
YAK Ohio
March 1 - October 5 , 2019
Presented by:
Registration
To sign up and pay for this event go HERE.
Registration is open from now until May 24th at 11:59PM.
Any pictures/submissions that are taken/caught prior to payment will be DQ'd.
Cost
$10
The $10 entry fee includes:
*$5 Tourney X fee
*$5 goes back to top finishing anglers.
Guaranteed Minimum Payout Schedule & Prizes
50 anglers - $850 Cash & Prizes ($250 entry fee's + $600 minimum sponsor product)
75 anglers - $975 Cash & Prizes ($375 entry fee's + $600 minimum sponsor product)
100 anglers - $1,100 Cash & Prizes ($500 entry fee's + $600 minimum sponsor product)
You can see the full payout schedule HERE.
Eligibility
To be eligible for YAK Ohio payouts and prizes you MUST ATTEND AT MINIMUM ONE IN PERSON EVENT.
Identifier
Identifiers can be printed off HERE. The code for the identifier is shown in the picture below:
The identifier with the correct code must be clearly shown in every fish submission.
2019 Eligible Species
1. Largemouth Bass (Enter as 'Bass' in Tourney X)
2. Smallmouth Bass (Enter as 'SM Bass' in Tourney X)
3. Catfish - all species
4. Pike
5. Muskie
6. Gar (Enter as Longnose Gar in Tourney X)
7. Crappie
8. Walleye/Saugeye (Enter as Walleye in Tourney X)
9. Striped/Hybrid/White Bass (Enter as Striper & Hybrids in Tourney X)
10. Carp/Buffalo/Drum (Enter as Carp in Tourney X)
11. Trout (Enter as 'Trout (Fresh)' in Tourney X)
12. Steelhead
13. Sunfish/Bluegill (Enter as 'Bluegill' in Tourney X)
14. Rock Bass (Enter as 'Redeye Bass' in Tourney X)
15. Perch
Eligible Fishing Waters
BE SURE TO READ AND UNDERSTAND ELIGIBLE WATER!
Any questions regarding YAK Ohio should be directed to bkftyakohio@gmail.com
*At its most basic definition, eligible water is anything in Ohio that is accessible to everyone. Accessible means it is legal, open to everyone, and
does not require special permission that isn't available to everyone.
Eligible water includes anything owned by the government (park system, city, township, county, state, federal, ODNR) where fishing is permitted. This also includes Ohio waterways designated as rivers or creeks.
*Privately owned water is eligible under certain circumstances. It must be accessible by anyone without special permissions, deals, agreements, or backdoor handshakes from the owner. Anyone should have access to fish the body of water.
*Public and Private water that require permits are eligible if....
>The permit can be obtained by all.
>The permit can be obtained between March 1, 2019 and October 1, 2019.
>Documentation is shown online on how the permit can be obtained.
>Examples of bodies of water that fall into this category include Lake
Katharine & AEP.
*All laws, rules, and regulations must be followed while fishing the body of water. For example, if a body of water allows fishing only during daylight hours then any fish caught outside of that period would not be eligible and cause for immediate disqualification.
Examples:
*AEP is privately owned. Everyone can obtain a permit by going to their website and printing one off. AEP is eligible.
*The Wilds is privately owned. It takes special permissions to fish their water. Not everyone can obtain this permission. The Wilds is not eligible.
*Private lakes where you must be a property owner or a friend of a property owner, etc is not eligible because if you don't 'know somebody' you are not able to access them. Examples of lakes that fall into this category include Lake Wynoka, Shawnee Lake, Lake Lakengren, Lake Lorelei, etc.

Prizes
$430 Cash + $600 minimum Sponsor Product to be raffled off to the top 3 of each Yak Ohio Place.
Sponsor Products Include:
Whitewater Warehouse items, Fireball Outdoors lures, Yak Attack products, HooRags, and more.
Raffle and Award Ceremony to be held at the measure in of THE CLASSIC on October 19, 2019 at the Buckeye Lake Brewery in Columbus., Ohio. Raffle items will be kept for anglers who cannot make this event.
Raffle Rules
We will begin the raffle with the first-place anglers. Everyone will get one ticket for each first place they have. Raffle tickets will be drawn in order listed in the table below. At the end of the first place raffle if any ANGLER has not received a prize their tickets will be moved into the second place raffle. If an ANLGER wins a prize in the first round his or her remaining tickets will not carry over into the second round. The second place round will then begin, again drawing in order from the table one by one. At the end of the second place raffle all ANGLERS who have not won a prize will be added to the third place round. Again, if an ANGLER had multiple tickets and won a prize those tickets will not roll over to the final round. The third raffle will then proceed until all prizes are drawn.
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Additional Rules
*Fish must be uploaded within 7 days of being caught.
*Even though fish are judged and accepted in Tourney X they are not 100% qualified until the angler participates in one in person BKFT tournament.
*Tourney X submissions will close on October 5th at the same time the Dayton Kayak Fishing Experience event closes.
*Submissions must beat the length of existing fish (no ties).
*An angler may only have one top 3 fish in each category. You are allowed to cull your own fish. For instance if you have a 19" Largemouth Bass in the top 3 you are allowed to submit a longer Largemouth Bass. When the longer Bass is submitted the shorter one is DQ'd.
*All fish must be caught on rod and reel ONLY.
*All fish MUST be hooked not snagged.
*A kayak must be visible in the picture (or pictures...see below)
*All Buckeye Kayak Fishing Trail events require a Hawg Trough, Ketch board, or yak gears Fishstik version 2 (no exceptions). All Hawg Trough's and Fishstik boards should have every line (inch, 1/4 inch, 1/2 inch, 3/4 inch) marked very carefully and with a Fine Point Sharpie. If a Hawg Trough is not marked at every line (inch, 1/4 inch, 1/2 inch, 3/4 inch) it is likely the pictures could receive a deduction if the judges can't determine if the tail touches or crosses the line. There's no DQ or automatic deduction if you don't mark the lines on the Hawg Trough. It just helps the judges do their job and protects the angler to accurately display the size of the fish. If you have a Ketch board that is dark in color it is up to the ANGLER to produce a clear photograph of the fish. Occasionally the tail will blend into the dark board and be hard to judge. IT IS THE ANGLER'S RESPONSIBILITY TO PRODUCE A CLEAR PHOTO SHOWING LENGTH....if not the fish may include deductions and even up to disqualification.
*If the fish is larger than a Hawg Trough/Ketch board a tape measure can be used, but the exact length must be shown. Again, it is up to the angler to produce a picture to CLEARLY show the fish length.
*Submit the best possible photo displaying length to Tourney X and we HIGHLY encourage additional photos be submitted to bkftyakohio@gmail.com Additional photos can further help us determine length if a single photo doesn't as well as proof of a kayak in the same picture of the fish. Photos where the angler is holding the fish are also often circulated on our Social Media sites, website, as well as with sponsors.
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Camping/Meet & Greet
Even though this tournament lasts several months anglers tend to make special trips for a particular species through the year or during in-person tournaments carve out a day or two to chase other species for this tournament.
Be sure to join the Buckeye Nation Kayak Anglers group on Facebook and don't be afraid to ask what other anglers are planning!
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How to measure your YAK Ohio
1. Put the Hawg Trough on your lap with the zero mark of the board on the left side.
2. Lay your catch on the Hawg Trough with the mouth facing to the left and the top of the fish facing away from you (see the picture directly above this text). If the fish is larger than the board, exceptions can be made about the head facing to the left.
3. Mouth should be closed. Certain species will be difficult to close the mouth so try your absolute best when possible. If it is determined that an open mouth extends the length of a fish expect a deduction.
4. Make sure the lip of the fish is touching the zero mark (edge of bump board). When taking your picture make sure nothing covers the view of the lip touching the edge of the Hawg Trough including your hand, arm, identifier, etc. The lip touching the bump board and zero mark must be seen or there will be a deduction and possibly a DQ on the photo!
5. Hold the camera above the fish pointing downward and take the picture.
6. Check the picture for the following:
*Lip is visibly touching the zero mark
*Total length of the fish is easily seen
*Kayak is in the picture
*Water where caught is in the picture
*All fish will be rounded down to the nearest 1/4 inch.
*Be sure to take extra care when performing these steps and treat the catch with the utmost respect!
IF YOU DO NOT FOLLOW THE PROCEDURES LISTED ABOVE THE FISH MAY BE DISQUALIFIED!
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Event History
You can see the impressive event history for YAK Ohio's HERE.