by Casey Brunning of F’in Crazy Kayak Team
The third weekend in May was a special weekend for south Louisiana in that it was the opening event for the IFA Kayak Fishing Tour, presented by Hobie. The event started the evening of May 18th with a captains meeting in Empire at Delta Marina and ended the evening of the 20th by paying out 13 places along with largest speckled trout and largest red fish, with cash awards ranging from $1,700 to $100.
This year there was a record breaking attendance for the tour with 67 participants and anglers traveling from as far away as south Texas and Florida. Anglers fished as far as the Grand Isle and some were rumored to have fished the panhandle of Florida, while others chose to launch right out of Delta Marina.
This was my first IFA Tour event to take part in and I was impressed by the class and character of the anglers present. It wasn’t your usual “everything is a secret” atmosphere but more like a giant family reunion, where no one remembers your name, but is real quick to offer a handshake and some advice. In years past, I have avoided the larger, more commercialized events in large part due to intimidation of not wanting to embarrass myself, but this IFA Tour is different.
While most tournaments are the heaviest weight, the IFA Kayak Tour is a Catch, Photo, Release (CPR) format where anglers must photograph their catch (1 spec & 1 red) on a standardized measuring board with a specially made IFA Token. Anglers must submit their time stamped photo cards to the board at “weigh in” to be reviewed and results are based on a total aggregate length.
The results of the tour were scattered across the southeast with John Kay(TX) taking 1st overall and 1st largest redfish, Steve Neece(LA) 2nd, Casey Brunning(LA) 3rd, and Marty Mood(FL) largest Trout. If you fish out of a kayak and have ever even considered entering a kayak tournament, you need to enter the next event the IFA will be hosting in Louisiana, located at the Bridge Side Marina in Grand Isle on August 25th. For more information regarding the IFA Tour Series, please visit http://www.ifatours.com
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