Readying for a friendly rumble. in Florida f r i e n d s h i p
At the JAX Classic, the grand gathering of the sport, the focus is on fun and family, not cut-throat pro competition STORY and PHOTOS BY KENDAL LARSON
IT’S MAY 8, 2010, tournament day for the Co- lumbia Sportswear Jacksonville Kayak Fishing Classic, where a record 430 anglers are signed up to chase aſter bragging rights as the best of the best. Tis is the largest such competition in the United States, perhaps even the world. And the best of the best isn’t an exaggeration,
because this year many kayak fishing silverbacks have covered great distances to attend the tour- nament. Storied names like Sammons, Tomas, Herman, Spencer, Rinando, Suber, Stubblefield and many more—a veritable Who’s Who of kay- ak fishing are here to compete. Kayak anglers from across America have trav-
eled untold miles to converge on Jacksonville; li- cense plates from Minnesota, Mississippi, Michi- gan, Georgia, South Carolina, Louisiana—even a gang of more than 20 from Texas join the fun. To underscore the prominence of the tournament there’s even a team of three from the United Kingdom; David Martin of the Anglers Afloat U.K. website, as well as Martin Hurst, and Paul Fennell of the U.K. Ocean Kayak fishing team. What’s of great interest to the rest of the kayak
fishing nation is—why? Why is this particular tournament so popular? It doesn’t take long aſter meeting JAX Classic tournament director Mike Kogan to understand. “Tis tournament isn’t really about the competition. It’s about having
Jennifer Thomas joins the fun.
fun,” Kogan remarks. “We try to make this tour- nament a family-friendly affair, and we think that’s apparent by the tournament’s heavy focus on the raffle.” Tat raffle and other donations will combine to
raise close to $40,000 this year for the supported charities—Te Daniel Memorial, the Down Syn- drome Association of Jacksonville and the Guy Harvey Foundation. “We’ve raised over $100,000 for our charities through the years,” says Kogan. While the focus is on the charities and having
fun, the anglers are still pretty serious about the fishing. It’s only fair. Te Jacksonville area boasts amazing opportunities for kayak anglers, with great fishing areas within minutes of downtown. One such location is Mill Cove, and on tour-
nament day there are 28 kayak anglers lined up at the ramp awaiting the six a.m. launch. Located just northeast of downtown Jacksonville, it offers excellent redfish, trout and flounder fishing—the combo sought by anglers hoping for a slam of all three fish. If an angler is lucky enough to catch one of each, their lengths will be totaled to give the angler the maximum possible score. We find a good selection of the Texas con-
tingent here on tournament morning, includ- ing Dean and Jennifer Tomas of Aransas Pass, Texas, operators of Slowride Guide Service. Tey launch, hoping to find that magic trio of fish. Dean’s a lifelong angler, having spent much of
his youth fishing both fresh and saltwater. His guiding and rental operation is nearing its tenth anniversary, and he’s fished in over 20 kayak fish- ing tournaments. In Jacksonville, he uses a tactic commonly employed by shallow water anglers to seek out active water. “I fished where I saw mullet, baitfish and sur-
face activity,” Tomas later quips. Te tactics may be the same as in Texas—but
conditions aren’t. Te tannin-stained waters of Jacksonville are substantially different from the gin-clear flats of Texas where Tomas normally fishes, and Florida experiences large four- to five- foot tidal swings. “It was cool man. I always like to see something different. Even though it was similar terrain under the water, the tides put a definite twist on how you fish it,” Tomas adds.
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