Conesus Lake NYKBF Tournament Recap

This past Saturday, I competed in the first tournament of the year through NYKBF (New York Kayak Bass Fishing). This proved to be one of the most bizarre tournaments I’ve ever fished, and it culminated in a mediocre finish. For some background, due to the geography of Conesus Lake, when wind is blowing directly out of the north or south at more than 10 mph, wave conditions get very rough, even for a larger boat. The forecast prior to this tournament was calling for a south wind of 9 mph at launch, working up to 19 mph sustained with gusts over 40 by noon. Despite this, the tournament was not cancelled. 

Knowing that by 9 am, most of the lake would be unfishable due to wind, I chose a starting spot where I could easily tuck into a cove to get out of the wind should it get too bad. Within the first five minutes of the tournament, I caught a 19.5” largemouth on a 6” swimbait, which was as good a start as I could have asked for. However, wind became an issue after just 30 minutes of fishing. I tucked back into a cove (along with 5-10 other fishermen) and did not get a bite in the next 45 minutes. By this point, the wind was becoming dangerous, so I knew I had to get back to my launch area, which involved crossing the lake. This paddle was dangerous, and by the time I reached the other side, I knew I could not safely go back out into that part of the lake. I drove to the southern shore, where fishing was worse, but conditions were fishable. I did not get a bite in my first 30 minutes, at which point I got a call from a friend in the tournament saying he had flipped his kayak. This marked the end of my tournament, as by the time I got back to check on him, most anglers were leaving the water due to safety concerns. Not long after, the tournament ended 4 hours earlier than originally scheduled.

My total time spent fishing in this tournament was under two hours. Despite that, my one fish was enough to finish 27th out of 55, meaning I was in the top half of the field (albeit barely). 19 of the anglers in this tournament did not catch a single fish. Considering several anglers flipped their kayaks in this tournament due to wind (one required an EMS rescue boat), making it back home in one piece and finishing middle-of-the-pack is acceptable in my eyes. The next NYKBF tournament is on May 2nd on our home lake, Onondaga, so that’s where my focus will lie for the next couple weeks.

Erich Thompson , ESF Bass team president