kayak

Kayak: Top Baits at Susquehanna River

The 2026 Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series at the Susquehanna River was held August 1–2 out of Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, with 184 anglers traversing this incredible smallmouth fishery that stretches through the state and submitting over 1,000 smallmouth in the process! The “Susky” as it is often called is a kayak anglers dream destination to fish for these husky smallmouth bass that lurk among the boulders, islands, and current seams of this prestigious river. It can be challenging with the constant change in water levels but the following ten anglers mastered the changing conditions with a top finish and earned valuable AOY points. Let’s see what presentations brought success for these anglers below.

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Marty Hughes
Ewing Minor of Tennessee is on a hot streak and currently leads the 2026 Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series Angler of the Year standings with the win here on the Susquehanna.  Ewing put up an impressive 190.5 inches during the two-day event. 
His arsenal included a ¼ oz Boogerman Buzzbait on a 7’ medium-fast rod with 40 lb braid. Ewing also threw a discontinued wakebait that was modified with a #2 Owner st-35 hook on the front and a #4 Ichikawa Kamakiri short shank hook on the back. Ewing said, “I’ve spent a lot of time refining his hook combinations to maximize hookup to land ratio on river smallmouth, as that is usually the deciding factor between cutting a check and winning on the Susquehanna.” He used a 7’ moderate fast action rod with 40 lb braid and a 17 lb mono leader with the wake bait. 
The reigning 2026 Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series Angler of the Year from 2025, Abby Abbondanza of Pennsylvania, finished in second place with 188.25 inches utilizing his trademark bait, the ZMan Evo Chatterbait.  In this scenario, Abbondanza made the decision to downsize his chatterbait to a ZMan ⅜ oz EVO Mini Max in a Bama Craw color. This was based on finding a solid pattern during Thursday’s practice after committing to targeting edges of grass island beds and noticing the smallmouth keyed in on juvenile crawfish. Abbondanza’s setup for the ZMan ⅜ oz EVO Mini Max included a Dobyns Fury 734C rod with a KastKing MegaJaws Elite and a 9:1 ratio spooled with Gamma 16 lb Fluorocarbon line. His kayak setup included a Bonafide PWR 129 powered by a Torqeedo Travel Ultralight. Abbondanza noted, “This was the ultimate river kayak setup for a guy my size with a motor that takes a beating and keeps performing!” 
Jody Queen of West Virginia finished in the third spot, also taking home a “Blue Trophy” among some of the top anglers in the country and a score of 187.75 inches. His favorite setup for these big river smallmouths was his KastKing Mega Jaws Elite reel with a 9:1 gear ratio.  Queen said, “It’s perfect for overcoming the forward momentum of the kayak as well as the speed of the current while working a ZMan Baby Jack paired with a ZMan 3.25” Diezel Kicker for a trailer. What a deadly combination!”  
He also recommends a quick and nimble kayak for the river, like the Bonafide PWR 129 coupled with a Torqeedo Travel Ultra Lite motor that makes this rig unmatched in speed and maneuverability. 
The ZMan Baby Jack played a huge role in Queen’s success on the Susquehanna. 
The ZMan DieZel KickerZ was a great addition as a trailer with the ZMan Baby Jack chatterbait that Queen used for his third-place finish. 
Dave Crockett of Maryland worked his way to fourth with 186.25 inches of smallmouth. In practice, he tried to focus on something different from the obvious. Crockett knew everyone would be hitting the grass islands hard during practice and on the tournament days. He said, “When the water was low in practice, I found about a quarter-mile stretch around the lower boundary with huge boulders, and I decided to target them with both baits, the ½ oz Booyah Covert spinnerbait and the Berkley Choppo 120.” He went on to mention, “This area also had deeper-than-average water, so I made one drift down it and caught a 20” and two 19’s.” This solidified where he would spend his tournament hours, and now all he had to do was adjust to the rising water levels, which put the fish right up on the banks as Crockett predicted. 
Day 1 was one of those magical days for Crockett. He said, “I didn’t lose a single fish, and they were the right ones I caught.” Day 2 was a different story: “I had to scramble a bit.” After Crockett caught three fish, things slowed down for him, and according to Crockett, it was the same for the whole field, based on the TourneyX standings. He just started covering new water, and it paid off, landing a 20” and 19.5” smallmouth around some grass islands that were nearby.  He said, “I was a couple culls from really making things interesting!” Crocket went on to say, “The Susky is an amazing fishery, a small slice of heaven that’s about four hours from my home. I usually come up a couple of times a year, and I’m finally starting to get the hang of it, I think. Tournament fishing is such a humbling sport, but it’s all I’ve ever done since I was a teenager.  It’s always nice when the hard work and effort pays off.” 
Crockett used an ALX IKOS Promise 7’ medium heavy rod paired with a Shimano Six 6.3:1 reel spooled with 15 lb Seaguar Red Label line to throw his spinnerbait. For the Choppo, he used an ALX IKOS Promise 7’ medium heavy rod with a Shimano Six 8.2:1 reel and 30 lb Power Pro braid. 

Jeffrey Rabbitt of Pennsylvania finished in fifth place with 185.75 inches, catching all of his fish on basically two baits. He caught all of his fish using basically two baits: a Brazalo Custom Baits Bushwacker Buzzbait with a pink blade and Zoom Horny Toad trailer in bubblegum and a River2Sea Whopper Plopper 110 in bone. Rabbitt’s rod setup for the buzzbait included a Dobyns Sierra 734 with a Daiwa Tatula Elite reel spooled with 40 lb Suffix 832 braid.  For the Plopper, he used a Dobyns Kaden 735CB with a Lews Hyperspeed reel and 15 lb P-Line CXX. Rabbitt mentioned, “I threw the Whopper Plopper when I could, but due to floating eel grass it was difficult at times.  The buzzbait came through the grass fairly well though,h and the pink color really stood out in the slightly stained water and overcast conditions.”
Rabbitt’s Custom Baits Bushwacker Buzzbait with a pink blade.
Rabbitt also used a River2Sea Whopper Plopper 110 in bone.

Jordan Lovejoy of Maryland finished sixth with 185 inches using an assortment of topwater baits targeting grass islands in the middle of the river along exposed boulders. He tied on a 1/4 oz buzzbait and a Berkley 120 Choppo. He threw his buzzbait on a Little Miami Outfitters 6’9” Nereus rod with a KastKing Mega Jaws reel. Lovejoy threw his Choppo at shallower grass islands with a 7’2” Jigging World Revel paired up with a 200-sized Shimano TranX reel. 
The Berkley 120 Choppo played a huge role for Lovejoy with his sixth-place finish. 
In seventh place, David Long of Pennsylvania landed 185 inches on ten smallmouth with a Boogerman Buzzbait paired with a Rapala Freeloader trailer. He threw this around grass islands and the edges of shoals on Day 1. His follow-up bait was a Geocrack SAF Stick rigged weightless on an EWG worm hook. 
On Day 2, Long tied on a ZMan black and blue Baby Jack chatterbait with a Rapala Freeloader trailer and also threw it around grass islands, banks, and shoals.  He also used a Geocrack Bellows Swimmer on a BKK underspin in areas with thick submerged grass during periods of windier conditions. Long would like to give appreciation to Susquehanna Fishing Tackle for their knowledge and expertise, which molded him into the angler he has become today. 
Long’s entire arsenal of baits from the left: a Geocrack Bellows Swimmer on a BKK underspin, Boogerman Buzzbait paired with a Rapala Freeloader trailer, ZMan black and blue Baby Jack chatterbait with a Rapala Freeloader trailer, and a Geocrack SAF Stick rigged weightless on an EWG worm hook.
Brook Williams of Pennsylvania finished in eighth place with 183.75 inches. The bait he used was a ZMan ⅜ oz Jackhammer in Bruised Green Pumpkin with a Rapala Crush City Clean Up Crew trailer in black/blue/green pumpkin. He threw this on a 7’ TFo Professional medium-heavy casting rod paired with a Shimano Curado DC 201 reel spooled with 17 lb Seaguar InvizX Fluorocarbon. 
William’s ZMan ⅜ oz Jackhammer in Bruised Green Pumpkin with a Rapala Crush City Clean Up Crew trailer in black/blue/green pumpkin. 
Ryan Matylewics of Pennsylvania finished in ninth place with 183.25 inches, with most of his fish being caught on a Berkley Choppo. He used a 7’6” moderate action glass deep crank rod with a high-speed Lew’s 9.5:1 ratio reel spooled with 65 lb braid. Matylewics also rotated in a ⅜ oz ZMan Jackhammer with a Strike King Menace in green pumpkin on a 7’ fast-action G-Loomis NRX 843c MBR with a Shimano Metanium 7.3:1 and 17 lb Seaguar line. He would target shorelines that had a nearby current to catch his fish. 
A close-up of Matylewics’ top two baits, the Berkley Choppo and Zman Chatterbait. 
Matylewics rods of choice included a7’6” moderate-action glass deep crank rod and a G-Loomis NRX 843c MBR. 
A very accomplished kayak angler in the field was Wyatt Hammond of North Carolina, who rounded out the Top 10 with 182.5 inches of smallmouth. He made the switch from his Old Town Autopilot to his Old Town Sportsman Bigwater 132 kayak to better navigate the Susquehanna. This made it a lot easier to ski around and hop over rapids with that lighter boat.  Hammond targeted holes and indents along the grass islands that broke the current as it came downstream. His bigger fish came from these breaks, while his limit fish came from the boulders that were slightly off the bank. He mentioned, “Jody Queen and Abby Abbondanza taught me a lot about reading the different ripples and seams on the water in the days leading up to the tournament, so I owe a lot to them. 
Every fish Hammond caught came on a ⅜ oz ZMan BabyJack chatterbait in green pumpkin with a finesse trailer. The rod and reel combo he used was an NRX Chatterbait rod paired with a Metanium DC reel. He also mentioned, “I made so many casts this past week, and with the current it was causing me to reel as fast as I could for two days straight, absolutely wore me out! But I had a blast this time up there!” 

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