THE “CKC” IS BACK!

COASTAL KAYAK CLASH RETURNS FOR ‘24

 

After a 1-year hiatus, The Fisherman Magazine’s Coastal Kayak Clash is back again in 2024, officially kicking off at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, May 1 and running through 11:59 p.m. on November 30.

This “kayak only” tournament is open only to subscribers of The Fisherman, and is based on a points system that’s quite similar to the other “members only” contest we’ve run for decades called the Dream Boat Fishing Challenge.

However, the big difference between the two season-long subscriber tournaments is that the Coastal Kayak Clash (what we often refer to as the ‘CKC’ for short) doesn’t require a weigh-in, but instead is based on the length of your fish. Therefore catch and release is not only possible but encouraged and it allows us to add jumbo stripers to the game.

HOW & WHAT TO WIN

All totaled, there are eight species of fish for kayakers looking to collect enough points to win big this season, including blackfish, bluefish, fluke, porgy, black sea bass, weakfish, hardtail species like false albacore and bonito, and of course the mighty striper.  Points are awarded for each of the top three positions in each species category, with the longest of any species getting 3 points, second place getting 2 points and the third place finisher getting 1 point.

At the conclusion of the CKC, winners will be determined by tallying entries submitted for these eight species, with the kayak angler earning the most points across all categories winning first place and our grand prize, an Old Town Sportsman PDLI 120 fully outfitted by YakAttack and worth over $3,500.

The second-leading points scorer in 2024 will win a Helix 7 CHIRP MEGA SI GPS G4N from Humminbird valued at $949.99, while our third place finisher will get $500 in cash.  Plus, we are also awarding prizes for the eight largest of species winners, which includes $200 in cash along with an assortment of Yo-Zuri lures, Yo-Zuri fluoro and Yo-Zuri Striped Bass performance shirt, a prize valued at over $270.

All totaled, the cumulative value of all prizes in the ’24 CKC is $7,179.43.

HOW TO ENTER

Must Subscribe to The Fisherman to Be Eligible – https://www.thefisherman.com/subscribe/

Must Register Prior to Participating

Click Here https://TheFishermanWordSearch.formstack.com/forms/2024_coastal_kayak_clash_copy

First things first, you have to be a subscriber to one of our three regional editions of The Fisherman to qualify, those are New England, Long Island and Metro New York, or New Jersey, Delaware Bay.  This is important to remember because subscribers aged 18 years and older who reside in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Rhode Island are all competing against one another for this awesome spread of CKC prizes.  You can take your kayak on road games and fish in other state waters, but you have to be a subscriber in good standing from one of the aforementioned states to qualify.

If you’re not currently an active, paid subscriber to The Fisherman, visit our website at thefisherman.com and get it done; to qualify in the CKC the contestant must be a subscriber of The Fisherman a minimum of one calendar day prior to the date the fish was caught. Any fish caught and entered in the CKC must be caught by the subscriber, in a sporting manner, on a kayak (electric motors are permissible, however gas-powered motors are not), or on a stand up paddleboard, with a rod and reel only, and only within one of the eligible U.S. states as mentioned above.

Eligible species must be photographed next to a ruler clearly showing the complete and unobstructed length of the fish alongside a standard ruler with a free-standing rigid, taped to your paddle or a bump board measuring device being acceptable. A bent or curved fish length by way of a flexible sewing-type ruler/measuring tape is not a valid entry. The entire ruler must be visible. Included in the photo must be an official Coastal Kayak Clash tournament tag which can be downloaded at thefisherman.com as of May 1.

Keep in mind that the tag must be visible and legible in the photograph. Additionally, it must be clear that the fish was landed from a kayak, in other words, some part of your kayak or SUP must be visible in a qualifying photo. When measuring the length of the fish, the nose of the fish should begin at the 0” mark and the tip of the non-pinched tail of the fish denotes the length. Measurements are to be made to the nearest quarter-inch. This means that if the measurement falls short of the nearest 1/8-inch mark then the length is rounded down, and if the length exceeds the nearest 1/8-inch mark then the total length is rounded up (tournament judges will have the final say on a given fish’s length.)

Photos may be taken with a camera phone or standard digital camera, and should include the metadata within the image file that includes the date the image was taken. The photo file name should be the same as the contestant’s full name. Email the digital photo, your full name, address, phone number, type of fish, length of fish, state fish was caught in, and date/time that eligible species of fish was caught, within 10 days of the catch to be eligible for scoring to [email protected].

GRAND PRIZE

The top prize winner in the 2024 Coastal Kayak Clash presented by The Fisherman and sponsored by our good friends at YakAttack will win the following (MSRP in parenthesis).

Old Town Sportsman PDL 120 Ember 

YakAttack Prize Bundle

YakAttack TowNStow Bar Cart Kayak Cart ($250)

YakAttack BlackPak Pro Kayak Fishing Crate – 13″ x 16″ ($150)

YakAttack 13×16 ShortStak Upgrade Kit for BlackPak Pro, Black ($60)

YakAttack Fully Loaded TracPak Combo Kit, Two Boxes, Track Mount, Handle, and 3 Trays ($70)

YakAttack DoubleHeader with Dual RotoGrip Paddle Holders ($35)

YakAttack Omega Pro Rod Holder with LockNLoad Track Mounting Base ($40)

YakAttack AR Tube, LockNLoad base with No Extension ($42).

Total manufacturers’ suggested retail price, $3,546

Second prize winner in 2024 will received a

Humminbird HELIX 7 CHIRP MEGA SI GPS G4N unit

3rd prize winner will receive $500 in cash.

 

Largest of Species Prises

The Coastal Kayak Clash contestant that finishes with the largest of eight different species will win a Daiwa reel (BGMQ4000 valued at $209.99 for weakfish, hardtail, striper and bluefish; or Coastal TW200 casting reel valued at $249.99 for porgy, blackfish, sea bass and fluke), along with a 6-1/2-inch Yo-Zuri Mag Darter ($17.99), a Yo-Zuri Mag Popper ($17.99), a 5-inch Yo-Zuri 3D Inshore TopKnock Pencil ($11.99), a 3-1/2-inch Yo-Zuri 3D Inshore Popper ($9.99), a 4-3/4-inch Yo-Zuri 3D Inshore Popper ($11.99), and a 5-1/4-inch Yo-Zuri Hydro Monster Shot ($16.99), along with a 100-yard spool of 40-pound Yo-Zuri SuperFluoro and an XL Yo-Zuri Striped Bass performance shirt (total MSRP, $272.93).