The 2024 Coastal Kayak Clash was packed with action and ended with a three-peat!
Kayak fishing represents a huge segment of the angling market, both along the East Coast and around the world. For those who don’t know about the Coastal Kayak Clash (CKC), this amazing event is a year-long, multi-species fishing tournament for the saltwater kayak angler. Our slate of hardcore yakkers go toe-to-toe for seven months straight, vying 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 of this season-long angling octathalon 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 fish are tallied in inches instead of pounds, making it possible to release any or all fish, if the angler wishes or if 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 blackfish category with a 24-incher and a competitor knocks you down to second with a 24.25-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 ultimate goal of finishing the season with the highest cumulative score, we also hand out prizes for other achievements like ‘Largest of Species’ and ‘Fish of the Month’. ‘Fish of the Month’ winners will get the ‘Ultimate Yo-Zuri Prize Pack’ which includes 6 hand-selected Yo-Zuri lures and a spool of their Super Fluoro. The eight ‘Largest of Species’ winners will net a brand new reel from Daiwa, the hardtail, striper and bluefish winners will win BGMQ4000 spinning reel and the porgy, blackfish, sea bass and fluke winners will take home a Coastal TW200 casting reel. It’s easy to see that there is a lot going on all season long and the competition really mounts as the season progresses.
Driving The Competition
In this year’s Coastal Kayak Clash there were three main winning positions; third place takes home $500, no one will complain about a little extra ‘green’ after the holidays! The second place winner earns a fishfinder at the top of the class, the Humminbird Helix 7 CHIRP Mega SI+ GPS G4N is the crème de la crème when it comes to onboard electronics, 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. The big prize this year was put up by YakAttack, an Old Town Sportsman PDL 120 kayak, fully rigged with a full YakAttack overhaul, including BlackPak storage locker, Omega rod holders, a Tow-N-Stow Bar Cart and so much more. The entire package is worth well over $3500, and the cumulative total for all prizes awarded exceeds $7000!
Oser Overload!
If you’ve been following the CKC throughout its existence, than you are undoubtedly familiar with the name Justin Oser. If you’re not, then let me just give you the big stats off the back of his trading card; in 2020, Oser took third place in the CKC, in 2021 and 2022 he won the event and, after an off-year (2023) when we didn’t run the CKC, Oser has come roaring back to win it for a third time!
In 2024 Oser employed the same ‘take no prisoners’ approach that he had in the past, hitting the first official leaderboard with two first-place fish, a 14.5-inch porgy and a 21.75-inch tog—both of those fish would be upgraded later to cement his lead in both categories. By the first week of June, Oser had added a third category-leading fish, a 20-inch black sea bass. But old foe Bob Wagner was creeping up on him, netting a 48.5-inch striper and a 37-inch bluefish, the two embattled warriors stood at the top of the board, Oser with 9 points and Wagner with 6.
| MAPPING VICTORY |
And if you’re wondering how he does it, Justin even gave us a road map in his article entitled, Tournament Tactics: How I Won The CKC in our April 2022 edition. In that article he details his game plan, a simple arsenal of proven lures and techniques and even talks about some of the mistakes he’s made during his rise to CKC supremacy. Type in the following link to read the article on our website. |
As we moved into the Fourth of July Holiday weekend, things got tight at the top. Bob Wagner pulled a heroic move, landing a 31-inch fluke that would lead the flatfish category for the entire event. This put he and Oser, (thanks to Justin’s porgy upgrade to 17.5 inches), into a virtual tie, but as the tiebreaker rules state, the angler with the largest qualifying fish will earn the higher seed. This is why it’s smart to try and get a big striper on the board, no other qualifying species will grow to a greater length! Ever the fierce competitor, going into August, Oser shifted into overdrive and put up a 17.5-inch bonito to take second place in the hardtail category, pushing him back into the lead with 11 points. At the same time, we saw Todd Treonze emerging as a threat, putting up a 47-inch striper for third place, a 16.5-inch porgy also for third and a 19-inch bonito for first place in the hardtail division, he now held third place with 5 points.
Going into the fall run, things were setting up for an exciting finish, with three hungry competitors at the top of the board and some other dedicated anglers like Tom Houde Gregory Vergaray, Mark Kinsey and Mike Radziszewski, sitting just outside the money and threatening to make a run. One standout fish from mid-August was Todd Treonze’s massive 49-inch striper, another key catch was Brian Bollerman’s 22-inch sea bass, which knocked a point off of Oser’s leading score. September came on with hardtail hopefuls plying the waters of Nantucket Sound in Massachusetts. A strange albie season it was, but a few good fish came out of it. Bob Wagner threw a good one on the board at 25 inches, and one day later, Oser bested it at 29.25!
By the beginning of October, Treonze was making a hard run for the top, unseating Oser from the blackfish lead with a 22.5-incher, whittling Oser’s score to 9 and boosting his own to 7! Oser and Wagner were again tied, but that tiebreaker striped bass pushed Wagner back into the lead! That whole scenario only lasted a few weeks, as the tog bite lit up across the region, bigger fish bombed the category and Oser struck again, his 25.5-incher would carry the category for good. Justin Oser was back in sole possession of the lead with 10 points, Bob Wagner was nipping at his heels in second place with 9 points and, after a valiant effort, Todd Treonze secured third place with 4 points. And that’s how it would remain, the month of November brought a lot of wind and unsettled seas, leading to very few entries.
And as we crossed into December, Oser, for the third year running, took home the Grand Prize! It’s worth noting that there was a four-way tie for third place with Todd Treonze, Mark Kinsey, Mark Carlson and Greg Vergaray all finishing with 4 points, but it was that monster striper that saved the spot for Treonze. What an exciting finish for third place!
Three’s Company, Too
With the ink still wet on his third CKC win, I took a moment to talk with Justin and discuss his unconscious streak of wins. Most readers don’t know that Justin and his wife welcomed a baby girl into the world last year and I asked him how that changed his approach. “Everyone says having a baby will change your life, but man did I underestimate that! The amount of trips I was able to fish this year was cut in half due to schedule conflicts and running errands. I had to fish every opportunity that came up. I have to give an honorable mention to my wife, Karen, for her support this year. I wouldn’t have fished at all without her! With limited days where I could fish, I had to be extremely focused on which species to target day to day. I think this focus was my key to victory.”
On the subject if the fierceness of the competition in the 2024 CKC he said, “This season’s leaderboard seemed like it changed every week. Bob and Todd kept at it all season. Bob is a proven competitor! He has been a leaderboard staple in the CKC for all four years of the tournament. That is a hell of an achievement! Consistency in a tournament like this is not easy and speaks volumes for the type of fisherman that he is. Bob put up a 40-plus pound class striper and a 10-plus pound class fluke on a kayak! Those are monster fish!”
“I have met Todd personally,” he added, “and he’s a great guy! I also follow him on social media and he fishes a lot. I am not surprised Todd did so well in the tournament this year. His 49-inch bass would be a lifetime achievement to most guys fishing from a boat, its major milestone for a kayak fisherman. Todd knows the area he fishes very well and I was definitely waiting for him to put up a monster tog as a spoiler! He knows how to catch them.”
Tough Species
On the subject of toughest species in 2024 he said, “I am going to answer this in two ways, the toughest fish for me and the toughest fish overall. I have been fortunate to be able to net the top sea bass in the last two CKCs, but this year my sea bass spots just weren’t what they usually are. Even the numbers of small fish were down. I was lucky to catch one good one that went 21.25 inches and barely hung on for third place. I have to give recognition to Mark Carlson who has caught the second place sea bass three years in a row, that’s a cool achievement that requires dedication and skill.
Hardtails were the toughest fish of the season overall and I bet most other competitors would agree. While we had an incredible run of bonito, the albies were scarce. I was lucky to get in on a short-lived bite on Cape Cod that produced two big albies, measuring 29 and 29.25 inches. But my personal numbers were way down as far as landings and opportunities. If you weren’t fishing in the right area the day they moved through, you just weren’t catching albies this year.
Veteran Advice
We wrapped up the interview with some advice for kayak anglers that might be considering joining the Clash in the future, “My advice for anyone trying to win the CKC, is just get out and fish. A short trip is all you need to catch a fish that can make or break the tourney. This season was plagued with wind, limiting the time one could safely fish in some of the choice spots where these fish live. If you see a weather window when you have time to fish, put those house chores to the side and fish. You can always run errands when the weather is not suitable for being on the water. I fished far fewer trips this year than usual, which were also shorter in duration than I would have liked, but I knew that I had to get out there when I could, otherwise I wouldn’t fish at all. Also don’t be intimidated by process of entering a fish. Entering is easy with minimal investment of money and time. Most fish can be entered with a bump board, CKC Tag and cell phone. You never know when you may catch that fish the wins you a great prize package!”
