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We’ve all heard the saying. “March comes in like a lion, and out like a lamb.” Well, the anglers who competed in KAMO’s inaugural event, are still waiting for that lion to hit the road. It came in and never left. A total of 54 anglers signed up for the KAMO March online tournament. All public waters in the state of Missouri were eligible. All an angler had to do to win was catch the five biggest bass, take a picture of them on an approved measuring device, and then let them happily swim away. Sounds simple, right? Not even close! The weather was a huge factor throughout the state. March gave us a few sunny days, but we also had plenty of rain, a bit of snow, sleet, and incredibly high winds. I myself made a last day effort to improve my standings while fishing in wind gusts in the 30-mph range. If you haven’t been in an 80-pound plastic boat when the wind is pushing close to tropical storm levels, then you haven’t experienced extreme kayak fishing. In every aspect, the inaugural tournament of Missouri’s fastest growing kayak fishing club was a grind, but the anglers persevered and made the event one to remember. With 440 fish having been submitted, the quality of the fish that were judged was incredible. Winner Jordan Isaacs put up an impressive 96.25”. That is an average size of 19.25”.  Considering the state of Missouri recognizes anglers in their Master Angler program for catching a 22” largemouth bass, Jordan’s numbers are astonishing. There are a lot of quality bass in Missouri and the submissions by the KAMO anglers just help to prove this fact. Let’s hope everyone can continue this trend throughout the year. It isn’t unreasonable to think that some future events may take over 100” to win. Gina Ueke took second place with 94”. Gina came on strong and never gave up.  Those of us who fished events with her last year, knew that she was going to be a force to contend with, and with an average size of just shy of 18”, Gina has shown that she knows how to find the big bass. Third place in the event went to Jay Arnold of Galena, MO.  Jay was just ¾” shy of matching Gina’s total. This is a testament to how intense the competition was and shows how it’s never safe to crown a winner until the last cast is thrown. Rounding out the top ten….. 4th Jerrad Saffle - 92.75" - $165.00 5th Tommy Probst - 92.50 - $129.00 6th Jeremy Miller - 91.25 - $110.00 7th Jacob Nunn - 87.75 - $75.00 prize pack from Sheangler Custom Baits and Yak Attack 8th Travis Ueke - 85.00 - $65.00 prize pack from Everharts and FishingSir 9th Billy Reynolds - 84.75 - $50.00 prize pack from Liv and Jen's Bait Bucket 10th Steve Sisson - 84.00 - $45.00 prize pack from Flat Creek Resort and Grill and Yak Attack Steve Sisson also earned the big bass award with a 22.25”.  In a surprise twist, the awesome KAMO sponsors stepped up and ensured that everyone in the top ten was awarded a prize for their accomplishments including the winner of the "Mean Green" drawing. Cody Pender was the winner and received a $50.00 Gift card from OMTC!! Well, that's it for March. We would like to give a BIG KAMO THANK YOU to all those who participated and to our amazing sponsors. We could not do this without you. Next stop, Tablerock Lake, Saturday April 21st as KAMO host it's first onsite event. Will Mother Nature cooperate only time will tell. You know what they say about April, "April Showers" Tight Lines everyone!  Credits:
Article: Billy Reynolds, www.billyreynoldsfishing.com Photos: Mel Isaacs, www.sheanglercustoms.com
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