News

KBF’s Real Game Changer

Chad Hoover of Kayak Bass Fishing (KBF) has made announcements for the upcoming 2023 season that will change how the game is played, arguably to make it more fair.

On Tuesday, October 25, 2022 Chad Hoover went live to go over the 2022 National Championship as well as put out some new changes for 2023 that have the community buzzing around with thoughts and opinions.

These rules will be put into the 2023 Rules Standard in some similar form, but these are the rules to be added or edited according to Chad Hoover in his live podcast (#10). These are not the official rules on record. Go to the KBF Rules Standard for what is the enforceable rules for the event you are about to fish and verify what the rules state at that time.

Defined Boundaries

Chad Hoover admitted “I over did it, I gave the anglers way too much water” when talking about allowing the creeks and rivers in play in order to put some of the better fishing in the area inbounds for the event. Unfortunately with the way the wording is for KBF event rules anglers had an unprecedented amount of water open to fish, including creeks running 50 miles from the venue on Kentucky Lake.

“Kayak anglers are some squirrelly people bro, some conniving, they are going to find advantage with every crack to exploit… Falling on the sword here, I didn’t even think about the creek that runs to a creek that runs to a creek.”

Going forward events will have “very distinct and defined boundaries” according to Hoover which will be defined at first by major obstacles, defining landmark or bridge in the creek arms. The boundaries will be “very clear” and “very limited”.

Designated Launches

In order to eliminate the frustration from anglers constantly asking about or complaining about launch areas being in or out of bounds, KBF will also designate approved launch sites. Any ramp or canoe access will be allowed assuming its on this list.

There will also be a 30 day cut off for asking for any launch area to be added to the list which will then be added to the public launch list for the event. Of course any ramp closures or local authorities making those ramps unavailable will be dealt with within that 30 day window.

This rule has some pro’s and cons for the kayak community due to the nature of the sport being about getting to where other watercraft cannot, and the creative backwater angler who enjoys finding unorthodox ways to get on the water. At the same time the gray area that this can and has caused has both hurt those anglers as well as caused a lot of time to be taken from the event organizers to deal with whether someone or some launch is legal.

Dragging Rule

The loose rules in regards to how kayak anglers are allowed to maneuver around obstacles will also be addressed in 2023 with a “paddle, pedal or motor into fishable waters” additionally eliminating the dragging over land to fishable waters.

With this stated, it is also still going to be allowed to drag your kayak around temporary obstructions such as beaver dams, log jams and other temporary natural blockages across what would otherwise be open access with the above methods of propulsion getting you to that area.

Wade Fishing

The rule will also remove wading from an option while fishing and will require you to catch, land and photograph your fish from inside the kayak. Getting out of your kayak to recover a fish that is hung up in a tree or dock is still under review. Chad explained “I am leaning towards If you can’t recover your fish from your kayak you can’t catch it.” Due to the potential dangers of an angler getting out of their kayak and getting tangled up and drowning trying to recover a fish this way.

Again with rumors and perceptions of cheating removing the wading from being an option this needed to be addressed. Hoover did mention there may be some exceptions that would be considered on an event by event basis but any allowance of wading would then include a “tethered to your kayak” requirement for fishing outside of your kayak.

Limited Communication

With issues in regards to the perception or reality of team style fishing in individual events with anglers sharing information for competitive advantage causing a lot of jabbering on social media and the like, KBF will also bring in a new communication ruleset to eliminate the issue.

“Any communications on the water electronic or verbal” will be against the rules in 2023 at KBF events. Communications will be allowed only for “logistics and safety” but it will not be permissible to convey any information that will give advantage to another angler.

Talking to anybody other than fellow competitors during off limits periods for competitive advantage will also be disallowed and will add on to the no paying for professional guide service and advice within 30 days of an event. It is impossible and not very reasonable to try and eliminate competitor to competitor communications with anglers sharing rides and housing during events so those conversations will still be permitted.

Official Practice Periods

The top anglers in the championship events were 2022 triple crown champion Russ Snyders and 2022 KBF angler of the Year Cody Milton who both spent weeks leading up to the championships fishing backwater creeks both finding the better fishing areas as well as verifying that there were no obstructions between the areas and the main lake ensuring it indeed was legal water. The time put in paid off big time for the anglers as they took home multiple checks for the 3 concurrent events. This was both impressive work put in as well as completely legal.

With all that as an extreme example of how practice for most anglers who we can admit are “weekend warriors” you can see that there is a perceived and actual disadvantage. Hoover said “I have bee resistant to this… but I have to and its going to be good for the sport.”

2 weeks prior off limits, with 7 days of pre fishing before the event basically putting the event off limits period 3 weeks prior.

So what does this mean for the sport?

The evolution of the kayak bass fishing tournament scene has been short in the grand scheme of things. Being around for just a little over decade with so many advancements and growth in a short period of time. The rules need to be addressed annually to ensure the competition stays fair and attractive to as many anglers as possible. “We’ve always done it this way” is always a phrase that when you hear or say it should cause you to take a step back to look at it with a clear and as unbiased mindset as possible.

Change for the sake of change is not always a positive either. Sometimes leaving well enough alone is the right call. This sport in particular has roots, and trying to stick to those roots is important. There is an attractiveness to the sport for anglers with less budget and time to invest into bass fishing as other do for the bass boat world for example. Anglers who like to tinker and build up their rigs in a manner that works best for them, whether they are a paddling, pedaling or motoring kayak fanatic, want to bring just 2 or 12 rods, the latest electronics and fancy LED lighting or keeping it primitive and simple. The community is diverse in this regard so balancing out rules is not easy but there have been good compromises over the years.

At the end of the day we all want fair and fun competition and these new rules seem to push KBF further in that direction, even though it comes with a few sacrifices. Some of these rules are a done deal and some are being evaluated more over the off season. Always be sure to read and have a complete understanding of the rules before signing up for any kayak event!