SW Kayak League Report
Eric Mussellman turned to his phone for lake info after borrowing a kayak that lacked sonar for Sunday afternoon’s Topwater SW Kayak League contest on Decatur’s Lake of the Woods.
The Kalamazoo angler used the Navionics app on his phone to show him the lake map, bottom contours and where he and the borrowed Field & Stream kayak were on the break lines. Drop-shotting a 4.5-inch Roboworm where Navionics said he was over 10 to 14 feet of water led him to a stretch that produced the winning five largemouth totaling 68.25 inches.
“I was kind of fan casting to figure out where they were and when I found one, there were normally one to two more around the same general spot,” said Musselman.
An inch behind in second was Steve Boekhout of Fremont, Indiana, with 67.25 inches.
“Most of the fish came on a wacky-rigged, Jackall Flick Shake in watermelon candy around weed beds on shallow flats,” Boekhout said. He said he also caught a couple on a Zoom Zlinky soft plastic stick bait, blueberry color, wacky-rigged with a 1/8-ounce weight.
Third place Russell E. Wilson of Schoolcraft credited his forward-facing Garmin Live Scope for spotting bass and seeing them eat his wacky-rigged Stink-O from Mike Pierce Custom Lures. Wilson had 66.5 inches, which included the Ketch Big Bass of 16.25 inches, worth $38. With nine entrants, the tournament paid two places. First place was $138; second paid $80. Third place received a $10 gift card for league sponsor Mainstream Tackle & Outdoors in Galesburg.
Three more Sunday afternoon tournaments remain on the SW Kayak League schedule with Paradise Lake near Vandalia next on October 25. Tournament times are noon to 4 p.m., and deadline to register is 10 a.m. the day of the event. All tournaments are open to the general public. Entry fee is $35 with 100 percent payback. For more information, check out topwaterseries.com or Topwater Nation on Facebook.