"Fiesta on the Susky" presented by Bonafide Kayaks

Aug 9-10, 2024

Towanda, PA

@ The Keystone Theater

The Susquehanna is always just that, a party. If you've ever been there you know this is the perfect name for this adventure. At this event we'll get to explore a branch of the river that just won the 2022 River of the Year award from the state of Pennsylvania - the North Branch Susquehanna River.

The North Branch is a smallmouth mecca that, at times, looks like it came from the mind of Dr. Seuss. This section of river, that extends into New York, along with the Chemung River, has numerous tributaries that are also part of your Kayak Adventure Course, putting nearly 150 miles of flowing water in play. Unlike other branches of the river the North and its tributaries rarely flow through urban areas which keeps the water, and fishing, pristine.

We'll be in the quaint town of Towanda, where we'll hold our Closing Ceremonies Award Show at the locally renowned Keystone Theater. The facility seats over 400 and the architecture inside may be the most intricate of all the theaters we visit. This stage will be a special one to be on for the KAS anglers who earn that honor.

Susquehanna Waters

Sites of the North Branch Susquehanna, Chemung River and creeks that make up the 2022 "PA River of the Year"

"Fiesta on the Susky" Basic Event Information (scroll down for hour by hour itenirary & more detailed info)

Tournament Dates: August 9 & 10th Official Kayak Sponsor of "Fiesta on the Susky"

Tournament Week: August 4th-11th, 2024

Host City/ies: Towanda, PA - visitbradfordcounty.com

River/Lakes: North Branch Susquehanna River {} Chemung River & any free flowing tributaries into those two core bodies of water

--- Scroll down this page for detailed map w/ boundaries & preview video.

Registration/Divisions: (Scoring powered by the "Realtree Fishing Realtime Leaderboard powered by TourneyX)

Individual Angler Division presented by Torqeedo {} $150 per angler {} Learn More {}
X2 Team Division presented by X-2 Power {} $150 per team ($75 an angler) {} Learn More {}
Crescent Kids by 5-Star Heating & Air {} $75 per angler (enters them in Individual Division) {} 16 & under {}
Micro Bag division presented by Z-MAN's "Micro Finesse" baits {} 5 Smallest bass (min 5-inches) {} $25 per angler {} Learn More {}
Batteries Plus+ Sunday Side Pot Tournament {} $25 per angler {} Learn More {}

Other Awards (ways to win):

Kayak-Anglers of Eastern PA joint event {}
Keystone Kayak Anglers joint event {}
Slay Nation "Battle of the Border" {}
Boonedox Big Bass: longest bass award receives the KAS Big Bass Bling trophy...just wait.
GoPro's Epic Edit Award: Best edit of the previous KAS tournament to be shown on the theater big screen as a "preview" before awards
Crosskix Century Belt: All anglers who catch 100+ inches at a tournament will receive a century belt award on stage at that event13 Fishing's $13,000 Bass Bounty: Seriously, 13K in tagged bass w/ different bounties on them - "Make your own luck"
"Tackle for Trash": Angler who picks up the most unique trash item while on the water wins $100 gift card to TBD
Raffle Kayak/s: Proceeds going towards our supporting riverkeepers, and Pediatric Cancer through the PUNT Foundation.
Day 2 Darkhorse: presented by, who else, Darkhorse Tackle: Angler who jumps the most places from Day 1 to Day 2
Crescent Kids Kayak: The top youth at each event will win a Crescent kayak, thanks to 5 Star Heating & Air & Crescent Kayaks

Opening Ceremonies: Eastside Riverfront Park @ 227 Old Rte 6 Rd, Towanda, PA 18848

Closing Ceremonies Social (Yard Games, Kayak Demos, Food etc): Eastside Riverfront Park w/ Live music by country music artist Abby Abbondanza

Closing Ceremonies (Awards Show): Keystone Theater @ 601 Main St, Towanda, PA 18848

Closing Ceremonies (Afterparty): The Flying Taco Mexican Grill @ 7 State St, Towanda, PA 18848

Recommended Fishing/Kayak Retailers: Endless Mountain Outfitters {} Five Mountain Outfitters {} T-Town Bait & Tackle {} D&M Bait {} Bucktail-lures {}

Recommended Restaurants/bars: The Flying Taco Mexican Grill (site of Saturday's afterparty ) {} Olivers Pub & Grill {} Shores Sisters {} Vincent's Pizza {} Kings on South Main (BBQ) {} Red Rose Diner {} Woody's Ale House {} Community Cup (breakfast & lunch) {} Villa Sena (dinner) {} Wildfire Grill

Recommended Non-fishing Activities / Sites to see: {} Mt Pisgah State Park {} Wyalusing Rocks Scenic Overlook {} Quilter Corners of Wyalusing {} Knapp's Covered Bridge {} Shores Sisters (trust us, go here) {} Grovedale Winery

Non-fishing KAS Sanctioned Event (open to all friends & family): TDB

Kayak Demos: Saturday 2pm-5:30pm @ Eastside Riverfront Park during Closing Ceremonies Festival

Bass U Brunch, presented by Bass University: 10:00am-12:00 @ Keystone Theater

10:00-10:45am - Jeff Little - "Understanding Susquehanna Smallmouth"
10:50-11:35am- "Jigs & Bigs Live" podcast w/ Bobby Roastbeef & special guest
11:40-12:25 - TBD

Supporting Local Riverkeepers: Middle Susquehanna Riverkeeper

Supporting Charity/Raffle: Pediatric Cancer through PUNT Foundation via Bonafide Kayak raffle

Kayak Fishing Faith Fellowship: Saturday, 5:30pm @ Keystone Theater (balcony)

Guests of Honor: Jeff Little, Dr. Nathan Reigner (State of PA Director of Recreation)

Keystone Theater

Location of the Closing Ceremony Awards Show

"Fiesta on the Susky" Detailed Itinerary

January 31st

July 25th-Aug 8th

Aug 4th

Aug 5th

Aug 8th

Aug 9th

Aug 10th

Aug 11th

Early registration begins

Official Preview Livestream/Podcast on the Kayak Adventure Series YouTube Channel

Pre-fishing window begins (max of 4 days on the water within this 2-week window)

Early registration ends

Late Registration begins (ends Aug 8th). Increased entry fee, no registration gift bag
Thursday - Opening Ceremony Social @ Eastside Riverfront Park

4:00pm - Check in & late registration begins

4:00pm - Merch tents & yard games open, food & drinks begin

5:30pm - Pre-fishing ends (must be off water)

6:00pm - Live Music begins

6:30pm - Check in & late Registration ends

7:00pm - 7:30pm - Optional Rules Q&A Session (Pavillion)

7:30pm - whenever - Food, drinks, music, games - HAVE FUN!

Friday - "Afternoon Sesh" 4-hour afternoon sesh to get the tournament started

AM: Rigging, shuttling, exploring, scouting etc all allowed - NO LAUNCHING or FISHING

10:00am - Bass U Brunch @ Keystone Theater (see speakers & times above in "basic event info")

2:30pm - Launching, paddling, pedaling, motoring allowed (no fishing). "Check in" on TourneyX app

3:00pm - Your "Afternoon Sesh" lines in; tournament weekend officially begins

7:00pm - Lines out; day 1 fishing ends

8:15pm - All fish submission photos due

8:15pm - 8:30pm - LIVE Day 1 recap & Day 2 ID released

Saturday - "Send it Saturday" presented by Uncle Larry's Outdoors #neverendthesend

6:00am - Launching, paddling, pedaling, motoring allowed (no fishing)

6:30am - Lines in ; tournament day 2 officially begins

9:30am - Official family, friends & fans activity/meetup (TBD)

2:00pm - Food trucks, Merch tents & yard games open @ Eastside Riverfront Park

3:00pm - Lines out, day 2 fishing ends

3:00pm - 4:00pm - Don't forget to check out on Tourney X

4:15pm - All fish submission photos due

5:30pm - Closing Ceremony Festival ends; head to Keystone Theater for Closing Ceremony Awards

5:30pm - Fisherman's Faith Fellowship (open to all) @ Keystone Theater (Balcony)

6:00-7:00pm - Closing Ceremony Awards @ Keystone Theater

7:00pm - Winner/s photos on stage

7:15pm - Winners press conference/livestream
7:30pm - whenever - Afterparty @ The Flying Taco Mexican Grill (KAS has rented out entire upstairs)

Batteries Plus+ Sunday Side Pot Tournament (6 hours fishing from your "check in" time on TourneyX)

Lines in @ your "check in" time on TourneyX
Lines out 6 hours after your "check in"

Photos due by 8pm, winners & results posted on KAS Socials

- Travel Safe...see you at the next adventure

Official Preview Show

Learn all about "Fiesta on the Susky" by watching our official preview show!

Eastside Riverfront Park

Location of the Opening & Closing Ceremony Outdoor Socials

Fiesta on the Susky's "Adventure Course"

Towanda, PA

Eligible water, hard boundaries, launch boundaries, opening and closing ceremonies etc

Interactive Adventure Course Map >>>>

Eligible Core Bodies of Water**

North Branch Susquehanna River {} Chemung River

** including any and all free flowing canals, creeks & rivers feeding them. When scouting (online or in person) track all tributaries upstream until you hit any of the following man-made obstacles - solid or earthen dam, or road, culvert or pipe etc that you cannot kayak under/over. Any of these are hard KAS boundaries. A "spillway" or "lowhead" type dam is legal in KAS and anglers can fish & access above & below them. They are just "running the river" and are different from "solid or earthen" dams that have water flowing under the dam via a pipe or drain (think neighborhood or farm ponds, private lakes etc) or through larger outflows or turbines on larger public lake dams. If the water above in a larger public lake is legal in KAS it will be marked and listed as one of your "core" bodies of water on this page/map. If not, then it is not legal for the event.

Anglers must access "legally" and "publicly." If you find any water, or access, you feel may not be covered by the interactive map, preview video, or rules standards please contact the KAS Tournament Director prior to the event for clarification or risk being DQ'd if it is later deemed to be not eligible. For help determining "public" access you can also refer to the official Farwide Flowchart

ELIGIBLE WATER PREVIEW VIDEO

Click play to take a tour of the eligible water for "Fiesta on the Susky." This is just a general preview of the eligible water to get you excited about the waters you're about to explore! Refer to the map above for a more precise and interactive experience

showing all core bodies of water and any boundaries.

Here's the story on this one. So, you have essentially 4 approaches to choose. You fish the main North Branch Susquehanna below the Chemung confluence. Or, fish it where its much smaller above the confluence or fish the Chemung River. The final strategy that may come into play are the creeks. Can someone find 5 big ones in one of the smaller tributaries to this grand river? IOne thing for sure, this decision will be a big part in what makes or breaks it for our winner!

Towanda Area Sites & Family Activities

Enjoy a town full of history, scenery, great restaurants, breweries and

excellent facilities for the good times we'll have!