few - diversity was a theme here at Tallabassee. Anglers from more than a dozen states were able to experience just how unique the Leon County area really is for bass fishing. Is there any other part of the country where you can fish vegetation rich aquifer sinkhole style lakes, spring fed rivers, lakes and ponds, along with tannic water fisheries? The biggest challenge and question for the TallaBassee anglers would simply be, how do they decide where the biggest 5 bass will likely come from? If you missed the live awards, read on because you're about to find out!
Before we get to that part we must start from the beginning where the Visit Tallahassee and Leon County welcomed anglers with food and entertainment at the Opening Ceremonies. With the Summers Smokehouse as tournament HQ for the week, anglers could relax, attend fishing seminars and enjoy outstanding BBQ, slaw and grits. High gas prices didn't deter many angler's from making this a trip of a lifetime, as we saw 15 states represented, 452 bass scored, and nearly 100 registrations across all divisions, including the FL Bass Nation Kayak Series Saturday-only event.
On Friday morning fisheries biologist and CEO of Red Hills Fishery, Josh Sakmar, gave an incredible Bass U Brunch Seminar on the black bass species, their genetics, and why and how it all matters to the tournament and every day anglers. Summers served up an incredible breakfast buffet for everyone to enjoy as they watched and learned from Josh.
Kayak Adventure Series has provided the highest levels of angler amenities at every stop, and Leon County, Florida fulfilled that promise. With generous sponsors returning from previous seasons (and a few great new sponsors on board) and anglers primed to travel and fish, “Tallabassee” kicked off a 2026 KAS tournament season that brings a unique tournament bass fishing experience to a state near you over the course of six superb events.
Opening Ceremonies and Bass U Brunch Gallery
It began in Tallahassee, FL. From Florida Largemouth to Suwanee Bass and massive Shoal Bass, “Tallabassee” lived up to its name. One angler landed over 100” worth of Shoalies in practice, while another landed a trophy shoalie of 22” while fishing for fun after the tournament. Several anglers also checked the rare "Suwannee Bass" off their bucket list, while another angler found a wolfpack of massive Largemouth Bass beneath a dock that "would have gone around 115 Inches," he said. But clear water skittish bass have to be persuaded, and bass under thick mats have to be reached to be caught. Nature has a way of making it a fair challenge and for every opportunity there was an obstacle - the anglers who figured out these savvy bass are the ones who landed the winning limits.
Before the anglers left check-in the first 50 who registered received their "Sponsors Gift Bag," which consists of at least $100 worth of products from our incredible partners. The headline product of this event was that the angler got to choose between a KastKing Rod Rack or a pair of KastKing sunglasses!
KASTKING Individual Angler Division
The Friday "Afternoon Sesh" saw anglers immediately catching and uploading fish in their 4.5 hour time frame. After fifteen minutes of fishing, Brandon Hewlett, Mike Hawks and Jeremy Flynt had uploaded one bass each to start the show. After 90 minutes, Hewlett was atop the the Realtree Fishing Realtime leaderboard on TourneyX, with Caden Bruner in second place and Don Schrader in third, each having landed two keepers apiece. The top 10 all had landed at least one scoreable bass, and the leaderboard kept growing through the evening bite. By the time the last fish were uploaded, Richard White had 97 inches and took home the "Friday Leader Bonus" of $250.
Saturday was setting up to be a great day, and Brandon Turek got off to a HOT start. He jumped up over 100 inches and had already secured the season’s first Crosskix century belt (for anglers who catch 100+ inches.) By mid-day, Richard White had overtaken Turek by posting a limit of 102.” Both anglers had anchor fish of 22.50”, but it was Richard White III, son of the aforementioned angler, who would post a bigger bass before it was over!
White III posted a limit after noon, and it included a 23” monster bass that would go on to win the Big Bass Bling. White’s limit measured 102.75”, but Richard Sr. had culled, and was ahead of his son by .25”. In the meantime, Zach Fullard had moved up from 95” into fourth place with a 100.25” limit of his own, making it four Crosskix belts won by anglers at “Tallabassee.”
It should also be noted that Craig Crumbliss and Brandon Hewlett each landed bass of 22.75”. Taken together with White III’s 23” Booyah Big Bass and the 22.5” bass landed by White Sr. and Turek, the tournament’s top five bass measured at 113.5” in the the KastKing Individual Angler Division.
Richard White won the Individual Division, besting his son’s limit by a mere .25”. He told the crowd that he caught many of his biggest bass in thick vegetation. “They would dig down in the pads” he added. In the end, he managed to land some giants, included a 22.5” that was among the longest of the event. As a result, Mr. White bested his son’s limit by a mere .25” as the father and son went first and second in the standings, a first in KAS history (where many father-son teams compete together).
Heather Brock, of Alabama, took "Top Female" honors and of course Richard White and his son lead the first update of the Angler of The Year Standings
TOYO TIRES Team Division
The Native Gamblers took the early lead on Friday afternoon in the Torqeedo Team Division. Fried Ditch Pickles consisting of Matt Vogt and Duayne Dwyer, held second place after 90 minutes of competition, foreshadowing the place they would hold at the end of a hard fished event. By the end of Friday’s Afternoon Sesh, however, Team Fried Ditch Pickels held a commanding lead at 163.25”, nearly 40” ahead of Native Gamblers, the team composed of Blake Abbey and Brandon Hewlett. Darkhorse Tackle held third place, but by the end of Saturday’s fishing they would pull away.
On mid-morning on Saturday, Team Fried Ditch Pickles increased their overall limit to 176.25”. Team Native Gamblers held second, at 163”, having considerably narrowed the lead. In the meantime, team fried Ditch Pickles had fallen to 6th place overall, as they had only improved to 115.5”, allowing other teams to leapfrog them.
But in Florida, only the frogs who leap farthest don’t get caught, and Fried Ditch Pickles were about to bounce ahead of everyone. By the end of the day, Zech Fullard and his teammate Ryan Parker held the top spot on the leaderboard with a combined 10 fish limit of 192.25”. As a result, the anglers who finished fourth and seventh in the Individual Division won first place in the Team Division.
Director of Fun Drew Gregory asked Parker and Fullard, who hail from Pennsylvania and Ohio respectively, how they managed to win against the seasoned Florida competition. Parker explained “We had about four hours of practice Thursday. We basically fished with our eyes and decided early we would go all in on Merritts Mill Pond because the water was super clear and we could see what we were fishing.”
After explaining that the bass he caught were the first of his 2026 season and his first Florida bass ever, Fullard added “It was a lot of fun. I just kind of did it my way, he [Ryan] did it his way and we cracked it.”
On the Water Photo Gallery
From The Air Gallery
REBEL "Live Flex" Micro-Bag Division
It was a quiet start to the REBEL "Live Flex" division, but that’s what usually happens in Florida, where it is hard to find small bass! Not a single bass was posted on Friday, but Caden Bruner nonetheless persisted on Saturday. In the end he managed to land five bass that each measured shorter than the 9.75” maximum length. His limit went virtually unchallenged despite their being several anglers registered for the event, as no other angler was able to meet the 5-fish requirement to win the division. As a result Caden took home the title, the check, and the Micro Belt trophy as a result!
Caden told the crowd that “I was just using a small bait, and every time the bait broke, I just chewed a piece off and threw it back out there even smaller!”
Caden is part of the Florida State University Bass Fishing Team, and it was really exciting to see four or five of their team fish the event. Afterwards, they mentioned how much fun the event was and how they all want to get kayaks now (most of them borrowed for the event) to fish the Florida Bass Nation Kayak Series events more regionally, or even fish other KAS events across the country to help the team get more experience, but without the expense of a bass boat.
New Primal "Next Up" Division (under 21)
New Primal is the "official meat snack of Kayak Adventure Series," and presenting sponsor of the new under 21 division, which is a way to include youth, high school and some college anglers all together. Here in Tallabassee Lucas Saraiva, of the Florida State University fishing team, took second place. Braedan Coley, son of top KAS angler Lance Coley, won first place in the division with 59 Inches. He won an incredible prize that included a new YAKRODS spinning rod valued at $250.00!
Braedan told the crowd at the Summers Smokehouse that he was “flipping a speed worm under the mats, and Suwanee Bass just blew up on it. I only caught two Largemouth bass.” Braedan’s mix of Suwannee and Largemouth basses won the division and also reminded us all of the exceptional diversity of the Leon County fisheries.
"BOOYAH Big Bass" Award
Florida stops on the Kayak Adventure Series Trail always produce big bites, and Tallabassee was no exception. As noted and pictured earlier, Richard White III took home the GoPro Big Bass with a 23" giant.
When he received the "big bass bling," necklace he told the crowd “We were looking at this award the other night and I said to my daughter ‘Do you want me to get that for you?’ Now she’ll be excited when I bring this home to her.”
Richard White III was able to capture the big bass via GoPro as well.
Awards Photo Gallery
Unhooked presented by DHUKR
KAS rolled out several new prizes for 2026, and the Unhooked Prize is one of them. This prize rewards an angler who films a fish coming unhooked during the fight, and if the angler owns a DHUKR tool they win $500.
Granger Hieronymous won the prize for sharing a video of a big bass that he lost on day 1. Granger had initially registered on Friday and did not own a DHUKR tool. When he saw the tool and how important it is to stay safe, plus the chance for a $500 bonus, he immediately bought one before the event making him eligible. Good thing he did!!
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.
To reach Tallabassee, Norman Fenton drove 1,153 miles from Michigan. Jeff Nerison of Minnesota drive even farther, clocking 1,500 miles to reach the Kayak Adventure Series. Each angler won a pair of CrossKix shoes. Lucas Saraiva and Ryan Marquis won CrossKix as new anglers to the series, too!
Crosskix is also giving away 2 additional pairs at each tournament to two anglers who are fishing their very first KAS event. Lucas Saraiva and Ryan Marquis were those winners at TallaBassee.
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 Devices
"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 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 theater 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.
Raffle Kayak
Huge thanks to NuCanoe for donating a U10 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. Nearly $1000 was raised at this event!
Jeffrey Nerrison, from Minnesota, was the winner of the U10 at this event and was clearly rewarded for his lengthy travel to get to this one!
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. 5 Anglers took the time to bring back full bags of trash, and those 5 will receive a $25 gift card thanks to AFTCO!
Looking Ahead
The Great Midwestivus II will be held in Plymouth, Indiana on April 24-25, 2026. For more info, visit :https://www.kayakadventureseries.com/plymouth-in
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.
Click here for complete Individual Event standings from Tallabassee.
Click here for complete Team Event standings from Tallabassee.
Click here for complete Micro Bag Event standings from Tallabassee.
© 2026 Kayak Adventure Series. All Rights Reserved. First published April 2, 2026.