The Coastal Kayak Clash Conclusion: A New Winner is Crowned!
The kayak fishing world continues to expand, and as it blossoms we’re seeing, more and more top end anglers emerging every year. For those who don’t know what the Coastal Kayak Clash (CKC) is, it’s a season-long, multi-species fishing tournament for the saltwater kayak angler.
Hardcore yakkers from all over the Northeast coast go head-to-head for seven months straight, battling for angling supremacy in eight species categories; weakfish, bluefish, fluke (summer flounder), black sea bass, porgy, striped bass, hardtails (false albacore & bonito) and blackfish, there are three ‘point positions’ in each species category, first place earns three points, second gets two and third earns one. The ultimate goal is to gather as many points as possible to amass a winning score.
The thing that differentiates the CKC from the Dream Boat Challenge, other than the obvious kayak requirement, is that the scores are tallied in inches rather than pounds, making it possible to release any or all fish, if the angler wishes (or regulations dictate). The other thing that makes both of our tournaments unique is that there are a set number of positions in each category, so competitors can lose and gain points freely throughout the duration of the event. If you’re in first place in the hardtail category with a 28-incher and a competitor knocks you down to second with a 28.25-incher, you will lose a point! Needless to say, these point swings can have major implications on the overall scoreboard and that facet of the game can be a big part of a winning strategy.
In addition to the grand-prize goal of finishing the season with the highest score, there is another way to take home some loot, the ‘Largest of Species’ prizes go to each category leader along with the bragging rights! This year’s largest of species winners will take home the ‘Ultimate Yo-Zuri Prize Pack’ which includes 6 hand-selected Yo-Zuri lures a spool of their Super Fluoro and a Yo-Zuri Striped Bass Performance Shirt!
You can understand why so many anglers get fired up for the Clash – great prizes and lots of motivation to fish!
Driving the Competition
In the 2025 CKC we had three main winning positions; our third place winner will take home $300 cash! Who wouldn’t want a little extra folding green after the holidays? Our second place winner, Rotha Nong will bolt a new top-tier fishfinder onto his yak, the Humminbird Helix 7 CHIRP Mega SI+ GPS G4N featuring sidescan and downscan imaging, GPS mapping and split-screen capabilities, it will add a whole new level of punch to any rigged-out yak.
Thanks to our top sponsor, YakAttack, our first place angler, Dustin Stevens will pedal home in a fully-rigged and tricked out Hobie Mirage Lynx. This yak has been outfitted with all of the YakAttack accessories you could ever want, look at this list! A TowNStow Bar Cart Kayak Cart; Yak Attack BlackPak Pro Kayak Fishing Crate (with the Shortstack upgrade), a fully loaded TracPak Combo Kit, Two Boxes, Track Mount, Handle, and 3 Trays, the Yak Attack DoubleHeader with Dual RotoGrip Paddle Holders, their Omega Pro Rod Holder with LockNLoad Track Mounting Base; Yak Attack AR Tube and the LockNLoad base with no extension.
We have a lot of anglers that sign up for the Clash, but there is an expanding core of contestants that really drive the competitive atmosphere, and they hail from all over the coast. Keep your eyes on familiar names like Bob Wagner, Todd Treonze, Mike Radziszewski, Tom Houde, Al Green and of course, perennial winner Justin Oser. But also be aware of up-and-comers like Rotha Nong, David Do, David Kim and Eddie Roman.
It feels like the momentum of the CKC is far from reaching its pinnacle. The event is growing rapidly!
Playing The Game
After several years of running this event, it’s become apparent that certain months tend to produce category leaders for specific species, for instance, the biggest weakfish tend to be caught in May and we often see one or two other good ones in September, as well. Scup seem to bite well in May and June, and they are a key species for a winning score, because not everyone that competes will target them, so if you can get high-teen-inch porgy, those points are likely to remain on the board ‘til the end.
Another strategic move that can keep you on the positive side of the tiebreaker, (ties are broken by giving the higher seeding to the angler with the largest fish in his or her score), is to put a lot of effort into logging a big striped bass. The downside of that strategy is that the top three has routinely consisted of stripers between 47 and nearly 50 inches, so you really have to nail a unicorn to feel like you’re safely in the lead. One other species that can cement a long stay at the top is a big fluke, shoot for 24 inches or larger, this year’s leader was a massive 30-incher landed by third place finisher, Eddie Roman.
If you spend your spring and summer nailing down top three finishes in striped bass, scup, weakfish and fluke, you can switch your focus when the fall arrives. Hardtails are a cardiovascular workout in the kayak that most yakkers find irresistible; hit one north of 24 inches and you might hold that spot for good. The great equalizer is always blackfish. Once you’re on the board for hardtails, focus on tog and hope that a knothead sea bass might hop on your crab for a bonus point-scorer that could be the difference in your big win!
The New Sheriff
If you’ve followed the CKC for any number of years, you are used to seeing a different name at the top of the leaderboard; Justin Oser. It wasn’t for a lack of effort on Justin’s part, 2025 just wasn’t his year and 2026 looks to be set up for a great battle, with Justin in the mix with all of our other competitors, and our 2025 winner, Dustin Stevens. Dustin is the man behind RI Kayak Fishing Adventures and is a very good guy (and angler). I caught up with Dustin after the win was made official and asked him a few questions about his first season going hard in the CKC.
What inspired you to enter the Coastal Kayak Clash in 2025? “Over the years I’ve had friends in the tournament that always talked about trying to catch certain species to enter for the tourney, and I always thought that I was cool. Especially since it’s a multi-species tournament which is what I consider myself as an angler. Because friends have talked about the tournament I’ve checked out the final leaderboard over the years and felt that I could compete. I really enjoy the variety of the season as species come and go. In 2024 I actually submitted a single entry in mid-October in an effort to win the tog category, that was my first taste and, in 2025, I went all in!”
You were at or near the top for pretty much the entire season, what was your strategy? “To be honest, the real strategy for me was making sure I had tournament tags on me at all times. Big ‘thank you’ goes to my wife for printing me a bunch! I spend a decent amount of time on the water and usually do pretty well across multiple species so making sure that I could submit entries was the main point of emphasis this year. As mentioned above, I really love fishing for everything, and based on the previous year’s standings I had a good idea of what a CKC-worthy catch was and when it was time to pull out the measuring board. So that also factored into my strategy, I guess, doing a little research to gauge the entry-worthy sizes for each species.”
What was your toughest qualifying fish in 2025? “The toughest species was the bluefish because I haven’t been seeing the consistent number of big bluefish the past two years. Usually in spring and fall the 30-plus inchers are around in great numbers but I haven’t seen a lot of that, recently. The day that the bluefish outnumbered the stripers was the day to upsize my offering and go for the big one.”
After leading for much of the summer you fell to second place in the fall, can you talk about how you pulled off the late-inning heroics to seize the win? “Having a big lead in the summer was pretty cool just going through the motions of the season. The problem with having a lead is, in most situations, there is nowhere to go but down! I told a buddy that, if I was somewhere within striking distance as it approached prime tog season, that I felt good about my chances. The past three seasons I’ve been fortunate to land at least one double-digit tog from the kayak and usually those are 25-plus inches.”
Dustin continued, “As the tournament headed into its final weeks, I felt that not being on the board for my favorite species (tog) and another very popular species in October/November, black sea bass, actually worked to my advantage because now there was nowhere to go but up! I had a few decent fish earlier in November, but I really wanted to win that tog category. Being that my double-digit streak was somewhat in jeopardy it pushed me to try extra hard to get that fish and with some focused effort, I landed the 26-incher. Knowing that I’d be traveling for the last week of the tournament and already feeling good about my blackfish, I decided to keep fishing. I got on a solid black sea bass bite and my mindset was ‘let’s get on the board for black sea bass, too, and put some pretty good space between me and second place’. In the end it all worked out!”
I always ask the latest winner to give a piece of advice to hopeful future competitors, what’s yours? “The best advice that I could give an aspiring CKC competitor is to embrace all species that we have to offer and fish as much as possible. Also to keep those tournament tags and a measuring board on you at all times, a big fish can happen at any time!”
Kayakers, keep your eyes on our website and here in The Fisherman Magazine for details on the 2026 Coastal Kayak Clash, a competition that’s growing fast and that will pit your against some of the best multi-species anglers on the coast! Who knows, next season it could be you that sits for this interview and takes home the big prize!
So Many Winners!
Here is a list of our 2025 winners.
Top 3:
- Dustin Stevens 11 points
- Rotha Nong 5 points
- Eddie Roman 4 points
Largest of Species:
Weakfish: Frank Ceci 24.75”
Porgy/Scup: Todd Treonze 17.25”
Bluefish: Larry Newman 34.75”
Fluke: Eddie Roman 30.00”
Hardtails: Bob Wagner 28.00”
Black Sea Bass: David Do 21.50”
Blackfish: Dustin Stevens 26.00”
Striped Bass: Rotha Nong 49.75″
