CASEY BRUNNING HOME FIELD Grand Isle to Lake Pontchartrain, Louisiana
T AR GET SPECIES Redfish, trout and flounder
TEAM Hook 1 KA Y AK
Hobie Outback
T OP FINISHES 2013 Bayou Coast Kayak Fishing Club, Angler of the Year, First Place
2013 IFA Kayak Tour, Grand Isle, Louisiana, Largest Speckled Trout
2013 West Coast Tarpon Challenge, Second Place
HOME FIELD Gulf Coast
T AR GET SPECIES Redfish and sea trout
TEAM Hobie Fishing
KA Y AK Hobie Outback
T OP FINISHES 2013 Inshore Fishing Association Angler of the Year
2009 PaddlePalooza VI Slam Tournament, First Place
2009 and 2010 Bayou County Kayak Fishing Club Angler of the Year
GREA TES T VICT ORY My greatest victory was winning IFA Kayak Angler of the Year last year. I was able to edge out John Kay by one point to qualify for the championship. AOY is an award for consistently placing in multiple tournaments; that makes this win special for me.
SECRET WEAPON Black-bottom, silver-side MirrOlure Top Dog Jr. I have caught so many reds and trout on that lure I really believe I’m going to catch fish when I throw it. It draws strikes in dirty and clean water when fish are feeding on finfish or shrimp.
RIGHT S TUFF All of my gear is tied, bungeed, clipped and lashed to my kayak. When I need to jump spots I can quickly load and unload my boat without losing any gear.
T A C KLE TIPS Be ready to take advantage of
the bite when it turns on. Keep rods rigged up and have back-up lures ready to go. When you catch a fish, don’t waste any time with hero shots and high-fives. Get right back on the action. Speed and accuracy will increase your odds of catching that winning fish.
A W A Y G AME
When I’m fishing unfamiliar water, I follow the outdoors column in the local newspaper. I also look on fishing forums at fishing reports posted a year before the tournament. Knowing what happened a year earlier in the same area helps me anticipate what I will face on
tournament day. And comparing reports from several years helps me see a pattern in the behavior of the fish.
T OURN AMENT D A Y I look at results from past tournaments to get an idea what size fish I’ll need to catch in order to win the event. If it is a slam event and the area is known for big trout, then I know I need to focus on catching a big trout. Or, if I can win with one big redfish, I may put more time into targeting that species.
check out Brendan Bayard’s kayak fishing tournament news feed.
DIGITAL EXTRA: Click here to
GREA TES T VICT ORY To win Angler of the Year in the Bayou Coast Kayak Fishing Club, I beat out 140 members competing for the prize. I placed in the top four in each of the five qualifying tournaments, which superseded my goals by a mile.
SECRET WEAPON Rapala Skitter Walk with a black body and chartreuse head. I caught the largest trout in the IFA Grand Isle tournament and placed in Empire and Mobile with this lure. It sits seductively on the water with the nose sticking up and the tail hanging down.
“DON’T LOSE AN EVENT BECAUSE YOU WERE 30 SECONDS LATE.”
RIGHT S TUFF Rinse, rinse, rinse. I learned the hard way to rinse off my rods, reels, tackle and kayak with freshwater after each use. I switch out the hooks on my lures with Gamikatzu Red Series hooks that are corrosion resistant.
T A C KLE TIPS
I use the best rods and reels I can afford. I once flipped my kayak two days before a tournament. I didn’t have access to freshwater to rinse my reels but they still worked. I don’t know if a cheap combo would have held up.
A W A Y G AME
Don’t be afraid to ask for advice. I stop by the local tackle shops and even talk with guys I see fishing along the side of the road. That’s the word on the street!
T OURN AMENT D A Y Set an alarm for the time you need to leave and another alarm for when you really must stop fishing in order to make the weigh-in. Don’t lose an event because you were 30 seconds late.
www.kayakanglermag.com…53
BRENDAN BAYARD
PHOTO: CASEY BRUNNING
PHOTO: BRENDAN BAYARD
PHOTO: BRENDAN BAYARD
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