Fish Stories

Contention in kayak eligible waters: What is “Legal Water”?

In recent events there has been some complaints and protests around anglers going beyond what some anglers feel should be eligible water. What's the truth?

In speaking with Drew Gregory at the Kayak Bass Fishing National Championship, I asked the question directly "Did you go through the obstruction in practice before launching up river for the event?" with the answer from Drew was "Yes, I wanted to be sure the stretch was accessible and that I was able to maneuver through the obstruction". As Drew has mentioned on his own video after the disqualification he has a specific skillset and choice kayak that allows him to get to where others can not go. We are glad that Bassmaster was able to have a thorough and fair investigation coming to the correct conclusion. Congratulations to Drew on the win as well as being the first Bassmaster Kayak Series Angler of the Year!

In the past there has also been anglers who have dragged kayaks through "the mud" to water and recently at the 2022 KBF National Championships, winner Russ Snyders and KBF Angler of the Year Cody Milton had gone miles up a river far beyond what a lot of anglers would ever think about. Is this legal - yes. Should this be legal? This could use some healthy debate. All rules should be looked at at the end of a season and adjusted as needed. "We've always done it this way" isn't good enough.

Being a lake angler with limited practice time I feel that I have the right bias to attack this question. My personal opinion is I would rather see some limits put on the distance up rivers that should be allowed because there is a point when its not fishing the body of water that the event is supposed to be on. A tournament on Lake X but was won a county over 20 miles up a creek just doesn't seem to me like they are fishing the same body of water. That difference makes me think having maximum distance access points would possibly be more fair. For both letting an angler know it is in bounds, and more importantly letting them know if they launched past this point that they have just donated their entry fee to the other anglers. 

So what should the rules be?

They should be what they already are, if you can get there from the main body of water it should be allowed. But I thought you wanted limitations? Yes, I do. But is that fair of me to say these anglers that have the skillsets and ability to work a creek system that I don't have shouldn't be allowed to fish their strengths? Not anymore than someone telling me that flipping trees and brush piles shouldn't be allowed. I also can't stand the Live Scope style of fishing, but I don't think an outright ban is needed. Would I complain if they banned Live Scope? Nope. Would I vote for the ban? Nope.

I do feel that if you can float in and out without getting out of your kayak it should be legal. KBF rules also allow dragging your kayak around a temporary obstruction, which is also fair. Bassmaster and Hobie BOS events don't allow leaving your boat. Fair enough as well. I don't think all the trails need the same rules on this. Each trail and club for that matter can make determinations on what they feel works best for their present and future anglers. 

Bassmaster Elites are aloud to run up creeks and rivers connected to the body of water they are fishing as well. Of course they restrict some equipment to keep it reasonably fair just as the various kayak series do. One example is the no jet drives rule after Roland Martin had run up the Connecticut River to what some considered "unreachable" water in a Bass Tracker with a jet drive. It was technically legal at the time, but that changed pretty soon after.

With that all said I would think some thought ahead of time by the directors of these events needs to be had, and explanations of the rules they have to ensure everyone is well aware of what eligible water is for each event. Event if you can run up a river 50 miles doesn't necessarily mean it needs to all be eligible water. There is another difference with bass boat events where they all launch at the same place and time and need to be back at the same place and time. Kayak anglers are allowed to drive and launch in any publicly accessible area (even if it means falling off a 25 foot cliff with your Hobie). 

We will see how this all shakes out over the off season and if any changes are made but at the end of the day nobody broke a rule, and they all deserve the congratulations and all the accolades for putting in the extra time and effort to put together successful days on the water.