When kayak anglers get together and reminisce, talk often comes around to past Kentucky Lake championships. Kentucky Lake is where Team YakAttack Member Matt Ball won the KBF National Championship in 2016, and his Teammate Dwane Taff cashed another Championship for a $100,000 first-place prize in 2018. Chickasaw, Nickajack, Guntersville, Wheeler & Wilson, Pickwick, and Kentucky…Tennessee River lakes and kayak bass fishing go together like cheese and grits. This year, two hundred forty-nine kayak anglers—sixteen representing Team YakAttack—gathered at Paris Landing State Park to create more memories, each trying to decipher the cold-front code that would unlock bass’ mouths and the title of the 2022 Kayak Bass Fishing National Champion.
For this event, the home-water advantage was Rus Snyders’, who invested much of his spare moments exploring new water, checking bait and bass movements, and testing out various presentations over the past month. Rus lives in Pegram, an hour or two east of competition waters. After Day 1, his long hours and hard work appeared to be paying off, putting him almost ten inches ahead of the second spot.
Our teammate Drew Gregory, another perennial top-tier competitor, was close behind with 85.75 inches. Another Team YakAttack notable on Day 1 was Gene “Flukemaster” Jensen in ninth place. Other Team Members representing the brand in Tennessee this week are Matt Ball, John DiCenzo, Cory Dreyer, Mike Elsea, Guillermo González, Cody Henley, and Jeff Little, Dustin and Jen Mues, Jody Queen, Eric Siddiqi, and Josh Stewart.
Kentucky and Barkley Lakes are sprawling river system lakes that stretch across mid-west Kentucky and Tennessee that combine for 318 miles, not counting tributaries that easily double that length. Kentucky lake is the largest impoundment east of the Mississippi River, so anglers have plenty of options. Some plumbed the lakes’ fabled ledges, that in years past, produced prize-winning catches. Many headed for backwaters and bays, targeting bass feasting on thick schools of shad. Others ventured up the navigable section of the Cumberland, Duck, Buffalo, and Blood Rivers, plus innumerable creeks and streams that feed those lakes.
Here is a list of the Top 20 anglers after Day 1 of competition and frequent top anglers outside of the Top 20. To view the full leader board and follow along with Day 2 of the KBF National Championship click HERE.
Day 1 Top 20
1. Rus Snyders 97 in.
2. Cody Milton 87.75 in.
3. Drew Gregory 85.75 in.
4. Derek Brundle 82.5 in.
5. Eric Jackson 82.25 in.
6. Casey Reed 81.75 in.
7. Anthony Winkleman 79.75 in.
8. Ryan Thomas 79.5 in.
9. Gene Jensen 79.25 in.
10. Ron Himmelhaver 77.25 in.
11. William Stuntz 77 in.
12. Robert Weiker 76.75 in.
13. Stephen Hedges 76.5 in.
14. Matt Kiefer 76.5 in.
15. Bruce Deel 75.5 in.
16. Garrett Wade 75.25 in.
17. Ryan Platt 75.25 in.
18. Adam McCluskey 75 in.
19. Brent Jackson 75 in.
20. Bryan Sparks 74.75 in.
Noteworthy Anglers Outside of the Top 20
22. Matt Ball 74 in.
23. Jimmy McClurkan 73.75 in.
29. Jody Queen 71.75 in.
43. Guillermo Gonzalez 67.75 in.
48. Matthew Conant 65.75 in.
54. Eric Siddiqi 59.75 in.
59. Kristine Fischer 55 in.
75. Cody Henley 45 in.
80. Mike Elsea 42.25 in.
