ALBA, Texas — Talented kayak anglers from around the country will take to the waters of legendary Lake Fork Feb. 5-6 for the first tournament of the 2022 Bassmaster Kayak Series powered by TourneyX season.
Competition starts at 7 a.m. CT with lines out at 3 p.m. An award ceremony will be held on Feb. 6 at Lake Fork Marina at 4:30 p.m. Registration for the event is open until Jan. 29 at 11:59 p.m. at Bassmaster.com/kayak.
“We’re excited to be back at Lake Fork for what should be an incredible event, especially knowing the size of the bass anglers have been catching at Fork the last times we’ve hosted tournaments,” said B.A.S.S. Nation Director Jon Stewart, who oversees the kayak series. “This tournament will feature about 140 anglers, including several big sticks.”
In the past, all events except the championship have been one-day tournaments. Nebraska’s Nate Gloria took home the Lake Fork title in 2021 with a five-bass limit measuring 98 inches, while Arkansas pro Cody Milton joined the Century Club with five bass measuring 100.5 inches in 2020’s inaugural tournament on this big bass factory.
Gloria is scheduled to compete at the 2022 event along with 2021 Bassmaster Kayak Series National Champion Mark Pendergraf of Fort Worth, Texas, whose 10 bass total of 209.25 inches in the championship tournament set a record for the highest two-day total in TourneyX history.
Another notable angler hitting the waters of the fishery named Bassmaster Magazine’s “Best Bass Lake” for 2021 is Kristine Fischer, who is coming off a big 2021 season where she had a Top 15 finish in the co-angler division at the Bassmaster Open at Pickwick Lake and won the Hobie Bass Open Series Tournament of Champions.
The 2022 Bassmaster Kayak Series powered by TourneyX season will visit iconic fisheries in six states. For the first time, the Kayak Series will feature the Old Town Bassmaster Kayak Series Angler of the Year award with $5,000 cash and a top-of-the-line Old Town kayak going to the angler who accumulates the most points during the regular season.
The schedule includes five regular-season events and the Bassmaster Kayak Series Championship that will coincide with the 2022 Academy Sports + Outdoors Bassmaster Classic presented by Huk.
Instead of a standard weigh-in that requires scales measuring pounds and ounces, anglers will practice “catch, photograph and release” to determine the kayak tournament standings. When a kayak angler catches a bass, he or she will photograph it lying on an approved measuring board and submit the photo through a special mobile app provided by TourneyX. The boards will measure each bass in inches down to a quarter of an inch, and the angler with the longest five-bass limit will win.
Lake Fork Marina is hosting the event.