Skip to main content

The 4 Stages Of A Kayak Tournament With Jason Ray

 By Jason Ray


Stage 1: Prep

Prepping for a tournament is a time that I really enjoy. This usually happens the week before the tournament for me. I spend at least an hour each night before the tournament going through my gear checking line and fine tuning lures.  I also take this time to study the lake especially if I cant pre-fish or if I haven't fished it in the past. I go to Google maps and check the satellite images to find the part of the lake that best suits my style of fishing. Now is also a time to check the weather for the week end and prep for rain, wind or long hot days. The day before is when I get all my snacks and water ready to go. The night before the tournament is always the hardest for me because I'm so excited to go and compete I usually get about two hours of sleep. Even after 4 years of competing I still get butterflies and an excited feeling before tournament day.   





Stage 2: The Drive

The drive to the tournament is a time to clear your mind of the past tournaments and focus on the day at hand. I usually listen to a podcast on my long drives and think over and over the many situations I might face that day. I'm usually calling with many of the anglers on the way to the lake and making sure everyone is as excited as I am to get out on the water. After a long drive I finally find my way to the ramp where I usually see some fellow angler friends and get to have a quick catch-up while gearing up the kayak and getting ready to back up on the ramp. Now comes the really fun part of waiting for the lines while you are sitting in the dark listening to all the fish splash around thinking if they are bass or carp.  

Stage 3: The Tourney   

Everything That I have prepped for is now here and I'm ready to go! The first cast, its a cast that I have played out many times in my head over the last week and now I reach back and backlash. No problem I didn't want to throw topwater anyway. I've had days where I catch a large limit in the first hour but not that usual for me, most tournaments consist of a few small bites until around 10am then I get dialed in and really start catching some nice keepers. I always tell myself any fish before 10am is a bonus fish and no matter the size I'm happy with it. After fishing all day I put together whatever limit I can get pedaling back to the ramp. 

Stage 4: Post Tourney 

Im tired, thirsty, happy, mad, and curious how all the other anglers have done, Its time to head to the weigh -in and find out how I ended up for the day. I always enjoy the weigh in and talking to all the friends I have made over the last few years and seeing how they did for the day. Finally the time is here when Avery gets up and announces the winners this is always either a really happy and fast ride home or a long tired ride home depending on how I finish. No matter if I win the tournament or place last I always go over every cast, every move, and every bait change of the day and think what if I did what if I had done this different. I feel like if you never go back and judge yourself then how will you become better angler for the the future tournaments. Finally when I get home I unload everything and go inside to see my family who has been waiting to see me all day. Its always fun to go to a tournament but its always nice to come home to the family after a long day on the water.   


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lakes and Regions of Oklahoma

If you have ever traveled more than 2 hours to fish in the state of Oklahoma chances are you have crossed through, in, and out of several distinct regions of this great state. Oklahoma has 10 ecological regions that include: The Gypsum Hills, Wichita Mountains, Red Bed Plains, Sandstone Hills, Arbuckle Mountains, Red River Plains, Ouachita Mountains, and the Ozark Plateau. Each one of the ecological regions have different climates, annual rainfalls, soil, and landscapes that can and do effect the way we fish lakes in each region. Oklahoma has 52 major lakes that are 1,000 acres or more in size. Additionally, there are over 3,000 lakes and ponds that are 10 acres or greater in size, containing a total of 1,049 square miles of water and 10,384 miles of shoreline. Moreover, these waters are separated into Watershed Planning Regions. These regions are as follows: Panhandle, West Central, Southwest, Beaver - Cache, Central, Lower Washita, Blue - Boggy, Eufaula, Lower Arkansas, Grand, Midd
Post a Comment
Read more

Kayak Tournaments Made Me A Better Angler

I would like to start off by saying that I have fished my entire life, looking back throughout my young life, fishing may have not been the priority at that moment in time but it was the first thing I did when I had nothing else on the schedule. With that being said fishing kayak tournaments without a doubt have made me a better angler, outdoorsman, and fan of the sport of bass fishing. I can remember walking the clear creeks of northeastern, Oklahoma looking for that 5 pounder around the next bend, or riding my bike around the greater Catoosa area trying to find that loaded pond or strip pit. Later I was driving my 1990, 5 speed Ford Ranger to the local hotspot. Fast-forward a few years later and I was off to college at Northeastern State in Tahlequah having the Illinois River and Barron fork Creek at my disposal. Both the river and creek are outstanding places to fish and I couldn't get enough. I loved fishing the Illinois River so much I applied for a job at War Eagle Resort and
Post a Comment
Read more

Integrity Always Wins

By: Tom Hins In 2015 I discovered the world of Oklahoma Kayak Anglers.  I quickly made friends with members like Brent Wilson, Danny Bowen, Avery Metcalf, Jonathan Queen and other individuals. Having been a person who fished for table fare I hardly fished for bass before this. It has been a learning curve for me. The first year of tournaments I do not think I even submitted one scorable fish, but I was hooked on the competition aspect of these tourneys.  After that first season over the winter I watched more bass fishing shows and videos on the internet about bass fishing where my wife would walk by and say oh let me guess another fishing show.  The next year I started to catch some bass and started to feel I was at least respectable turning in scorable bass. In 2019 I finally cashed in a tournament with a 3 rd  place finish. Then came 2020 and Covid - 19 and two major projects at work, I have not fished most of the tournaments this year, in fact it has kept me from getting out to fish
3 comments
Read more