If you are a tournament kayak angler, you have probably heard of the Kayak Anglers Tournament Series. And for Central Texas paddlers, K.A.T.S. is a staple for any tournament angler.
But starting January 2017, there is another kayak trail for competitive anglers.
A local Austin angler, Xander Cremente, recently created a newtournament series for Central Texas kayakers.
The Texas Kayak Trail will kick off January 14 for its first event at Fayette Lake.
I had some time to interview Xander about the new kayak trail around Central Texas.
Q: Have you been a tournament director for another tail?
A: I partnered with Chris Fowler to run the first ever five-man team kayak tournament (Team Toad Slam). This is my first full-blown trail.
Q: How did you come up with the Texas Kayak Trail? Why?
A: I felt a need myself to fish another trail. I spoke with a few anglers in the area and I had multiple people tell me about how they wish there was another trail. I also wanted to create a fun tournament trail in order to try and bring this amazing kayak community here in Central Texas together. When I first started fishing, a lot of people were all about trying to help out the new guy. I’m trying to bring that back. I hope that some of the seasoned veterans will talk with the rookies that decide to participate.
Q: What is different from this trail compared to others?
A: The transparent operation, high payout and all in our backyard in Central Texas. The best part is this is a trail ran by a tournament angler for tournament anglers. I have an idea what the people want and I will bring that to the table. There isn’t a corporate agenda, so I can spend time to make sure anglers are well taken care of.
Q: Why did you pick the lakes on the schedule?
A: I chose Belton Lake, Lake Travis and Lake LBJ because those are lakes that have not been regularly fished in any of the other trails in the past, or currently. Lake Travis has been showing up more recently, but not as much as other lakes. I chose Fayette Lake and Lake Bastrop because they are both great power plant lakes for the first two cold weather tournaments of the year. Also, both lakes put up good numbers of fish this time of year. And you can’t forget to put Lady Bird Lake (Town Lake) in a trail as that is probably the most exciting lake we have in this area. I wanted to make sure most people didn’t have to drive more than an hour and a half for a tournament.
Q: What has been the feedback so far?
A: The feedback has absolutely blown me away. It has grown much bigger than I could have imagined. I have people almost every day telling me how excited they are to fish the trail.
Q: What is your goal for the trail?
A: The main goal is to make as many anglers as happy as possible by providing a fun and exciting trail. I have something up my sleeve for the following year, so if it works the first year it will be a game changer.
For more information about the Texas Kayak Trail and the entire 2017 tournament schedule, you can check out its page on Facebook.