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Community and Kayaks: Team-Based Tournaments in Kayak Fishing

Posted on Oct 25, 2024 at 05:38 am by Hank Veggian

When the Kayak Fishing League [KFL] folded after two years (2021-2022), it left a void in the national kayak scene. In previous team-based formats, Kayak Bass Fishing had success with its brand-based teams at its National Championships from 2019-2022. Going farther back, the team format was a staple of the popular River Bassin’ Series in the early 2010’s.

But KFL was unique in that it was entirely team-based; while individual anglers who performed well at weekly events were recognized, it was the teams that earned the points and competed for championships. With an innovative live-streaming format, teams spread across several divisions and regions and a host of nationally recognized anglers, the KFL seemed primed to make the team concept sustainable on a national scale.

And then KFL abruptly imploded. When the ripples reached shore, they left behind some questions. How had a format that was loved by its anglers gone so wrong? Was the problem at the top, with management or sponsors, or was it a structural issue, inherent to the very form of team competition? And beyond that, could a team-centered format sustain a national series?

Ask any angler who has fished or fishes on a team and they will almost always say they love the camaraderie and the format. So what is preventing team-based series from making the jump to greater notoriety?

We don’t have answers for that yet. But we do have not one, but three team series of recent vintage that have proven that the team format continues to have appeal. In 2023, the Kayak Bass Team Series [KBTS] emerged from the ruins of the KFL and continued the team format on a regional scale. Also in 2023, Kayak Bass Fishing launched its knuklhed series. And in 2024, Drew Gregory’s Kayak Adventure Series debuted with a team-based tournament at each event. In each case, motivated, dedicated anglers have shown that the team competition format is not going away.

Let’s take a look at each series and see if there are lessons to be learned...

Kayak Adventure Series

Fresh off winning the Bassmaster Classic kayak tournament in 2024, Drew Gregory debuted this new series. No stranger to tournament directing (Gregory directed the landmark River Bassin’ series mentioned above), Gregory returns to the sport’s organizational level with a new multi-tournament format, with an emphasis on fun, fishing and a format twist.

The Kayak Adventure Series [KAS] is three tournaments in one. There is the individual event (sponsored by Torqeedo), there is the Micro-Bag event (sponsored by Z-Man) and finally the X2 Power team event, in which two-angler teams vie against one another for points and prizes.

Turnout for the KAS series was strong on the team side. More than sixty teams registered over the course of the season, averaging out to slightly over ten per event (or twenty team anglers per event). On closer inspection, however, only a handful of teams fished multiple events in order to compile enough points for the Farwide Team of the Year prize. It raises a question: why will anglers travel huge distances for individual events, but not for team events? And how can the Kayak Adventure Series incentivize more teams to travel in 2025?

That is a mystery. However, if you speak to its team anglers, you will hear them all say that they enjoy the team format. And it should be noted that the top two scores from a total of six events counted towards the team standings. Theoretically, teams only had to travel to two events to earn enough points. In this way, Kayak Adventure Series answered the problem of limiting travel for teams.

Kayak Bass Team Series

Formed from the remains of the defunct Kayak Fishing League (2021-2022), the Kayak Bass Team Series [KBTS] is a team-only league. Consisting of ten teams spread out across three divisions (East, South and North), the teams fish against each other in their regions over the course of roughly six rounds. The top team from each region then advances to a championship round.

KBTS has improved over the deficiencies of the Kayak Fishing League. For one, it has curtailed travel distances for its “regular-season” events, permitting anglers to travel less and practice more. Second, it has expanded team rosters so as to provide team’s with flexibility. Nonetheless, despite these changes, KBTS has not attracted much media attention, nor has it expanded to the size of its precursor, the KFL.

That lack of growth has not stopped anglers from singing its praises. Ask KBTS team guys about their commitment to their teams, and they are as devoted as they come. Note also that the matter of group travel is addressed by the more compressed regional format.

knuklhed Series

Kayak Bass Fishing introduced this team-based concept by harnessing it to social media influencers. Every year, popular social media figures in the kayak fishing world form teams. KBF anglers then register to participate with specific teams (i.e. “team Flukemaster”). The teams compete against one another for several months in the summer, and the best angler on each team every month qualifies for the championship team. In the fall, the championship teams gather and compete for the knuklhed championship and a trophy, the Heroes Cup.

The format has proven popular with one dozen teams or more forming each season (participation at the championship topped eighty anglers in 2024). And with influencers like Gene Flukemaster Jensen, Chad Hoover and others involved, there is a chance for anglers to learn from established figures not only about fishing but about social media strategy. Travel is limited (but if you qualify, you can go to the championship), anglers love the format (especially in the championship round) and there is a true sense of community in it – which is true of the other series as well.

What Gives?

With strong communities, dedicated anglers and unique formats, one would expect a higher profile for team-based kayak fishing. So what is preventing the team format from taking off? Here are a few variables to consider.

• “Star power.” This is a misnomer, because there are no household names in kayak tournament fishing. However, some names have greater recognition than others. And with that being said, both team series cited above have their share of familiar names. On the KBTS side, for instance, there is 2023 Kayak Bass Fishing Angler of the Year Wyatt Hammond, for example, and on the KAS side there is former River Bassin’ Angler of the year Tim Perkins. The knuklhed series caters to grassroots anglers but each team is helmed by a known figure in the kayak fishing media eco-system. Additionally, top anglers have dipped in to the KAS side in its first season, which has had teams featuring Kristine Fischer, Rus Snyders, Eric Siddiqi and more. And with Drew Gregory running a team event on his new trail, you can’t say the team format lacks name recognition.
• Media attention. It has only been about one decade since outdoors media began to pay attention to kayak tournament fishing. Even then tournament coverage has been erratic. Beginning with the KBF-FLW Cup in 2019, there has been a push towards more coverage, so much so that Bassmaster Magazine regularly features kayak events and anglers, and a handful of specialty publications cover the sport. In the media eco-system of kayak fishing, teams simply haven’t gotten much attention. Is that because of a preference for individual “stars?” Or is the collective competition format difficult to cover?
• Technology. While debates over FFS have been all the rage, few people have ever discussed the impact (and sudden disappearance) of the KFL’s interesting live-stream format. In that format, which had potential in terms of showing kayak anglers while they fished, anglers live-streamed their days on the water to a channel, where a teammate provided commentary. Complicated? A bit. But it was also visual, and we live in a world where streaming is increasingly the standard. Of the three series mentioned above, only the Kayak Adventure Series has placed emphasis on video recording, with its GoPro sponsorship and in-house media coverage.
• Community. This category is undoubtedly a strength. By travelling in packs, team anglers can split travel costs. Additionally, the team format has proven time and again to build camaraderie. As kayak tournament fishing has drifted more toward the territorial machismo of the bass boat world, the community spirit of the team format provides an different atmosphere, and team anglers are not shy about singing its praises.

So, what gives? As with any sport, there are many variables to consider. If there is one obvious thing to note in these three examples, it is that all three leagues are merely two years old or younger. Additionally, while the team format has been around for well over one decade in kayak tournament competition, there has not been sustained competition lasting more than a few years for any one league. As a result, we have a limited sample size and we have to admit that there is room and time for growth.

We should also note that some other series at the professional level, such as Major League Fishing, are experimenting with the team format. Perhaps that will drive interest.

The combination of format potential and angler devotion suggests that the team format is here to stay. But there are certainly more questions than answers now, and perhaps the main question is whether one of these series will remain in the game long enough to grow the format to the level it deserves.