So Saturday, 01/18/14, the first stop of 2014 CCKF was on Lake Bastrop. Lake Bastrop is typically a very fishable lake, year-round. Water Temps were ranging from the low 50’s, up to nearly 70 degrees in the discharge area, and the air temps started out at least near the 32 degree mark, warming up to 70 degrees later in the day. The winds started to pick up shortly before 10 or 11am, and a high blue-bird sky. It was all enough to place a layer of frost of everything in sight and some un-nerving steam coming off the warm Power Plant lake water. Rated as one of the best numbers lakes in Texas, we were happy to make this our only power plant lake for the ATX trail this year. We started off by camping at Lake Bastrop, North Shore Park, with a small group of probably the funniest guys and gals that I think we could gather. We had Tino Mendietta, a.k.a Jurassic Park Kayak Fishing on Facebook, and his buddy Robert came up to join us from Corpus Christi. We had four fresh faces from San Antonio, Jesse Sandoval Sr. and Jr. and their two buddies Jon Gregory and Jon Alvarez. For the second year in a row, Temo Martinez made the trip from Oklahoma again, which was pretty amazing to see. We also had CCKF long-time members, Michael McCown and Clinton Holstine, who did a great job at manning “McCown’s Pub & Grill”, which was amazing because the grill cooked really well and was supported by his SUV’s trailer hitch. It was also really nice to see that Rodney Bronson, and his lady were hanging in the cold, partaking in the festivities also. Jason Keenan, Owner of Cinders and Ash Media, along with his young son Jax, also came out to join us for a while to explore the park and trails. After weeks of work and effort to get the our NEW BADASS CCKF TRAVEL TRAILER ready to travel, Beau Reed was thankful to be able to swing by and pick up Dez Davis, Owner of Supernova Fishing, and bring him out to camp and support us on the day of the tournament. Dez hooked up the SUPERNOVAFRAGALISTIC trailer lights and great sound system, and we hooked up the setting and festivities to show our appreciation for what he has done for CCKF, most of which you will all never hear about/never know about… So after a cold morning, many struggles to retain prime fishing real estate, and a barrage of Bass Boats it was all over at 3 pm. At about 2:00 pm our tournament anglers started to roll in and turn in scorecards at Larrie’s Smokehouse BBQ, located just outside the North Shore gate on Hwy 95. 3pm was “Last Call for Scorecards”, and it was time to wrap things up and name our winners…
1st Place: Steve Garcia/97’-$1,058 Cash, Smith Optics Hat and Sunglasses, and Grande Bass Trophy Hunter baits
2nd Place: Temo Martinez/91.25”-$302 Cash, Smith Optics Hat and Sunglasses, and Grande Bass Trophy Hunter baits
3rd Place: Bobby Supak/90.25”-$151 Cash, Smith Optics Hat and Sunglasses, and Grande Bass Trophy Hunter Baits
4th Place: Chris Pearce/85.50”-Phenix M-1 Series Fishing Rod, and Phenix Swag Pack, and Grande Bass Trophy Hunter Baits
5th Place: Mark Nordstrom/84.50”-$50 in Sponsor Bucks, and Grande Bass Trophy Hunter Baits
6th Place: Will Costales/84”-$50 in Sponsor Bucks, and Grande Bass Trophy Hunter Baits
7th Place: Adam Hansen/82.25”- Boca Bearing Gift Certificate and Swag Pack, and Grande Bass Trophy Hunter Baits
8th Place: Bobby Lebouf/81.75”- Boca Bearing Gift Certificate and Swag Pack, and Grande Bass Trophy Hunter Baits
9th Place: Tim Nickels/80.75”-$100 HOOK1 Gift Card, and Grande Bass Trophy Hunter Baits
10th Place: Ryan Cengel/80”-$100 HOOK1 Gift Card, and Grande Bass Trophy Hunter Baits
Big Bass: Bobby Supak/20.75”-$380 and Grande Bass Trophy Hunter Baits
We would like to say congratulations to our winners, and a huge thank you to our 2014 Sponsors. On a side note, we will no longer allow the use of phone cameras for CPR (so make sure the SD Cards are empty except for your CPR catches), and make sure you read the tournament information on the website. AFTER THE LAST CALL FOR SCORECARDS, ALL OTHER SCORECARDS WILL BE DISQUALIFIED. Also from this point on, we will have everybody come up, and check their accumulated inches before the awards ceremony will kick off, to enact a verification process. As a surprise, I was able to send every angler that was still there at the end, home with a free pack of Grande Bass Trophy Hunter Baits! After it was all said and done, Capital City Kayak Fishing “DOUBLED” it membership base, Thank You all for your support…We will continue to host the best kayak bass fishing tournaments in the nation! Our next tournament is on Grapevine Lake, next Saturday 01.25.14, for the DFW Trail. Registration is at Meadowmere Park. More information can be found at http://www.capitalcitykayakfishing.com