You know how in a video game the final boss is really just a bigger and badder version of all the bosses you've beaten to get to point? This is how the Broostock finale went for the anglers fishing the Kayak Adventure Series (KAS) presented by GoPro. In the video game you use all your experiences on the levels leading up to the final boss to hone your skills, defeat his henchmen, and learn the tools needed to not be intimidated by and hopefully defeat the final boogie man. For the KAS anglers the insane conditions at each level of their 2024 adventure would ultimately prepare, and give them the confidence to catch bass in almost any condition to ultimately overcome this final stage - Broodstock.
Level one, Shoaliepalooza, was fairly tame as any level 1 should be. Anglers were met with beautiful weather and water conditions allowing them to catch their first ever shoal bass. Level 2, Wild Whitehall, was a little tougher with a late season cold front moving into Michigan, dumping rain and wind on tournament Saturday. Looking back, this was tame compared to what the anglers would face on levels 3 & 4, as the game began to ramp up. In a bizarre feat of foreshadowing, level 3 Ozarkana (Poplar Bluff, MO), mimicked the final boss (Broodstock) the closest, as tropical storm Beryl came roaring directly through Poplar Bluff the Monday of tournament week causing uncertain water conditions for the weekend's KAS anglers. Once again, they battled hard, learned new tactics and overcame the challenge to move on to level 4. A month later the Fiesta on the Susky, however, somehow set a new bar for tournament conditions. Unlike Ozarkana, where the weather on tournament day/s was at least nice despite the rivers/creeks still been high (at least most were fishable), tropical storm Debby made a near direct hit on our KAS host city (Towanda, PA) forcing the event to a one-day Friday shootout due to impending flooding by the days end. Those who had made it this far and were brave enough to tackle these conditions had to fish in the tropical storm's wind and torrential downpours. What was clear and fishable to start the day was raging muddy chocolate milk by "lines out."
If any KAS anglers hadn't thrown the remote control at the TV and kicked the gaming console yet, they would be rewarded for controlling their emotions at level 5, Wisconsin Riverfest, where they would enjoy a "calm before the (final) storm." Perfect weather and water conditions recharged their batteries and, unsurprisingly, they would need it to defeat the final boss at Broodstock.
There's no way another tropical storm could possibly make a direct hit on yet another KAS event, right? Well, somehow it actually seemed fitting that Hurricane Helene would turn into a tropical storm that, like the others, would head straight through and then sit on Bowling Green, KY before it headed eastward for good. The storm dropped loads of rain and flooded the areas rivers and creeks. However, a challenge like this is nothing for the KAS anglers, especially compared with the real world catastrophic flooding and deaths that occurred in the Appalachians just east of Bowling Green, KY.
In true KAS fashion, and thanks in part due to the season-long preparation for situations like this, the KAS staff made a call to turn the event into a Helene fundraiser for those affected by the storm. Many KAS anglers and sponsors live in the areas hit the hardest, so we wanted to do what we could since they couldn't be with us and we couldn't be there in person either. Thousands in prizes from KAS sponsors were used as raffles to raise money for the victims and over $2500 was raised to go along with thousands raised for Pediatric Cancer throughout the season as well!
Individual anglers and teams may win events, but the selflessness of the kayak community took the top prize. It has been a season fraught with challenges and a season where time and again, Kayak Adventure Series anglers reminded us how our sport brings out the best in competitors.
Beryl. Debby. Helene. Three names that will forever be a big part of the Kayak Adventure Series inaugural season, but those aren’t the names we will remember most. We will remember each of you who joined us and celebrated the diversity of the kayak, your different "styles," the water/s this watercraft can access, and some creative ways to combine all your skills to catch the 5 longest bass within the playing field of diverse water - rivers, lakes, creeks - that KAS had set at each location.
Competitors had been unknowingly training for this final test all season, and they passed with flying colors via their off the water with donations, and on the water proving you can catch bass in nearly any weather and water condition. Like any event, someone would solve the puzzle and execute the best, become our first ever FarWide Angler of the Year, and walk (ride) away with that UBCO bike and thousands more in prizes. And, of course who will win the final event itself and hold the title of Broodmaster until next year's Broodstock II "An Allegheny Adventure?" Let's find out...
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All of the year’s great memories and fishing would culminate at this open finale, and new memories would be added with a final Opening Ceremony Social complete with a free catered rooftop dinner, free go karting at the National Corvette Museum's Motorsports Park. On Friday KAS hosted it's last round of Bass U Brunch lectures, with talks by Andrew Hayes (of Tackle Talk Podcast) and top ranked pro kayak angler Rus Snyders. There were more Toyota trucks to check out at the Closing Ceremonies, including the new Trailhunter Tacoma thanks to Toyota of Bowling Green. The "race" to crown an AOY and TMOY by using the National Corvette Museum and their theater as our tournament HQ did not disappoint.
When Broodstock was over, the names of new champions would be engraved: the first Farwide Angler of the Year and the Team of the Year, as well as the Broodstock champion - "Broodmaster." Winners in the following event categories would also go home with prizes:
· the Boonedox Big Bass Bling - big bass of the event
· the Day 2 Dark Horse - angler who rises the highest from day 1 to day 2
· the Omnia “Tackle for Trash” award - Angler/s who pick up most or most unique trash >>>>>>>>>>>>>
· GoPro's Go Big Bass - Biggest bass captured on GoPro wins Hero 12 Black
· Crescent Kids Winner - Prizes from Realtree Fishing, Yak Attack and Darkhorse Tackle
· the Aggressively Average award for the angler who finishes in the middle of the pack
· CrossKix Century Belt for the anglers who post 100” or more
· Raffle prizes - raising money for hurricane victims
Torqeedo Individual Division
Broodstock began like every other Kayak Adventure Series weekend, with the Friday “Afternoon Sesh” – a half-day of fishing that set the tone and the stage for Saturday’s full day of competition and awards. The only twist due to waning daylight this time of year and due to just doing something a little different for Broodstock was that the anglers were given 5 hours (instead of the typical 4) on Friday. Plus, they were given the opportunity to fish right almost complete darkness (6:45pm CST). On Friday, it was Ohio angler Jim Heinrich who jumped to the first lead, with 28.75”. He and fellow Ohioans Matt Sowders and Dwight Bartlett posted the first submissions to the Realtree Fishing real Time leaderboard powered by TourneyX.
Heinrich and Sowders continued to catch fish into the evening, but it was Travis Von Neumann who made his presence felt later on when he posted 65.25” to take the lead. Michael Pepin (fourth) and Jerred Matthews (fifth) filled out the top five after Heinrich and Sowders. The locals seemed to have the advantage, as it was only anglers from Ohio and Kentucky in the top five.
However, once "lines out" time came and many anglers got off the water and out of the darkness the fish submissions began to roll in knocking all of the early leaders down the leaderboard.
When the dust settled at 8:30pm (their submission deadline) it shocked no one that the FarWide Angler of the Year leader Ryan Parker was sitting in 1st place with 90.25 inches as he targeted smallmouth bass. Local Jerred Matthews was nipping on his heels with 88.75 of largemouth bass, and perennial powerhouses Lance Coley and Rus Snyders rounded out the top 4, with local John Keown in 5th.
After Friday's session, Matthews realized he'd made a mistake. He messaged in after the photo submission deadline to let KAS staff know that he "accidentally forgot to submit one of his biggest fish," asking if anything could be done? Per KAS rules there was nothing that could be done as anglers had until 8:30pm CST to get those photos in and it was their responsibility to ensure they had submitted the proper ones. Would it make a difference in the end? You only get so many chances to defeat the boss, and that was one that definitely got away for Matthews.
However, Matthews came back strong on Saturday. In the early he jumped Parker and grabbed the lead with a total limit of 91”. Coley, Matthews and Parker would trade culls the rest of the day as they all inched up the leaderboard. By the end of the day, Matthews determination to not let the "one that got away" matter fueled him up to 96” inches to take first place and the total ended up being the 4th highest total of the entire season (top 3 all came from Shoaliepalooza). Parker held on as runner-up with 92.25”. Dustin Feige also rose back into the conversation, posting 87” to take third place overall and win the gaudy Boonedox Big Bass Bling award with a surprise 20.50 smallmouth!
Torqeedo Individual Division Top Ten
1. Jerred Matthews 96”
2. Ryan Parker 92.25”
3. Dustin Feige 87”
4. Rus Snyders 84.5”
5. Lance Coley 83.75”
6. Jim Heinrich 81.5”
7. Andrew Brown 80.75”
8. John Keown 80”
9. Cole Lawrence 79.75”
10. Travis Von Neumann 79.75”
Farwide Angler of the Year
Ryan Parker became the first ever KAS Farwide Angler of the Year. Parker fished in all six weekends, winning both Wild Whitehall and Fiesta on the Susky, and adding to that an impressive second-place finish at Broodstock. With a near perfect score of 296.09 points (of possible 300) in the final standings, Parker’s Farwide Angler of the Year title is indisputably deserved.
Parker takes home a prize package nearing $10,000, with the electric motorbike ($5,000) from UBCO being the main prize. Parker agreed to have several of his "would be" prizes donated to the hurricane relief raffle, which is truly commendable and the kind of angler the KAS strives to hone.
X2Power Team Event
The Friday “Afternoon Sesh” saw Dwight Bartlett post the first catch to the team leaderboard, as his Team Creek Crawlerz grabbed the early lead. Jerred Matthews of Team Cheep Hookers soon staked his team to first place, and as the evening wore on the two teams posted fish and traded culls. It was Cheep Hookers who held on for the lead as a relatively quiet Friday fishing session came to an end…
Saturday’s leaderboard was the opposite of Friday’s. With several teams in contention to become the Farwide Team on the Year [TMOY], everyone following the team points race knew that this one was going to be different – and closer.
Cheep Hookers bounced out to a big lead early Saturday, posting a combined total of 165.25”. Team Loveland, a favorite to win the TMOY crown, was in second with 135”. With Ryan Parker and Steve Baker on that team, the other anglers had their work cut out for them. And work they did.
By late morning, Cheep Hookers extended their limit to 172.50, but Team Loveland closed the gap by posting 166.5”. Team Snydiqqi crept into the conversation, too; composed of Bassmaster Classic Champions Rus Snyders and Eric Siddiqi, they made their presence felt with a limit of 148”.
As the day wore on, the big question revolved around team OG River Champs, featuring Lance Coley and Tim Perkins who came into the event in 3rd place In the TMOY race. They had been quiet most of the day, and ultimately could only muster up an eight place on the team leaderboard.
In the end, Cheep Hookers won the day and Matthews made it a sweep atop the Team and Individual podiums. His teammate John Keown helped him win the team event by posting a strong individual limits, as he placed eight overall.
Farwide Team of the Year
Ryan Parker and Steve Baker made up team Loveland, and they faced stiff competition all year long. They also had to overcome some tough conditions; their win in rising water at the Fiesta on the Susky was impressive. A second place finish at Broodstock sealed the deal as it paired with their other two top finishes - 1st place and a 4th place - to end up on top of the Farwide Team of the Year standings. Team Gang Gang (Sam Cox & Luke Turner) finished second overall, with OG River Champs (Lance Coley & Tim Perkins) rounding out the top three in the TMOY race.
The top 3 all took home some great prizes but Parker and Baker took home the $5000 TMOY top prize package for their victory, and they enter the history books as the first ever KAS Team of the Year Champions.
Special thanks to John King (@drunkwood on Etsy) for making the custom wooden base portion for the AOY trophies. If you want unique woodwork items or gifts John will get you taken care of.. He donated his woodwork to be "paid forward" for the hurricane victims. THANK YOU!
Micro-bag Division presented by Z-Man Micro Finesse baits
The Micro-bag tournament, sponsored by Z-Man Micro Finesse, is popular among anglers who appreciate the little things – specifically, the little bass. It's the shortest limit length that takes the prize in this division, and Glenda Celestino has shown all season long that she is an expert at catching smaller bass which is why she's been given the title "Micro Queen" throughout the year.
The single day event started out hot on Saturday, with more than half a dozen anglers posting small bass to the leaderboard from soon after the start of competition. Jesse Kinser, Aaron Wells and Jesse Vault each posted the kinds of little bass that go a long way in the micro-bag event.
Posting a few and filling a limit of small bass are another matter, however. This is where Celestino shines. She was holding steady at three fish for 29” at mid-morning. In the meantime, Byron Palmiter, Dwight Bartlett and Brian Qualls started gaining ground. Try as they might, they could not break through with smaller fish, and to win this event you must have a short limit. At mid-day, with Celestino holding on three fish, it looked like Vault or even Palmiter might take the top prize.
That’s when Celestino found the right bites. Instead of finishing with three fish for 29”, she finished with five for 29.75”. Four of those five fish came after the hour of noon.
Celestino said: “I floated a six mile section of a tributary on Friday, and it wasn’t going very well [in practice for the Torqeedo Individual Division]. When I was done, I came across a big tree and I had to try and fit my kayak underneath. I saw a creek coming, and I thought it looked like good water. I made a cast and I thought I had a good one, but it was a 19” walleye. I didn’t know where else to go.”
She continued: “Once again, I decided to change focus on the Micro-Bag Division. On Saturday, I dragged my boat upstream, and fished little pockets where I thought I might find fish. I got to a good hole on that stretch, and that’s where I caught the six inchers. I went a few more riffles upstream, and luckily I got those five inch fish at the end. The Z-Man micro-finesse jig was the lure. Everything was biting that lure, even shiners and rock bass.”
Top Lady Angler
The Top Lady Angler division is presented by the Women’s Fishing Federation, and while women were well represented all season long at the Kayak Adventure Series, one Lady Angler reigned supreme. Glenda Celestino won multiple Z-Man Micro-Bag tournaments this year, and she also took home the top Lady Angler award on multiple occasions. Broodstock was no different. As a result of her strong season, she also placed 11th overall in the final Farwide Angler of the Year Standings.
Celestino said “This year has been a blast. It’s been really cool getting to explore these streams I never heard of, and the little towns and hang out with nice, cool people. My Hobie i11s helped me win four Micro-Bag trophies, and I gotta give my boyfriend Tom a lot of credit for driving/shuttling me around and having meals ready when I got off the water.”
Special Guests and Youtubers
Thanks to the many big names that were able to make the event, including Andrew Hayes (who spoke at Bass U Brunch) of Tackle Talk Podcast, and some top elite level tournament anglers including Rus Snyders and Eric Sidiqqi. We also had YouTuber and Instagram anglers such as The Creek Crawler (Bryan Slayton), ilyakkin (Jake Heppner) and Jeff Little of "The Little Stuff" YouTube and Jeff Little Kayak Fishing on IG and of Boonedox for making it to every event and covering anglers along the way and of course to Boonedox for sponsoring our "Big Bass" award via the "Boonedox Big Bass Bling!" Also had up and coming Nick Burns The Suburban Angler at the event along with popular kayak fishing podcasters Brad Hicks and Matt Sowders (The Catch Podcast) also joined in the fun, along with the owners of one of their main podcast sponsors (& KAS Sponsor) Darkhorse Tackle - Josh Chitwood and Zech Fullard.
Special Thanks & Shout Outs
Special thanks to the Edmonson County Tourism Bureau and the city of Bowling Green, Kentucky for hosting Broodstock. The area couldn't have been more fitting for our anglers and we really showed off the kind of outdoor mecca the area is for anglers, kayakers and other outdoor enthusiasts! The Kayak Adventure Series is not just a tournament – it’s an experience!
Experience it for yourself when we visit your area in 2025. You can view next year’s schedule here on the KAS website.
Additionally, mega-thanks to Toyota of Bowling Green for bringing trucks for anglers to demo. Check them out if you are in the area for all of your vehicle needs!
Big thanks to Kayaks & More, out of Bee Spring, KY, for showing off some great Bonafide and NuCanoe kayaks at the closing ceremony festival. Also, to the south, Music City Outdoors came up to display some Crescent Kayaks and hang out with the anglers as well.
Huge thanks to UBCO bikes for allowing anglers to demo one of their Adventure Bikes all year at the events.
Special thanks to two accessory companies that make attachments for fishing rods - Savur Outdoors and Finman fishing. Savur immediately shipped over their rod float products to be a part of the prizes and raffles for the hurricane victims. A great product and a great act of selflessness to ship products overnight to help support the cause!
Also, big thanks to Finman fishing who was a late season sponsor that pitched in some of their hook keeper and cutter multitools for the angler gift bags. If you haven't seen their product, it's worth a look and the best way to secure any type of "rig" to your rod, and has a built in cutter.
Special thanks to Ketch Products who made the amazing trophies for KAS all season long. Ketch also makes the official measuring board for Kayak Adventure Series events so check them out to get the most accurate and light weight board on the market!
Special thanks also to Amanda Brannon, or Reel Tournament Management, for her tournament directing, and to Jake Heppner and Billy Chambers for continuing to make the Awards and Theater experience even smoother for our fans. We couldn't have done this without them.
Big final thanks to Drew Gregory for this crazy fun Kayak Adventure Series vision of his. Without it, so many angler's wouldn't have had life changing experiences on the water and friendships and memories made off the water.
FULL PHOTO GALLERIES
ON THE WATER
OPENING & CLOSING FESTIVALS
OPENING & CLOSING FESTIVALS
Additional Info
For more information about the Kayak Adventure Series presented by Go Pro, visit: https://www.kayakadventureseries.com/
Click here to learn more about Go Pro cameras.
Click here for the Torqeedo Individual Event Standings from Broodstock.
For X2 Power team Event standings from Broodstock, click here.
Click here for the Z-Man Micro-Bag Standings.
To watch the awards ceremony, click here.
Broodstock was hosted the city of Bowling Green, Kentucky and Edmonson County Tourism.
© 2024 Kayak Adventure Series. All Rights Reserved. First Published Month/year.
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