The Mountain State Kayak Anglers held their first tournament of 2023 on Saturday, April 29^th. The eligible waters for the tournament included almost 400 different ponds spread across over 30,000 acres at the AEP Recreation Lands in Ohio. Many of the ponds are leftover from old mining activity and have above average water clarity. This makes it easy for anglers to put eyes on what locals call the “AEP tanks” that swim in the ponds. However, after several days of clouds and rain, how did the anglers fare on tournament day?

The winner of the tournament was Brian McClung of Rainelle, WV. McClung was able to put together an impressive four bass limit of 75.5”! McClung recalled that “when I saw muddy water, I got excited that I could power fish with a spinnerbait.”

Brian then proceeded to put together a healthy limit with the spinnerbait, including a 19” and two 17” largemouth. McClung then noticed bass starting to pull up shallow in the afternoon, so he proceeded to start bed fishing. He even shared his “juice” – that the fish on beds were eating a Netbait drifter minnow. This was so successful for him that he was able to catch a couple more 19” class fish to put the final touches on his tournament winning bag. He was also the door prize winner of a brand-new Wilderness Systems Recon kayak which he generously elected to have given away to someone else at the next MSKA event in Jackson County on May 13, 2023.

Greg King of Charleston, WV was able to secure second place as well as the big bass award with a 22” giant! King recalls that he left his house at 1:00 am in order to be able to make the drive and hike to his pond before the 6:00 am lines in time. All in all, the fishing went well for King despite an early morning with trees and animals in the road, as well as forgetting his crankbait box. King credits most of his fish to pitching a classic – the wacky rigged senko. 

In third place was a known AEP Recreation Lands local angler, Matt Davis with 68.5”. 

Matt says the key to success when fishing the AEP Recreation Lands is “work, effort, and sweat. Get off the beaten path, and your odds having a good day fishing go off the charts”. 

This plan worked for Davis as he “took to the woods to a pair of secluded ponds” and was able to catch several 17” class fish on a “Ghost Baby Bluegill Jackhammer Chatterbait paired with a Yamamoto Zako in Rainbow Shad color and a white spinnerbait.”

In fourth place was Jeremiah Whitlow of Greenbrier County, WV with 67.50”. 

Jeremiah shares that he “always looks forward to the AEP tournament because of the stealth required to do well, it suits my style of finesse fishing.” 

Jeremiah recalled starting the day by “hiking through muddy muck” to a pond where he caught a respectable 4 bass limit anchored by a 17” class fish. Disappointed by the seemingly endless amount of small fish, he relocated to a new pond where he was able to catch another 17” class fish and a healthy 19.5” to anchor his limit.

In fifth place was Phillip Backus of Lizemores, WV with 66.75”. Phillip’s adventure started in a clear pond where after “three laps over four hours produced 25.11” with no signs of beds or big fish” he decided to move to some smaller ponds. His move was a success as he able to find two 18” class fish. Phillip shared that he caught all his fish by “targeting the incoming and outgoing water flow with a spinnerbait.”

The next kayak bass fishing tournaments in WV are:

-Jackson County Lakes with WVKA (West Virginia Kayak Anglers)

-Jackson County Lakes with MSKA (Mountain State Kayak Anglers)