Adirondack Kayak Bass Fishing tournaments!

By Dan Ladd, Chronicle Outdoors Editor

Bass tournaments are nothing new on the Great Sacandaga Lake. But this Saturday, July 20, a few dozen bass anglers (perhaps more) of another type will literally test the waters of the big lake in one of the fastest growing competitive fishing circuits — locally, regionally and nationwide. That would be kayak bass fishing.

If this Adirondack Kayak Bass Fishing tournament turns out anything like what went down on Lake Champlain a few weeks ago, minus some thunderstorms, they’ll be more than pleased. Thirty-three anglers registered for that tournament; t he top three took home cash prizes.

Winner was Brenden Matice of Corinth, reporting five fish that measured a total of 87.5 inches.

As kayaking has continued to surge in popularity it is only fitting that competitive angling would find its way into the mix. What has emerged is a friendly form of competition using boats, gear and tackle that any average angler/paddler can acquire, along with a measuring system that simply practices good conservation. It also capitalizes fully on modern technology.

Adirondack KBF, as it is known, sprung up out of a growing interest. Ben Sopczyk of Glens Falls, one of three tournament directors, credits fellow director Brian Baulsir of Saratoga and Mountainman Outdoor Supply Company (Saratoga and Old Forge) with getting things started.

“Brian founded it with Mountainman,” said Sopczyk. “They kind of spearheaded it, having a tournament at each Paddlefest. They had a pike tournament, which spawned into a biggest bass tournament, then KBF.”

Those early Mountainman Paddlefest tournaments were catch-and-release. The format requires participants to photograph their fish inside their boats on a measuring board and include a special ID tag, known as a code. The fish is almost immediately released back into the water.

Baulsir, Ben Sopczyk and Ben’s brother Zack Sopczyk, who also lives in Glens Falls, literally became hooked. They started Capital Region Kayak Bass Fishing. In 2018, they changed the name to Adirondack Kayak Bass Fishing. They are affiliated with the national and state organizations simply known has Kayak Bass Fishing.

On May 18, the national KBF outfit hosted a trail event on Lake George that saw 143 anglers from all over the northeast and even Canada participate. Adirondack KBF, meanwhile, keeps things regional.

Calling all kayak anglers

Ben Sopczyk says anyone interested in fishing out of a kayak is welcome to participate in an Adirondack KBF tournament.

“They just need a smartphone and a Paypal account,” he says as those tools are needed both for registering and receiving payouts if you win. You also need the phone for photographing and registering your catch through an app called Tourney X, which does real-time tournament updates and simplifies organizing the events.

“We’ve had everyone from young teenagers who come with their parents to husbands and wives,” Sopczyk said. “We’ve got people in their 70s and people in their 20s. It’s a diverse group and anyone can fish any tournament.”

Fishing kayaks have evolved to where they can be outfitted to the max (read on), but Sopczyk says tournament prize winners have had success in all types of kayaks, not just the highly accessorized.

“Last year a guy finished in the top five that was basically a ‘Walmart special,’ as he called it,” said Sopczyk. “He knew where the fish were and how to catch them. Outfitting a boat is great, but a lot of the things are creature comforts. There are tools that can you use. A fish-finder might help you confirm where the fish are, but it’s not going to help you catch the fish. If you know the body of water, it doesn’t really matter.”

Still, the fully-outfitted fishing kayak is quickly becoming a trademark in and out of the tournament atmosphere. Justin Queary, who finished in third place at the Lake Champlain tournament after landing a last-minute lunker in the LaChute River, uses a pedal-driven kayak that has everything he needs for a day of fishing.

“If you’re paddling, you aren’t fishing,” says Queary, a disabled Air Force veteran who lives in Carthage, New York and was fishing Lake Champlain for the first time.

His kayak gear included a Hummingbird fish-finder complete with a 10 amp-hour lithium battery, upgraded steering system that includes a rudder, layered crate system behind his seat for gear and tackle and several rod holders, plus the rods themselves.

He also has a wheel system that stays on board and helps him easily transport his 120-pound boat on shore and into and out of the back of his truck. He started kayak fishing only recently and quickly expanded his gear. His father, Alan, joins him on the tournament trail.

“I’ve been bass fishing my whole life, since I was five, on Lake Ontario,” said Queary. “My dad was an Adirondack guide and he mostly used canoes. The past couple of years we’ve seen this Adirondack Kayak Bass thing growing. So last year we got paddle kayaks. This year we got peddle boats and have a little better system for fishing these tournaments.”

Why kayak fishing?

“I’m a disabled vet and this is one of my ways of getting out and getting some stress relief,” said Queary. “The big thing between this and a bass boat is I get to choose what I do in this boat. There’s nobody telling me where to go, where to paddle, what to throw; I choose everything and I’m by myself. Even though I’m with my father, my friends and all of these other guys, I can get away from everybody and kind of just get lost in the moment.”

“To me, it’s really just about getting out and fishing,” said Sopczyk. “I like it because of the problem-solving aspect that comes with fishing in general. The kayaks give you a lot of freedom on the water.

“We all know how popular kayaking has gotten, but we’ve got a really good community. The competition aspect with these tournaments, even though that’s the face of who we are to the public, it’s not hyper-competitive. Everybody gets along and is super supportive. It’s just about getting out and meeting a group of people that all share the same hobby and passion.”

The conservation catch-and-release element is looked upon very positively inside and outside of the fishing community, and among tournament kayak anglers.

“We like the ‘catch-photo-release’ CPF as it’s called,” said Sopczyk. “It started out as a necessity, you can’t always have a live well in a kayak. Most fishing tournaments, you catch the fish, you put it in a bag and drive to the launch. Then they release all the fish in one spot.

“With CPF, we catch the fish, put in on a measuring board and take a picture of it with an ID code that we give everyone in the tournament the night before. As long as the photo shows the fish on a appropriate measuring board, the code is in the picture, and we can verify the time stamp and location, that’s it.”

There are three Adirondack KBF tournaments left on their schedule including this Saturday’s on the Great Sacandaga.

In August and September they’ll have a 10-day tournament open to all waters in both the Adirondack and Catskill Parks before wrapping up their season in October down on Round Lake.

You can learn more about Adirondack KBF at adirondackkbf.com.

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