April meeting recap

At our April 5th meeting, fellow CKA member Keith Fussell gave a presentation on the many fishing lures his company makes  (Red Alert Lures - website www.redalertlures.com).  They include a flexible inline spinner, an inline buzz bait, an improved version of the Alabama Rig called the Louisiana Triple Threat, and many exciting molded plastic baits.  Red Alert Lures also sells fishing tackle. 

Keith also sells Vibe kayaks, which makes the highly-popular fishing model SeaGhost 130.  The SeaGhost sells for under $900 and that includes rudder.  For 2016, the SeaGhost has a framed seat with height adjustment.  According to Keith, the boats are so popular that all pre-orders for 2016 have been sold, and it might not be until July when more boats are available! 

In addition to providing a highly informative presentation, Keith was generous to help sponsor our CPR tournament.  For winner of each of the three divisions, Red Alert Lures will donate a box of lures appropriate for that species...  a $50 value each!

Go by and check Keith's store at 6403 Shreveport Highway in Tioga.

CKA April 5th meeting

The next meeting of the Cenla Kayak Anglers will be on Tuesday, April 5th at the Rapides Westside Library in Alexandria.  Time is 6:00pm.

On the agenda:
- Update on the website and forum
- CPR Challenge
- Club formalities
- Tackle Tip of the Month
- Upcoming events and tournaments (including rescheduled Bass-A-Yak)
- Open discussion

The public is welcome!

Bass-A-Yak postponed

The Cenla Kayak Anglers first-ever "Bass-A-Yak" tournament scheduled for this Saturday, April 2nd at Black Lake near Campti has been postponed to a later date TBD.

Here's the 4-1-1... the Great Flood of 2016 (the 2nd one) inundated both marinas near Highway 9 bridge, the bridge itself, and many of the houses, camps, and docks along the lake.  Just this past week, they opened up the bridge. I called Chandlers today and found out the marina is still closed and the boat launches are closed and the lake is a no wake zone, but she's not sure if boats can even be launched.

At our April 5th meeting, we'll discuss alternative dates and/or locations as this event had a great deal of interest.

CPR Challenge starts tomorrow!

The Cenla Kayak Anglers first-ever CPR Challenge begins at midnight Wednesday, March 16 and continues through November 30th.  The CPR Challenge is a months-long catch-photo-release tournament in which members fish at their leisure.  When a member catches a worthy largemouth bass, crappie, or redfish - or a largemouth bass on fly rod - they have the opportunity to submit that catch for prizes.  All that the member needs to have with them is (1) a digital camera (2) a store-bought fish measuring board and (3) the CPR Challenge token.  Take a picture with the fish on the measuring board, nose up against the "bump board" with mouth closed.  Make sure the token is in the photo as well.  Then later send in the photo(s) along with a CPR Entry Form for each submitted catch.

Best part?  It's FREE to CKA members.  And with the Bonus Drawing, you don't need to finish on the leaderboard to be a winner!

For more details, including rules and restrictions, go to the CPR Challenge page.  Our Forums also includes rules, as well as Token and Entry Forms.  Since the CPR Challenge is in the members-only section of the forum, you'll need to register on the forum.  It's quick and easy, and you'll be able to post questions, fishing reports, and classifieds.

CKA March 1st meeting

The next meeting of the Cenla Kayak Anglers will be on Tuesday, March 1st at the Rapides Westside Library in Alexandria.  Time is 6:00pm.

On the agenda:
- recap of this past Saturday's Sac-A-Yak outing at Cotile Lake (expect fish stories)
- Morris Houck will do a brief presentation on his favorite tackle setup
- Tackle Tip of the Month: we'll do a hands-on of the Double Uni-Knot
- Upcoming events and tournaments
- Open discussion

The public is welcome!

Sac-A-Yak this Saturday!

Our first ever outing will be this Saturday, February 27, at the Cotile Lake Recreation Area.  We call it "Sac-A-Yak" with the primary species being what is known as "sacalait" here in Louisiana.  Also known as crappie or white perch, the slabs should be bedding along shorelines and shallows.  However, schools could still be in the deep water depending on the weather.

For liability purposes, this is -not- a tournament but an outing with the flavor of a tournament.  Everyone is welcome to come out and join us, there's NO entry fee and subsequently no prizes.  However, an optional calcutta is available for largest bag of five (5) crappie.  Entry for the calcutta is $10 and must be done at the registration table prior to fishing.

We'll "weigh in" at noon for calcutta payout and discussion.  Then some of us will drive a few hundred yards over to Wards Lakeside Diner for food and beverages and more lively tales and discussion.

For complete details, see our new forum! 

CKA February 2nd meeting

Our next meeting will be on Tuesday, February 2nd, at the Rapides Westside Library on Provine Place in Alexandria.  Large meeting room.  Time is 6:00pm.

We'll go over some business items from the last meeting.  We'll also discuss, and get feedback on, the upcoming "Sac-A-Yak" outing on February 27th.  This will be a great opportunity for members to fish together, learn new things, and hopefully, catch some fish!

See you there!