West Virgina Kayak Anglers kicked off the 2023 season by hosting their first tournament on Summersville Lake during some challenging conditions. April 1st, 2023 marks the end of the “winter pool” as the Army Core of Engineers closes the gates on the Summersville Dam to raise the water levels in anticipation of a summer season full of recreational boating. How did that affect the fishing? The combination of the dam gates closing and an early April storm caused anglers to find 46-degree water temps, blown-out creeks, and a lake that had risen 25’ in 36 hours when arriving to Summersville Lake Sunday morning.

Seasoned angler, Buddy Vance, secured the top spot with a commanding limit of 77.75”. He was able to find a main lake point where the smallmouth were reloading in 8-12’ of water and would “feed in flurries”. He attributes his success on Sunday to “a DT series crankbait and the Skittles C4 energy drink from Sheetz that morning”. Buddy is a veteran in the kayak scene and will undoubtedly continue to be a force to be reckoned with this year in all three clubs.

Second place went to another veteran angler with a “no quit” attitude, Bryan Bostic, who ended the day with 77.5”. Brian had one fish at 2pm. He was on his way back to the ramp to turn it in for the day and proceeded to go on a hot streak, including a 20.25” kicker of a giant Summersville largemouth. Brian said his key to success on Sunday was thanks to “never giving up and junk fishing all over the lake”.

Third place was Mikey Holcombe with 72.75”. He found a Similar pattern as your winner Buddy Vance. Mikey recalls, “I was able to locate fish on a main lake point and a rock vein in 8-12’ that seemed to reload through the day. I rotated between the two and continued to cull as the day continued.”

Fourth place was Brad McClung, a locally well-known angler from Rainelle, WV. Brad recalled, “I caught all my fish on rocky banks with a 6-10’ diving crankbait.” This strategy was almost identical to the first and third-place finishers.

Fifth place was Jayson Elam who put together a 70” limit of smallmouth through a combination of finesse fishing tactics and throwing a crankbait in 8-10’ of water.

Top female angler, Sierra Backus, had a very impressive 62” with 4 fish. Although she was unable to fill her limit, she was able to catch her fish “methodically finesse fishing bluff walls”.

WVKA members also collected a donation for The Shriners Steve Brown Support and raised $105.

The next tournaments hosted by West Virginia’s 3 major kayak bass fishing clubs are:
-Elk River / Sutton Lake on April 15th with Southern West Virginia Kayak Anglers (SWVKA)
-AEP Ohio on April 29th with Mountain State Kayak Anglers (MSKA)