As the sport of kayak fishing continues to grow in the Midwest, Michigan has been void of a sound tournament series to date. That is until 2016.  Both the Michigan Kayak Fishing Series and KATS - Midwest will give kayak anglers in Southwest and Southeast Michigan, several options to participate.  The MKFS kicks off on May 7th on Gull Lake, Richland, MI  and KATS - Midwest on May 14th on Kent Lake, Brighton, Michigan.  The Michigan Kayak Fishing Series will span 6 events concluding September 17th on Burt Lake, Indian River, Michigan.  KATS - Midwest will have 3 events, a 4th, the Border City Classic will qualify for points towards the KATS - Midwest AOY. The final event for KATS - Midwest will be on September 24th, Cass Lake, Keego Harbor, Michigan. 

KATS - Midwest is an extension of the popular KATS that is held throughout Texas for the past 10 years and is the result of the recent merger aquisition of Austin Canoe & Kayak by Summit Sports.  The information can be found on the FishKATS.com website and will be run very similar to how KATS Texas has been run.

Considering that that Michigan has the most shoreline of any other state and is a close 2nd to Minnesota for the number of named lakes, it is no surprise to see how fast the sport of kayak fishing is growing in the Wolverine State.

Jeff Sherwood has only been fishing for a few years from a kayak, but has the luxury of being in the business. He is the General Manager of Retail for the new Summit Sports - Austin Canoe & Kayak combined company. Jeff recently began tournament fishing, competing in several events in the Mid-West. He also fished in the Hobie Bass Open, and KBF Open on Toledo Bend in 2015. Jeff will be an instrumental figure in the growth of kayak fishing tournament in Michigan for 2016, expanding the successful Texa- based Kayak Anglers Tournament Series (KATS).

If you have tried to record audio with your GoPro while on the water using the waterproof case (which you can probably call a soundproof case), you have discovered it is almost impossible to do without using aftermarket devices to aid in getting good sound.

This year's Border City Classic ended up being extreme kayak fishing at its best, without sharks, alligators, or tides to contend with. Over 30 mph winds - gusting close to 50 mph - and 3.5”of rain did not keep the field of 122 anglers from getting out on the water. They also uploaded over 200 bass to iAngler.

Each time you rig a kayak, there are new products and ideas that could be implemented to help make your human-powered watercraft catch fish - or so we think. The word that always comes to my mind when making rigging decisions is “convenience”.

The Hobie “Outback” was the company's first kayak aimed directly for the kayak fishing market. It continues to be their top-selling fishing kayak to date. Because of its continued success, Hobie has left a great design alone sticking with the mantra: If it ain't broke, don't fix it. – until the 2015 model.

Hobie continues to tweak their 2015 SUV line of fishing kayaks. Both the “Mirage Pro Angler 12” and “Mirage Pro Angler 14” received major updates from the 2014 models. Here is a side by side comparison of the 2014 vs. 2015 Mirage Pro Angler kayaks.

The 2014 Border City Classic is now history. Eighty two kayak anglers took to the water to compete in the fourth annual BCC. Lake St. Clair and the Detroit River didn't disappoint the dedicated field of kayak anglers, some of whom came from as far as Edmonton, AB, Ottawa, ON, and Fort Wayne, IN. 

No we don't have Alligators or Crocodiles in the Great Lakes Region. We do have what is known as the fish of a thousand casts. Up until a few years ago you rarely saw Kayak Anglers targeting Muskie. The mention of inviting one of these Freshwater Gators into your small plastic floating vessel, would make even an experienced angler think you should maybe hire a guide and let him help you catch a Muskie in a charter.

In the mid to late eighties, I first became aware of computers, software and new technology. Working in a manufacturing environment building stamping tools in the Automotive industry we had to learn and apply the new technology as it came available, otherwise we wouldn't have survived. This strong foundation has kept me up to date with our digital world has it has progressed over the last 30 years.