Oceanside, Calif. – Hobie is happy to announce numerous upcoming events in their new elite-level kayak series, the Hobie Bass Open Series (B.O.S.), with tournaments still open for kayak angler participation. The first upcoming tournament will be held on Kentucky Lake, Kentucky, May 18-19; the next on Lake Fork, Texas, June 1-2; and another event June 29-30 on Michigan’s Lake St. Clair.
Morgan Promnitz, Sr. Fishing Brand Manager, Hobie, remarks: “As kayak fishing has grown in popularity so has the need for a tournament series that allows anglers the opportunity to test their skills against each other and compete for cash, prizes and prestige — and that’s what we’ve done with the Hobie Bass Open Series. It’s a platform for kayak anglers to compete at a professional level, and we’re excited to watch it grow for years to come. As serious as the competition can be, each event brings a level of fun and camaraderie between the anglers, and our Kentucky event has a youth division to encourage the future of the sport to get involved.”
Hobie has also chosen premiere fisheries for the events that promise some great bass fishing opportunities and open participation to kayak anglers across the United States, not just specific regions.
“Kentucky Lake was our very first visit for our Hobie Bass Open and it was a natural selection for us to put it into our Bass Open schedule again. Marshall County and Kentucky Dam Village are incredible hosts and Kentucky Lake offers outstanding bass fishing opportunities shallow and offshore for anglers to really test their skills and abilities,” says Hobie Bass Open Series tournament director, A.J. McWhorter.
“Lake Fork, Texas, was the location of last year’s Tournament of Champions (T.O.C.) in November and we’re excited to move this event to a different time of year to find a different pattern and bite and continue to provide participating anglers with the chance to see what that bucket list fishery provides year ‘round. Lake Fork Marina and Motel is the host of that event and we look forward to visiting that venue to really put Lake Fork’s high-end potential for monster bass on the map.”
McWhorter continues: “As one of the consistently top bass fisheries in the country, Lake St. Clair is becoming widely known as one of the best lakes to fish for smallmouth bass and that time of year will challenge our anglers as fish move to a heavy post-spawn bite and some of our biggest total weights for five fish are sure to be broken, except this time with strictly smallmouth bass. Combine that with large payouts; a Worlds entry and 6 spots for the TOC and you’ve got the makings for a great event,” says Hobie Bass Open Series tournament director, A.J. McWhorter.
Speaking to the B.O.S. tournament pay structure, 100 percent of all entry fees gets paid back out to anglers throughout the season, and the top 10 percent of the field will be paid out at each event. With high-end payouts, Elite level qualifications and an exclusive year end championship, the Hobie BOS events provide a great opportunity for any kayak angler no matter what brand of kayak they enjoy using.
“What excites me about this format is it’s truly open to everyone. There’s no membership fee and it doesn’t matter what kind of kayak you’re fishing out of. All you have to do is pay your entry and show up and you have this opportunity for not only a great payday, but also two different higher qualifications, one of those being the Hobie Fishing Worlds 9, the other being the Tournament of Champions, which is changing to a 50 angler format this season,” says McWhorter.
One kayak angler who is fishing the upcoming events is Guillermo Gonzalez, based out of Fort Worth, Texas. Gonzalez has some experience already on each body of water: “One thing that’s really impressive about the Hobie Bass Open Series this year is the excellent timing of each event. They timed each event perfectly for each body of water that we’re headed to. For example, we get to go to Lake St. Clair on opening week of bass season in Canada, and normally only the American side would be in play. Now, with both sides in play, we have a larger body of water with more fishable area for the tournament where the fish haven’t been touched for so long that the bite can be just out of this world. There are plenty of fish all over the lake and this makes it really conducive to really good kayak fishing because you don’t have to go very far to get on a really good smallmouth bite.”
Gonzalez continues: “Speaking to the event on Lake Fork, for the most part, the bass will all be done spawning; there’s going to be a lot of fish deep, a lot of fish shallow, and a lot of fish everywhere in between. For me to even have a prediction of how that tournament is going to be won, I feel like that’s nearly impossible because there will be so many ways to do well. It’s going to fish to a lot of anglers’ strengths, which will make it really cool to see what kind of pattern ends up winning that tournament.”
“I feel exactly the same way about Kentucky Lake. There are going to be fish shallow and deep. In a nutshell, it’s all just super exciting because Hobie timed all the events so well. I’m really excited to get out there!”
As far as how Gonzalez thinks the upcoming tournaments are going to play out, he cites the high quality of each lake as a big factor. “In my opinion, you couldn’t have picked three better bodies of water. There are going to be some really impressive weights.”
More about the Hobie Bass Open Series
Birthed out of their popular Hobie Bass Open on Kentucky Lake, and in response to angler demand, Hobie has created what is essentially the first elite-level tournament circuit in kayak bass fishing, the 2019 Hobie Bass Open Series (B.O.S.). The BOS will comprise of six Open events, 11 satellite tournaments, one last chance shootout, and a Tournament of Champions (TOC) in November 2019 on Arkansas’ Lake Ouachita, hosted by Mountain Harbor Resort.
A Catch, Photo, Release (CPR) format—a conservation-based practice that finds its origins in competitive kayak fishing—will test an angler’s skill on premier fisheries during prime conditions. Anglers will be able to turn in their longest 5 bass each day in hopes of maxing out a 10 fish limit, scored in inches, over the course of the two-day tournament.
The first event headquartered at the Rhea County Welcome Center in Dayton, Tennessee, followed by the 2019 Hobie Bass Open Series event on Lake Shasta, California, March 9-10, 2019.
UPCOMING:
Kentucky Lake, Kentucky, May 18-19
Lake Fork, Texas, June 1-2
Lake St. Clair, Michigan, June 29-30
Lake Guntersville, Alabama, September 21-22
