Kayak League Report
Kevin Hopson of Crooked Lake, Ind. - 1st Place
Kevin Hopson of Crooked Lake, Ind., culled up to 66 inches of bass to win the season opener of the Topwater Series SW Kayak League on Corey and Harwood lakes Sunday afternoon.
He topped 15 other kayak anglers by skipping a PB&J-color Missile Ned Bombs rigged on a 1/8-ounce Woo Tungsten Ned Head under pontoons and docks. He said he also caught fish by swimming the small soft plastic lure in shallow water between docks. He caught more than 30 bass in the four-hour contest. First place paid $220.
Cody Breseman, Union, Mich. - Big Bass
Cody Breseman, Union, Mich., took second, worth $115 with 64.75 inches. He registered nine bass including the tournament’s biggest, an 18.75-incher, which won $35 for big fish. Breseman caught all of his fish on a black/blue Mainstream Sink-O soft plastic stickbait. He rigged the Senko knock-off on a 3/16-ounce, Buckeye Weighted Wacky Hook and targeted piers near steep drop offs.
In third and winning $75 was Dave Mull of Kalamazoo, who registered 61.75 inches. He caught six fish, with a Neko-rigged Z-Man Big TRD accounting for half of them, including an 18-incher he caught with four minutes left in the contest. A white, War Eagle spinnerbait, a split-shot 4-inch Zoom worm and a 1/4-ounce Z-Man Midwest Finesse Swim Jig caught the other three.
It was the first of nine tournaments for the SW Kayak League, with Magician Lake next on Sunday, Sept. 18. Tournaments are from noon to 4 p.m. and the entry fee is $35, with 100 percent payback. Register and get more info at topwaterseries.com.