Capital City Kayak Fishing Tournament Report by Brett Humphries

Capital City Kayak Fishing Tournament Series stop #2 was held this past Saturday, Feb. 16.  The destination was "Lady BirdLake", aka "Town Lake".  A cold front had blown through the night before, which added to the challenge.  I was fishing the "fly" division, so I knew I had my work cut out for me to catch a fish, much less multiple fish.

After checking in, I headed to Red Bud Island, hoping LCRA was releasing water from Tom Miller Dam.  They were, and I thought that would help stimulate the bite.  Not so much!  Three hours and a 1/2 dozen lost flies later, it was time to change tactics.  I headed over to shallower water, hoping to find some bass on "beds".  The beds were there, but the cold front the night before had driven most of the fish off.  The day was warming quickly, so I figured the bass might return to resume their mating ritual.

My hunch was correct, and slowly more bass started filtering back in.  I spotted one bed in about 4 feet of water, and started working it over.  I spent at least an hour casting and re-positioning my NuCanoe Frontier before I got the bass to eat my fly.  Finally!  Not huge, but a legal fish at 151/2 inches.  A few quick pics and back in the water it went.  On the board!

I moved upstream a ways, and spotted more beds.  A couple were in shallow water, and the fish were really spooky!  By a complete stroke of luck, my Frontier drifted over another bed in about five feet of water, and this fish was pretty good sized.  I was using a heavily weighted black jig fly on a sink tip line, so I was able to get the fly on the bed quickly.  After three missed chances, I got a solid hook set and bam, fish number two on the board.  The bass was a solid 17 incher, so 32.5" in the bag.  More quick pics and back it went.  Feeling pretty good!

It was getting late, so a few more casts and off I went to the weigh in.  Joe's Crab Shack hosted us, and they did a great job.  Fish were tallied, a few beers consumed, and time for awards.  My 32 1/2 bag was good enough for first place, and I walked away with $312!  Not too shabby!  Adam Hansen caught the only other fish in the fly division, and won second place.  Congrats!  I also won a guided trip with "Living Waters Fly Fishing" in the raffle.

I would like to thank Dan Walker at "MOC Kayaks", and Beau Reed with "Papa Chops Rod & Reel Repair" for putting on a first class  tournament series.  The next 2 stops at Lake Bastop and the lower Colorado River should be pretty competitive.  I think full "stringers"  (5 fish, 70" +) will be mandatory to get into the winner's circle.  Also, thanks to Blake and NUCANOE for their great boat, and for helping make this new tournament series a great success!  See you all next time!