Peach State Kayak Anglers 2019 Season Recap

2019 Peach State Kayak Anglers Season Recap

It was another great season for Peach State Kayak Anglers in 2019. To keep anglers excited and involved, we swapped in four new locations and it yielded a record turnout for us! Here’s a quick recap of the events

Event 1 – February 2 – Lake Seminole

Bad weather seems to love PSKA season openers and this year was no different. Cold rain fell early in the week leading up to the event, and then rain that wasn’t forecast fell Friday night into Saturday morning. Seminole was muddy and dropped two degrees from Friday to Saturday and it showed in the standings. Of the 34 anglers entered, only three managed to turn in five-fish stringers. The winning angler was Will Clements with his 75.25” stringer and big bass honors went to Charles Shelnutt with a 21.5” largemouth.

Event 2 – March 16 – Rocky Mountain PFA – “King of the Rock 3”

This was a joint event with Reel Krazy Kayak Fishing. Originally scheduled for the 9th, the event was rescheduled for the 16th due to weather, which wasn’t much better on the 16th, with a cold front dropping the temperature and high winds ripping through Big Texas Valley. Despite that, Zack Turner got on them and got on them good – smoking the rest of the field for win with an 89.25” stringer. Jason Alford and Jason Hopper tied for big bass with 21.75” and they finished second and third with 58.5” and 56.0” respectively.

Event 3 – April 6 – High Falls State Park

For the third stop on tour, the old Yogi Berra quote “It ain’t over till it’s over” couldn’t have been more true. Juan Carlos Chacon caught the kicker fish he need to post an 80” stringer and take the win by fishing all the way to the ramp. He was joined on the podium by Landon Anderson who took big bass honors with a 22” toad also caught just before he got back to the ramp. On a tough day where fish held tight to cover in muddy water, Jason Matthews and Gene Jensen cashed checks and rounded out the top three with 75” and 73.5” respectively.

Event 4 – May 4 – Lake Lanier

Three of the clubs here in Georgia were involved in this event – East Central Georgia Kayak Anglers, Peach State Kayak Anglers, and Reel Krazy Kayak Fishing. A total of 83 anglers entered, making this the largest kayak fishing club event and the second largest kayak fishing event in state history. Afternoon thunderstorms cut the event short by a couple hours, but a lot of anglers still managed to score some solid fish at the measure-in. When the stringers were all tallied up, it was David Hampton notching the win with a 91.75” stringer. For the win, David took home over $1200 plus a brand-new Bite Kayak from sponsor Jackson Kayaks. Second place went to Mike Manivanh of Tucker with a 90.75” stringer anchored by his 22” largemouth that secured him the Moccasin Lures Big Bass Award for the day. Thomas Clements of Watkinsville finished third with 89.25”.

Event 5 – June 1 – Ocmulgee River – “The O.C.”

On the Ocmulgee, anglers set out for big shoalies, spots and largemouth and the river cooperated. It took 93.25” for Dylan Lowery to secure the win, beating out Coleman Fowler (90”) and Rok Ly (86.5”). Big Bass honors on the day went to David Hampton with a 21.5” shoal bass.

Event 6 – June 29 – Flint River

Peach State and East Central partnered up for a tournament on the Flint River, with 47 anglers spread out on the Flint from its headwaters down to Hwy 19. When anglers met at Sprewell Bluff Park for measure-in, it was all about quantity, not quality. More than three-quarters of the field turned in a full stringer, but it was Travis Dockins that was victorious with a 78.75” stringer. Jamie Dabbs finished second with 78” (and Big Bass honors at 18.5”) and Gage Coley rounded out the top three with 77.25”.

Event 7 – August 3 – Etowah River

This was the first of two events Peach State hosted in August. With open water from the Allatoona dam down to the soccer fields in Rome, anglers had the chance to fish some uncrowded water. The fish were active, with 2/3 of the field turning in a full stringer. Unfortunately for most anglers, the fish being caught were in the 12-14” range. Zack Turner put up 86.5” to take first, followed by Jason Hopper in second with 83.5”. Rok Ly rounded out the top three with 79.25”. Jason Hopper and Will Clements tied for big bass honors with 18.5”.

Event 8 – August 24 – Burton Chain

Peach State closed out the season on the Lakes Burton, Seed, and Rabun. Anglers had the option to fish any of the three lakes. The bite was tough for most anglers, but Jim Clark got on a couple big largemouth – 21.25” and 21.5” – and taking the win with 88.75” as well as big fish. Rok Ly turned in 79” to finish in second, well ahead of Greg Murphy’s 71” third place stringer. At the Burton Chain finale, Angler of the Year awards were also presented. When the fish were all tallied and events were culled, it was my Jackson teammate Rok Ly taking the Angler of the Year title and a brand new Liska, courtesy of our partner Jackson Kayak.

We’re working on some great new venues for next year. If you’re interested in learning more, please check out out on FaceBook.