# Possible Gulf Coast - Tournament Series - Your input is needed!



## zabbu (Jul 9, 2013)

http://www.kayakfishingclassics.com/​The Kayak Fishing Classics tournament series has recently reached out to me in hopes that i can help them gather information about this area. They are interested in hosting a series of tournaments here on the Gulf Coast. Their tournament series has been very successful in southern Florida giving away over $120,000 in sponsor gear and 6 kayaks in 2013! 

Looking towards a 2014 series I would like any input you guys can provide to help me help them. Please remember your input is critical to ensuring that Kayak Fishing Classics can come up to the gulf coast and establish an effective tournament series. 

Input we are looking for is - 
Would you be interested in competing in a tournament series here on the gulf coast?

What type of tournaments would you be more likely to participate in, inshore? offshore? Doesn't matter?

Any thoughts on locations to host the tournament?

Is there anyone who I could reach out to for more input on this subject?

Thank you for all of your input. Keep up the fishing!


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

We only had ONE kayak tournament this year with an offshore division. There are tons of guys that fish offshore now and having a tournament with an offshore division would be GREAT! 

Late April into May and September or October would be ideal, mid summer fishing can be tough but if that means more participants Im still good for any time of the year.

This area has a large, and ever growing kayak fishing community but other then the FANTASTIC spring tournament the GCKFA puts on, we are woefully lacking any other opportunity for competitive fishing and I believe any well run tournament would bring in plenty of anglers.

Feel free to give me a shout, number is listed in my sig.


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

Oh and an offshore shotgun start like they do in the Extreme tournament series down south would be bad ass!


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## FLSalomon (Oct 3, 2007)

We have talked about this in the past - a tournament trail along the gulf coast with the kayak fishing clubs along the coast hosting and running the event. Perhaps it is time to start that discussion again. It would be easier to coordinate if we worked with the clubs so as to not to cannabalize their existing events.


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## spec-tacular! (Aug 20, 2012)

This is a great idea! Im pretty sure this could be huge on the gulf coast!


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

FLSalomon said:


> We have talked about this in the past - a tournament trail along the gulf coast with the kayak fishing clubs along the coast hosting and running the event. Perhaps it is time to start that discussion again. It would be easier to coordinate if we worked with the clubs so as to not to cannabalize their existing events.


That would be great BUT I think having a different tournament as well would be great for the area. Did the Miller Lite Tourney cannibalize anything? No.

A different venue with different sponsors/prizes would in no way hurt GCKFAs Spring Tournament if that is what you are worried about.


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## parrothead (Oct 1, 2007)

I would be in. Inshore would be easier because you dont have to pick and choose your day so much, weather wise. But offshore would be more fun i think. Ive talked to allot of yakers recently and they almost all have said they are a little nervous about fishing offshore. Let me know if there is anything i can do to help to make this a reality and a success.

Scott


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## Realtor (Oct 1, 2007)

just wanting to know, define "offshore" when talking "kayak fishing."


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## parrothead (Oct 1, 2007)

To me it means three barges and such. Within 5 miles or so.

Scott


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

Offshore in the kayaking world is really just beyond the breakers but we still get all of the snapper grouper and trigger any one else does, even the occasional "blue water" fish like Wahoo mahi tuna and sailfish!

As for the weather, we have it made up here. If the guys down south can run two offshore tournaments with big turn outs and big prizes in the big waters of the Atlantic, we surely can do it in the Pond of Mexico.


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## zabbu (Jul 9, 2013)

*JD7.62 -* 
In regards to offshore 'shotgun' tournaments, the risk of conditions is definitely a concern. Have you noticed a time of the year where it is consistently smoother? In the fall with these 'north' winds, in the spring? I will likely be taking you up on your offer for assistance. ​
*FLSalomon - *
Kayak Fishing Classics definitely does not want to alienate any of the local clubs. This is exactly why this discussion has began so that they can coordinate the perfect time and place to hold a tournament that everyone can compete in and have a chance at tons of Sponsor Gear.​
*Realtor -
*If offshore is decided upon this would be defined as the species and brackets are setup for the tournament. The current inshore kayak fishing classic tournaments are a CPR (catch photo release) tournament lineup that involve catching an aggregate of 1 or more species of fish. This years inshore tournaments were laid out like so,


Mosquito Lagoon - 3-Redfish 
Banana River Kars Park - 2-Red, 1- Trout 
Fort Pierce Round Island - 1-Snook, 1-Red, 1 Tarpon, 1 Trout
Sebastian Long Point/Wabasso - 1-Tarpon,1 Trout, 1- Snook, 1-Red
Indian River - 3-Reds
Tampa Bay - 3-Redfish
Fort DeSoto - 2-Red, 1- Trout
10,000 Islands Evgl. City - 1-Snook, 1-Red, 1-Tarpon, 1-Trout
Pine Island - 1-Snook, 1-Red, 1-Tarpon, 1-Trout
Ozello - 3-Reds

*Parrothead / Spec-tacular*
Thank you.​


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## zabbu (Jul 9, 2013)

All of your input has been very helpful. Also, thank you to everyone who voted, please keep them coming!

What is everyones thoughts on Locations for both inshore and offshore? For instance - Panama city has a growing kayak community as well, would destin be a good 'middle' ground for both the Pensacola and Panama city kayak communites to converge and battle it out?

Some *examples *of locations to start discussion (These are just starter ideas) :thumbsup:

*Pensacola:*

Inshore - Big Lagoon?
Offshore - Ft Pickens?
*Destin*

Inshore - Eden ground state park or Santa Rosa sound? 
Offshore - Henderson Beach?
*Panama City*

Inshore - East bay?
Offshore - St andrews?


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## parrothead (Oct 1, 2007)

Depending on time of the year , we can also put in somewhere like the Swamp house or Jim"s fish camp, Simpson River. Ft. Pickens or big Lagoon are good also. How about Johnson Beach or Orange Beach ??
Just suggestions

Scott


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## KayakFishingClassicS (Jan 29, 2011)

Hello Everyone,
The KFCTS is expanding in 2014 with 5 divisions. We would love to have a division in your area as well. We are of course looking for as much feedback that we can get so please ask your kayak fishing friends to weigh in on this. The more information that we receive the sooner we can make our final selection. Our concern is in past years there have been plenty of events in your area and then the attendance just fell off. Not sure why? You live and fish in one of the most beautiful areas in the world and the fishing is fantastic both inshore and offshore. We can do either or one of each if that is what you would like. It's your call and of course we always try not to conflict with any tournaments. We will be setting the remainder of the 2014 schedule soon and look forward to hearing from many of you. We thank all of you for your feedback and hope to meet you soon.


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## Yakavelli (Mar 17, 2010)

You had me all kinds if excited until you said "catch-photo-release", that's so boring! I think the best part of a tournament is pulling that fat-daddy trout out the cooler to weigh it in. CPR might as well be an online tourny...

I'd be all-in if there was an actual weigh-in. With species like speckled trout, the one-over-slot limit adds a whole other degree of difficulty. "What do I do with this 23" speck...keep or release with confidence I can catch a bigger one?"

I think there would be quite a few guys sign up for a CPR tourny but a lot of us want to actually SEE fish at the weigh-in and it prolly won't see anywhere near the numbers of the GCKFA spring tourny without a weigh-in. Who wants to go see a bunch of guys walk up holding their smartphones???


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## spec-tacular! (Aug 20, 2012)

I have to agree with yakavelli! The weigh in is a huge part of the tournament! A CPR tourny would not draw as many participants i dont think!


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## Yakavelli (Mar 17, 2010)

I am curious now...how does the "weigh-in" go down in a cpr tourny? Do you just show your pic to a judge and take a seat? Does the crowd get to see the pic? IS there a crowd? Are the leaders kept secret til the end or is there a leaderboard like at a weigh-in? You're gonna have to sell this to me...just sayin. I'm VERY interested in fishing any inshore kayak tourny around here but I wanna have some FUN doing it. I'm not in it to win a prize, I'm in it to experience the tournament atmosphere and watch big-ass fish hit the scales.

I can't express how disappointed I was to read the cpr thing. I've seen 25" redfish that weigh a pound more than a 26" redfish, some just have thicker "shoulders". 

...and tell me if I'm wrong fellas. There isn't a better TASTING fish than one that just won you a trophy!


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## spec-tacular! (Aug 20, 2012)

Preach Tim!


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## KayakFishingClassicS (Jan 29, 2011)

That's really interesting and I like the concept of live fish weigh in. We would not rule out a live fish weigh in however we need to hear more form everyone so we can move forward. Thank you very much for bringing this up.


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## spec-tacular! (Aug 20, 2012)

I dnt think a live fish weigh in is all that good of an idea! Gonna be tuff to keep a trout or redfish thats caught at 6:30 am alive for 6-8hrs in a kayak! I think we are thinking of a regular weigh in like the GCKFA tournament! Without a live well i thits its kinda pointless to try to have a live fish weigh in! I dnt know of anyone who has a live well on the kayak! I know i dnt on my trident!


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## EllijayFalconsFan (Oct 16, 2013)

I know me and my team would be down for some tournaments. As JD7 has stated the number of people fishing offshore has increased dramatically and I think getting people excited for a tournament would be easy.


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## EllijayFalconsFan (Oct 16, 2013)

Also a live weight-in is a must. It's one of the most exciting parts of a fishing tournament. Plus, it brings in fans and an audience. More eyes for sponsors=more successful fishing tournament.


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## parrothead (Oct 1, 2007)

EllijayFalconsFan said:


> Also a live weight-in is a must. It's one of the most exciting parts of a fishing tournament. Plus, it brings in fans and an audience. More eyes for sponsors=more successful fishing tournament.



I have to agree. 

Scott


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## spec-tacular! (Aug 20, 2012)

Will be a lot of dead fish penalties! Specked trout dnt last very long on a stringer or in a live well!


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## Yakavelli (Mar 17, 2010)

Does everyone launch from the same site? If so, I can see the significance of a non-kill tourny. I don't see how a live-weigh yak tourny would work. Specks don't do well on stringers. Reds do fine but I'm still keeping it for dinner. 

I think the GCKFA spring tourny is a great model for the kind of tourny that would have the most success around here. It's fun as hell...start to finish. The only thing missing (imho) is a more convenient place for the weigh-in...the amphitheatre at Big Lagoon State Park has tons of parking, tons of shaded seating, a stage and is not subject to bridge/gulf breeze traffic. Traffic and parking are the WORST at shoreline park...only bad thing about the spring tourny to me.

A two day tournament would be supremely awesome too...btw


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## Yakavelli (Mar 17, 2010)

In the live-weigh version...is there an extra penalty for fish bitten in half by sharks? Technically, it's prolly under-slot at that point.

...and I can't imagine a livewell that will keep a 6# trout alive AND fit in a kayak.

Come on guys...live weigh-in???


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## EllijayFalconsFan (Oct 16, 2013)

Yakavelli said:


> In the live-weigh version...is there an extra penalty for fish bitten in half by sharks? Technically, it's prolly under-slot at that point.
> 
> ...and I can't imagine a livewell that will keep a 6# trout alive AND fit in a kayak.
> 
> Come on guys...live weigh-in???


I don't think anyone would bring in a fish that has been bitten in half by a shark. I just think it would be awesome to actually see what people caught.


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## EllijayFalconsFan (Oct 16, 2013)

I shouldn't have used the word live. I meant it as in everyone is there and sees the fish. I wouldn't care if the catch was alive or dead. I fish offshore mostly and there is no way a King Mackerel is living to a weight-in.


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## Yakavelli (Mar 17, 2010)

EllijayFalconsFan said:


> I shouldn't have used the word live. I meant it as in everyone is there and sees the fish. I wouldn't care if the catch was alive or dead. I fish offshore mostly and there is no way a King Mackerel is living to a weight-in.


I get it now...you were saying the weigh-in itself is live, not the fish lol. Gotcha. My bad. My jaw hit the floor last night when I misinterpreted that...


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## JD7.62 (Feb 13, 2008)

A CPR offshore tournament for mackerel will NOT be fun. Its hard enough getting a 40" mackerel posed right for a good pic in a yak, let alone one good enough to win a tournament!

Can the GCKFA chime in and tell us more about the decline in tournament attendance in our area? Ive only fished it the last two years and it seems like every one says its getting bigger every year.


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## FLSalomon (Oct 3, 2007)

We are all for more tournaments, there is room in the calendar for more than one. My comment was meant to say we would prefer to work closely with another tournament group rather than work at cross purposes. 

The GCKFA tournament in 2014 is scheduled for May 27th, so a late April/May event would be problematic. Personally, I dont think a CPR event is a good idea, my experience with a previous tournament was negative - the judging was very subjective, was done in secrecy, took too long to process and was rife for manipulation. Admittedly, my experience was based on a single event, but none of us that were there will go back. We have discussed our tournaments impact on the local fishery with experts and they have assured us that our tournament is not an issue. And I do think the weigh-in is a huge draw for anglers and spectators. We want to make sure the weigh-in is entertaining. 

JD - as for the numbers, it is increasing every year. Last year, we had 191 entries. We are planning for 200 plus next May. We started in 2006 with 48.


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## FLSalomon (Oct 3, 2007)

zabbu - check your pm.


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## KayakFishingClassicS (Jan 29, 2011)

Here are a few things you should know about our CPR weigh in process before you nix the idea:
The Kayak Fishing ClassicS shares all the gathered data on fish caught with various marine research organizations. This would not be possible with a kill tournament and the data from a CPR tournament is very important. We designed our own measuring tape that is in 1/10th increments. We measure to the last 1/10th the fish tail touches so there is no decisions based on interpretation. Our CPR weigh in process takes us about 30 minutes to process everyone. All scores, photos and recorded data is open to everyone during the weigh in and before we announce the winners. In fact we invite anyone that wants to take a look to do so before the announcements. We also have a third party view all data and scores to make sure there are no mistakes. CPR allows for larger fish to be entered in tournaments in stead of only slot limit sizes. We have found that larger size entry makes for some excitement as well as very useful data. 
We usually have our weigh in at a water front restaurant where everyone has a beverage and a sandwich while we enter the data. It works very well. 
In a kill tournament there are many event target species taken from the waters at one time. This can have a negative impact we are told. Just some info for you to think on. We appreciate all points of view and glad you are up for an event.


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## KayakFishingClassicS (Jan 29, 2011)

How about a 2 day event: 1 day inshore and 1 offshore?
Offshore are catch and keep and inshore are CPR.
An angler could fish both days either inshore or offshore is also possible.
Just throwing it out there. This is for you so just let us know and keep the input coming.


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## Yakavelli (Mar 17, 2010)

Please don't think I'm just being a party pooper here. I'm not trying to piss on anyone's parade, just calling it like I see it.

You've said that attendance falls off after a tourny or two and you can't figure out why. CPR just doesn't sound fun to a lot of us around here. That's the reason attendance falls off. You give us a series that is as fun as the GCKFA tourny and I promise you'll see the attendance issues disappear. I don't think fish populations a going to suffer from having a kill tourny because we are all probably going to be killing our limits of fish on that weekend anyways (or trying to). If anything, I keep fewer fish during tournies because I'm not keeping the small fish that I'd normally keep for dinner...only the ones I think will place. As long as we're not all launching from the same place, the regs are going to protect the fish populations well enough.

...and you can get all the info you need from dead fish just as well as you can from pics of live ones.


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## Klondike (Feb 27, 2010)

Ferd.....are you sure about the date for the GCKFA tournament in 2014?


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## FLSalomon (Oct 3, 2007)

Steve - you are correct, it is May 10th! Thanks...


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## FLfishR (Oct 3, 2007)

I don't know if it will be an issue, but the 10th of May is the date of the Jacksonville Tournament.


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## FLSalomon (Oct 3, 2007)

Picking a date for our tournament is always very difficult - unlike most other kayak tournaments, we have offshore and inshore, so we have to be late enough in the year to favor fishing offshore. We check predicted tides and moon phases for every saturday for 3 months. We schedule around school breaks, holidays, nearby tournaments, you name it. Lastly, we have to be able to reserve the facility at shoreline park. I acknowledge that it conflicts with other events, but its a compromise.


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## zabbu (Jul 9, 2013)

It now appears Crystal Clear that everyone wants more tournaments and everyone's feelings on weigh ins appear to be being taken under consideration by tournament staff. So lets discuss locations! 

Discussed locations we have so far - 

*Pensacola:*

Inshore - Big Lagoon / Swamp House / Jim's Fish Camp 
Offshore - Ft Pickens / Johnson Beach
*Destin*

Inshore - Eden ground state park or Santa Rosa sound(Woodlawn)? 
Offshore - Henderson Beach?
*Panama City*

Inshore - East bay?
Offshore - St andrews?


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## Yakavelli (Mar 17, 2010)

Does everyone have to launch from the same site in these tournaments? Location makes all the difference in the world if that's the case. 3 mile bridge offers PLENTY of room to spread out.


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## zabbu (Jul 9, 2013)

Currently the kayak fishing classics have a set grouping of 'approved' launch sites. It's almost a 'shotgun' start due to this. However, Kayak Fishing classics staff has been very open to input in regards to this area as they want to make it right and want to make it work. 

With that being said, the host location for the tournament(s) should be able to host a shotgun style launch as even if everyone isn't required to launch there, its always a ton of fun to launch out shoulder to shoulder and return in the same manner. It adds to the excitement :thumbup:


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## Yakavelli (Mar 17, 2010)

That does add some excitement and I see why it's a cpr event now. One tourny couldn't hurt Pensacola's fishery, but it could damn sure hurt a single grassflat. 

There's a park inside Bayou Texar, I can't remember the name (somebody help me) that might be great for an event like that (and allow us to keep/weigh fish). From there, one could fish up into the bayou, throughout the bayou-mouth canal, the bay bridge, project greenshores and the bay itself...making it a great area to allow an actual weigh-in. Not to mention, Sept/October would be a great time to allow for kings and spanish to be targets as well as specks, flounder and reds..all within a 0-5 mile paddle. There's plenty of opportunity for a shotgun style tourny in that area while still allowing us to all split up and fish different species...and keep them without totally slaying a single area's population.

Lemme look up the name of the park...I'll be back.


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## Yakavelli (Mar 17, 2010)

It's Bayview Park...


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