Bailey Eigbrett is used to creating content for his social media and YouTube channel, but having viewers watching live as his Day 1 at the 2026 Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series Championship presented by Native Watercraft unraveled was a new experience.
And while his misfortune (which included losing an 8-pounder and a 5-pounder) was available for all to see, the New Yorker knows the concept is an exciting and important step for the Kayak Series.
During the first stand-alone Kayak Series Championship ever at Lake Murray, Eigbrett is one of a dozen anglers streaming their tournament days to Bassmaster.com, the first live coverage of any kayak event of this size. Kayak Series champions Guillermo Gonzales, Casey Reed and Abby Abbondanza are among those running cameras in their kayaks all day long.
Throughout the day, viewers can either watch a multiview or switch between single livestreams of their favorite kayak angler. This will be available all three days of the tournament, so long as the anglers make the Top 50 cut to fish on Saturday.
“The fact that we are able to livestream is really cool. We’ve never had anything we could tune into in real time as kayak anglers,” Eigbrett said. “Everyone has always watched TourneyX or Fishing Chaos to see how people are doing, but all they are watching is (numbers).
“Now they can see it in real time. The good and bad. Now we have an intimate fan experience. It has been long needed.”
So far, the reviews have been overwhelmingly positive. Social media was a buzz, with multiple fans and anglers not fishing the tournament posting about the new coverage. Eigbrett’s direct messages are full of messages about the live coverage. He isn’t the only one.
“I had texts from people who weren’t even in my phone that were so excited to see this happening,” Kayak Series tournament director Steve Owens said.
Much of the video content being produced by kayak anglers prior to this event came in the form of tournament highlights filmed on GoPro’s and then edited post-event. While there is plenty to be gained from that, Eigbrett is excited about bringing uncut, raw footage to fans.
“With social media or YouTube, you only see highlights. With this, you see everything from ringing a jig off a pontoon boat to catching and losing fish. As someone who is passionate about learning, the real-time stuff, what’s happening before the fish catch, that’s where I think a lot of value is. Fans on the kayak side have been pushing for it.”
Essentially, the livestream works just like the unmanned cameras Bassmaster fans enjoyed during the 2027 Elite Series. Eigbrett has a Starlink rigged on a mount from SAC Gear Global that is connected to his YakAttack Black Back storage box. All of that is powered by a lithium battery, which is also connected to a GoPro and a tablet.
“It is all interconnected, and wiring is going everywhere,” he said. “But it is what gets the job done and allows you to stream to multiple platforms too.”
