"The Silent Assassin" Ryan Reedy culls 9X and takes command of the 2023 IKA Championship with an 84.75" Limit on Day One!
Day One of the two-day Indiana Kayak Anglers Championship took place on Hamilton Lake in Steuben County, IN. The 16 angler roster battled it out on the 800-acre lake in northern Indiana, jockeying for position on the leaderboard. Anglers were given some great fishing conditions with plenty of cloud cover and a light breeze. Like most northern Indiana lakes, Hamilton offered the anglers plenty of docks and sea walls, as well as some good vegetation.
2023 GRBY Lake Series AOY, Ryan Reedy, got out to an early lead by mid-morning thanks to an 18.25" Kicker. The likes of Brian Duncan, Justin Kivett, and Mark Howell were catching them too, and within striking distance.
Around Mid-Day, things started getting really interesting as the majority of the field had limited out and some were finding the bigs. Brian Moore posted a limit including a 19" kicker and made a cull with a 15.25" to take the lead from Ryan.
AOY Hopeful, Ryan Platt, was towards the bottom of the Top 10 but starting to make some culls and working his way up. The Rookie, James "The Sherrif" Miller, was sitting just outside the Top 3, a quarter inch behind Brian Dunkin.
The leaderboard continued to light up into the afternoon hours and anglers were making moves and trading positions on the frequently.
When the lines out bell rang, it was Ryan Reedy in the hot seat once again.
Reedy is obviously feeling good about Day One. As for day two, this is what Reedy had to say...
"Well, not having been on any of the lakes I am a bit nervous. I have been doing well on these types of lakes this year but generally, they aren't my strong suit. Hopefully the fish are set up like today, but not very confident."
His plan for Hamilton was to attack the deeper weed lines and it paid off big. While he did not disclose his secret weapons, he did mention he was not fishing the Jerkbait, which was a popular bait among his competitors.
Reedy made an impressive 9 culls, putting up a total of 84.75" on the KETCH Board giving him a 1.75" lead over James Miller.
Miller made 4 upgrades throughout the afternoon and his limit was anchored by 19.00, but he was unable to find a 5th upgrade to cull his smallest, a 13.50"
Brian Duncan rounded out the Top 3 for Day One with a 5-fish Limit of 80.25". While Brian never found a big kicker, he had a very consistent limit of quality keepers in the 15 to 16-inch range.
The Mid-Day leader, Brian Moore, finished the day in 4th with four 15s and a 19" kicker that will keep him in the hunt going into day two.
Ryan Platt made a late run up the leaderboard, from 9th to 5th with 78.25, and is one solid day away from the AOY title!
Day Two begins at 7 a.m. tomorrow when the field takes off on the Lake James Chain and the connecting lakes. Anglers can use Big Otter, Marsh, and Jimmerson ramps and fish any of the connecting water on the chain.
This Lake will be familiar to some of the field, but uncharted water for others, including the Day One leader, Ryan Reedy. Reedy told us all of the lakes on the list were new to him and his plan tonight was to do some map study and look for a similar bite tomorrow.
Now, the question is.....
Will Reedy hold on and continue his impressive streak...Will "The Coach" climb back to the top?
Could the "Sheriff" add a championship title to his rookie resume?
Maybe Ryan Platt will take both the AOY and the Championship title, or maybe Brian Duncan?
OR... Maybe one of the other talented anglers in this derby will steal the show on Championship Sunday!!!
Okay so maybe that was four questions...
Regardless, we will get all the answers tomorrow!
To view the full day one standings and follow the day two action click the link below.
Join IKA live tomorrow evening around 4 PM (ET) from The Complete Fisherman for our year-end awards!
We will have a full Championship recap for you as well early in the week.