Accomplished tournament angler and full-time fishing guide on the Motherlode, Ryan Cook, decided to step into the ring for the first time at the Central Valley Kayak Fishing (CVKF) event on Eastman Lake on Sunday, 12/16/2018. He has been in the kayak only a few times and never in a tournament.
In 6 seasons on the big boat circuits, he has compiled a pretty impressive record. He has 17 tournament wins, an Angler of the Year (AOY) title, 2 runner-up AOYs, a tournament of champions victory that included a fully-rigged bass boat, and many other top ten finishes. He considers himself a pattern fisherman and likes to cover a lot of water. “Once I get the sniff of a pattern, I’m gone, I’m running it”, said Cook. Topwater and jig fishing are his strengths, but he can adapt to whatever it takes to get the job done.
In the kayak, he quickly discovered that running and gunning is easier said than done. For this tournament, “I couldn’t do that, I had to fish what was right in front of me. I wasn’t going to spend fishing time peddling all around the lake”, Cook commented.
He spent the day fishing the south end of the lake focusing on off-shore rock piles. He found the fish early in 6 to 10 feet of water and then followed them out to 18 to 24 feet as the day progressed. He only fished 2 rods all day long, a darthead and dropshot. He reported that he would locate them on the electronics, drop down to them, and then he would have to coax them into biting. Cook caught 18 fish total and submitted a 4 fish limit for 54.5 inches which put him in 12th. place out of 50 boats.
The level of skill and camaraderie of the kayak crowd is what surprised him the most. “The kayak forces you to become a more efficient angler and fish what’s in front of you. You must maximize every opportunity. There are several guys fishing the kayak circuits that have the potential to dominate the big boat circuits, the skill level is that high”, said Cook.
He went on to say that he was very impressed with how the tournament was run, how friendly the competitors were, and the hospitality provided by Brighman Vang and crew. I think we are going to see more of Ryan Cook in a kayak!
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