kayak

Kayak: Top baits at Wolf and Fox Rivers

The 2026 Newport Bassmaster Kayak Series at the Wolf and Fox rivers had anglers finishing up the regular season on August 22-23 in Appleton, Wisconsin. This region holds a river system offering key backwaters loaded with big smallmouth bass. The top finishing anglers used a variety of baits that brought them success and the Top 10 are featured below.

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Marty Hughes
Guillermo Gonzalez of Texas led the pack with an impressive 188 inches of smallmouth.  The Bucca Baits Trick Herring was key both days when it came to making culls for Gonzalez. He mentioned, “Especially with fish that were holed up a little bit deeper or tight to cover.”  
Aiko Vang, a very competitive kayak bass angler from Plainfield, Wisconsin, finished in the runner-up position with 183.75 inches. His unique setup with the Ryugi Heavy Guard Talisman 2/0 paired with a Strike King Caffeine Shad hooked sideways proved to be very effective. This Japanese technique is called “Quiver trapping,” which creates a very finesse presentation and mimics a dying baitfish struggling on topwater or just under the surface. Vang swam it sideways into undercuts, weeds, and wood. He also used it on sand drops/holes as a finesse presentation to trigger bigger pressured fish. He used a Megabass P5 Super Destroyer rod with a Daiwa Tatula SV 8:1:1 reel spooled with 20 lb Daiwa Samurai Camouflage line with this presentation.  
His secondary presentation included a Teckel Kicknocker used on sand drops and holes as the first bait to get more aggressive fish to fire up the pods of fish that were sitting in pools along the river. His setup for this bait included a Megabass Destroyer Javelin paired with a Daiwa Tatula SV 8:1:1 reel with 16 lb Daiwa Samurai fluorocarbon line. 
Vang used a Megabass P5 Super Destroyer rod with a Daiwa Tatula SV 8:1:1 reel spooled with 20 lb Daiwa Samurai Camouflage line with the Strike King Caffeine Shad and Megabass Destroyer Javelin paired with a Daiwa Tatula SV 8:1:1 reel with 16 lb Daiwa Samurai fluorocarbon line with the Teckel Kicknocker.

Drew Gregory of Ohio, one of the most influential and accomplished anglers in modern competitive kayak fishing, finished third with 178.75 inches. Well known for his ability to find big fish on rivers and streams, Gregory power-fished for smallmouth with prototypes of his new DG-Power rod, by KastKing, that is made for fishing exactly as he fished last week – fast, furious, and mainly big single hook lures, w/ 30lb straight braid (Sunline SX1). Gregory mentioned, “The rods will be for sale late this year or early 2027 and can’t wait for the public to see how good the double triggers feel for power fishing, especially when paired with all Mg-Ti and Al-Ti reels that I was using.” 
He said, “My smallmouth moved from practice to the tournament to hold on different structures – clay cut banks, flats, sand drops, wood, and rip rap banks.”  When he finally did figure out what they were doing each day, Gregory did damage with the Z-MAN 5-inch Swag, the new EVO Swim Jig (1/4 oz w/ 3.25 inch DieZel KickerZ in Goldrush color). The new Baby Jack chatterbait helped make 3 key culls late on day 2. He threw it in 1/4oz weight in “Brett’s Bluegill” color w/ 3-inch MinnowZ trailer in EZ Money color. 
Gregory said, “I caught several of my key fish, including my 20.50 big fish that helped me win the 3-way tie for 3rd, on a BPS topwater plopper style bait that, the night before, I traded an Elite Tungsten EVO chatterbait for with one of my housemates, Phillip Backus. Dollars and cents-wise, I may have “lost the trade,” but in the end I definitely feel I also “won!” 
Jordan Westerman of Iowa, who is well known for his smallmouth catching wizardry, finished in fourth place with 178.75 inches. He fished rock transitions with the Evergreen Showerblow 125 in bone with an Abu Garcia Zenon 7’ medium-heavy rod paired with a Shimano Curado reel. He utilized the Yamamoto Uni bait with a Shimano Expride 7’ medium rod and a Daiwa Ballistic MQ 2500 reel.  His other finesse presentation was a Yamamoto  Fuzzy Nut thrown on a Daiwa Tatula 7’ rod paired with a Daiwa Tatula 2500 reel.  
Rus Snyders of Tennessee, one of the most consistent kayak anglers at the national level, finished in fifth place with 178.75 inches.  On day one, he fished a clear river with a 2.8 Keitech on an Irod Quercus IQ702S and Lew’s Mach Crush reel.
On day two, he fished a muddy river with a Berkley Frittside on an Irod Gen3 and “Gabe’s Rip Rap Special” and a Lew’s Custom Lite reel. 
Alex Miller of Pennsylvania finished in seventh place with 176 inches. He spent most of the day targeting schools of fish that were set up on the sandbar drop-offs. Miller mentioned, “ I rotated between the Keitech and Mayor depending on how the fish were reacting, which helped keep them fired up and biting throughout the day.”
A closer look at Miller’s VMC Hybrid Swimbait Head + 4” Crush City The Mayor in Sexy Shad.
Miller’s 1/4 oz Dirty Jigs Matt Allen Swimbait Head + 3.8” Keitech Swing Impact FAT in Sexy Shad.
Matt Ball of Ohio, a foundational figure in competitive kayak fishing and true ambassador of the sport, finished in an impressive eighth place with 170.25 inches. He said, “I was able to locate some quality smallmouth using 3 main baits during the event.  In the mornings, I was throwing a Z-Man Billy Goat on a Cashion Icon series multi-purpose rod with 30lb PowerPro braid.”   Ball went on to say, “If they would miss it on the blow-up, I follow up with a Z-Man FattyZ on an owner’s head with the Cashion Icon Medium Heavy spinning rod and get the bite.”  Throughout the day, after the topwater bite would slow down, Ball covered water with a Z-Man baby jack in golden shiner color thrown on a Cashion Chatter Grass rod spooled with 17 lb Seaguar InvizX line.  He threw long casts while moving upstream with the Torqeedo Adventure series motor and said, “This was key due to the gin-clear water.”  When he would get to deeper bends in the river, he would pick back up the Z-Man FattyZ and pick apart any cover or deeper water.

Patrick Keating of Illinois, an experienced competitive kayak bass angler who has been involved in national-level competition for years,s finished in ninth with 169.5 inches. He threw a 1/4 oz Tightrope Baby Fireworks Jig paired with a Great Lakes Finesse Snack Craw on a 7’ Dobyns Fury FR703C  MH Fast paired with an AC Slayer modified BP Pro Qualifier reel lined with 15# Seaguar InvizX. He also tied on a  3/8 oz Bass Patrol Green Pumpkin/Brown round rubber skirt jig paired with Strike King Baby Rage Craw with this setup. 
Keating T-rigged a Missile Baits regular D Bomb for dirty water and a  modified D Bomb for clear water, paired with a  1/8 and 1/4 oz Nako tungsten weight and 3/0 Mega Bite hook. 
The setup for this presentation was a 7′ 3″ MH Fast BP Johnny Morris Carbon Lite paired with a Team Lews Pro SP reel lined with 20# Berkley GIN Clear Fluorocarbon. 
A T-Rig crawtube 1/8 and 1/4 oz Nako Tungsten weight and 4/0 Nako Offset Shank EWG Worm Hook was used with a 7′ 3″ Dobyns Sierra Series Heavy X-Fast paired with an AC Slayer modified BP Pro Qualifier reel lined with 20# Berkley Vanish.
Keating targeted rip rap and undercut clay banks in the river using a combination of the Bass Patrol jig in dirty water/Tightrope Jig in clear. He said, “I was also using the standard D Bomb in dirty water and my modified D Bomb in clear. Depending on the surrounding area and how the fish were reacting to the lures, I would slow down or speed up and just carpet bomb the area with short casts with the regular D Bomb setup.” 
Keating used the crawtube when he was moving from spot to spot, casting along the way. He said, “This got me some key bites while on the move trying to cover water with the Newport NK180. I would utilize the Hobie PA 14 fins to pin me to logs, rip ra,p and clay banks in the river. In deeper water, I would use the Anchor Wizard paired with the Da Bomb Anchor. My rod and reel combo isn’t overall fancy, just what I call a working man’s combo.”
He also mentioned, “It was an overall great event with great people. Steve Owens and the Bassmaster crew did a great job and hopefully will come back to Appleton, Wisconsin. 
Jordan Hoeppner of Wisconsin, a dedicated kayak angler and strong student of the game, rounded out the top ten with 165.5 inches. He primarily targeted schooling fish on current breaks and sand drops during the morning and low-light periods of the event. Once the sun got higher by mid-morning, he was able to find fish cranking riprap banks with finesse cranks. Hoeppner went on to say, “Upsizing to a slightly larger crankbait allowed me to weed out smaller fish.”
On Day 1, Hoeppner caught his best two fish fishing riprap using an OSP Blitz MR crankbait, custom-painted in craw color by RFO Custom Baits. For this setup, I used a Daiwa Zillion 7′ ML glass cranking rod paired with a Daiwa Zillion reel, with 20 lb Daiwa Samurai braid to a 12 lb Gamma Edge leader.
On schooling fish, Hoeppner found his best-quality bites on a Teckel Kicknocker Pup in bone color. As for a rod/reel setup, he used a 6’11” Shimano Poison Adrena M+ action casting rod paired with a Daiwa Tatula SV-TW reel, spooled with 30 lb Sunline Asegai braid to a 16 lb Sunline Natural Monofilament leader.

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