GENTRY -- Kayak anglers began landing March 6 at the SWEPCO Lake boat ramp after a bass tournament on the reservoir near Gentry. Fishing kayaks can be outfitted with an array of equipment, such as electronics, rod holders and storage compartments.
Sixty-one fishermen hit the water at SWEPCO Lake to match wits with the reservoir's largemouth bass. When the fishing finished, not one drop of gasoline had burned.
These bass fanatics do their catching out of kayaks designed for fishing. Their low-profile boats bobbed on the wind-swept lake near Gentry March 6 during a Razoryak Tournament Trail event for kayak anglers.
The scene at the boat ramp looked like any fishing tournament when the contest was through, except there weren't any bass to weigh. Anglers use their phones to photograph each bass they catch as it lays on a measuring board, then the fish is released.
Photos are sent to tournament score keepers on shore. Each fish is scored by length, not by weight. The angler with the most total inches wins. Say a fisherman catches five bass that each measure 15 inches. That gives the angler a tournament score of 75 inches.
Razoryak Tournament Trail holds contests around the state. Tournaments in Northwest Arkansas take place at SWEPCO Lake, Beaver and Table Rock lakes and Lake Fort Smith. Prize money is no chump change. Nathan Bohannon of Mountain Home won $660 at SWEPCO Lake with 76 inches.
Wind howling at 25 to 30 mph churned the 500-acre lake into a choppy froth, but fishing kayaks do well in rough water, said Mark Krattley of Neosho, Mo.
His kayak isn't short on gadgets for fishing. It's outfitted with a top-quality depth finder, rod holders and storage.
"It just depends on what you want. Your imagination is the only limit," he said.
Krattley remembered how much fun he had fishing as a kid and started looking at kayaks six years ago to get back into it.
"I said, 'If I'm going to get a kayak, I'm getting one I can fish out of.'"
Fishing kayaks are easy to haul. Most of the anglers at SWEPCO Lake carried them in the back of pickups. A few used small trailers.
Waves at the launch ramp crashed like ocean surf. A big swell pushed Sam Philip's kayak up the concrete when he hit the ramp. A bevy of rods pointed toward the sky from holders on his kayak.
"I normally fish with six rods and most of them are behind me. I just reach back and get one out, like pulling arrows out of a quiver," he said.
Fishing kayaks are great for river fishing, added Philip of Centerton.
They're great for camping, too, noted Rob Bomstad of Siloam Springs. Bomstad and his wife, Gina, took their fishing kayaks on a six-day trip into the Boundary Water area of northern Minnesota.
"They'll carry some gear," he said. "We paddled about 15 miles in there and set up a base camp. We fished every day. It was very relaxing. The thing I remember most was no sound."
Razoryak bass tournaments have anglers from high school age on up. Several fished from power boats before gravitating to kayaks. Some have both.
Jack Wright sold his bass boat and bought a kayak.
"I'd just rather fish out of a kayak," he said. Wright also likes the friendly atmosphere of the Razoryak kayak fishing community.
"Everybody is very welcoming. We've got a real sense of family here," he said.
Flip Putthoff can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @NWAFlip
Gone Fishing
Razoryak Tournament Trail events for kayak anglers are held in Northwest Arkansas and around the state. The next area tournament is April 2 at Beaver Lake. Entry fee is $20 and $5 for big bass.
Information: www.razoryak.com
Sports on 03/30/2016