Check out the final HKB Top Performers recap of the 2023 Season! We got 5 more AOY's to announce, plus 3 more anglers closing out the season with a W. Lots to discuss in this final edition, so buckle up!
What a week! Shoot, what a year! Hard to believe the 2023 Regular Season has come to a close. We are officially in Championship Season now. We will be bringing you plenty of coverage on the post-season drama but for now, let's take a look at how things landed in week 25 and our final AOY battles.
GRBY | TIPPECANOE RIVER SERIES #5 PRESENTED BY BO'S BAITS
The inaugural season of the GRBY Tippy series wrapped up in week 25 and did so in a big way, with 13 of the 24 anglers competing breaking the 70-inch mark and two limits going for more than 80 inches.
On Thursday, Glenn Landstrom set the bar high posting 84.50 inches. His best fish of the day (19.50") was caught on a Bizz Baits Sassy stick hanging off the side of the yak as he measured and released another keeper. When it's your day, it's your day. If you haven't seen the video Glenn posted of this catch, make sure to go check it out on his socials. Glenn's 84 inches was enough to hold off the remaining competitors and take the final win of the season.
Who is this Jason Kennedy guy!? Jason's name has been showing up at the top of the leaderboards a lot in the final weeks of the season. Both in the river and lake events. This time, Jason is taking home 2nd place with an 80.25" limit anchored by the Big Bass of the derby - a 20-inch stud of a Hoosier Smallmouth.
In 3rd place was Tweezy with 78.50" including a 19.25-inch kicker.
Earlier this year, we dubbed 2023 as the year of the river rat, with more river events and series in the state than we’d ever seen before and it was a blast for the Anglers competing in these events. Nothing but good things were said and it was absolutely awesome covering the events and watching the leaderboards all season long.
The king of the river rats though and your 2023 GRBY Tippy Series & Overall River Series AOY is none other than, Eric Tracy!
Erik Tracy has been on top for some weeks now and was able to hold off those final surges from the other top anglers. Eric finished with an impressive 389 points in the Tippy Series, leading 2nd place, Jim Bailey, by 16 points.
In the GRBY River Overall, Eric put up 690 points for his best 7 events. Alex Deneau was his closest competitor, just 5 points behind.
GRBY NE TRAIL | STOP #5 WEBSTER LAKE PRESENTED BY POOR BOYS BAITS
This series brought the drama this season and the final event was no different. 2 main story lines out of this one The NE Trail Series AOY Race and the GRBY Overall AOY Race.
While the first half of the GRBY season and Overall AOY race was all about the Tweezy movement, the second half of the season belonged to none other than, James Miller and Ryan Reedy. Week after week, the Reedy/Miller show gave us all something to talk about as they battled it out, back and forth, at the top of the AOY scorecard.
These two didn’t miss a beat all season long, but coming down the homestretch they were going one and two in almost every event they entered, but in the end, it was the silent assassin, Mr. Ryan Reedy, who claimed the coveted GRBY Lake Overall AOY title.
Ryan, knowing he needed to put in the work to hold off James in the final week, made the long trip north to battle it out with James on Webster Lake.
Ryan showed us all on Friday he wasn't playing around when he dropped an 89.50 bag, anchored by a 19.25 & 18.25-inch kicker.
In 2nd place was... You guessed it, James "The Sherriff" Miller with 84.50 inches.
Though James finished 2nd to Reedy in this derby and the GRBY Overall AOY Race, he did take home his 2nd AOY Title of the Season as his performance in the final NE Trail Stop landed him 4pts ahead of runner-up, Larry Reyes, for the NE Trail AOY Title.
Such an impressive year for this young angler. We can't wait to see what the future holds for James.
Rounding out the Top 3 in the final event, was Paul Mroczenski with 83.25 inches.
Larry Reyes took 4th, and Big Bass, with a 19.75" Largemouth.
HKB TURKEY BOWL
The Annual HKB TURKEY BOWL & FOOD DRIVE is just around the corner! Grab your fishing buddies and join us for one last hoo-rah before you put away the kayak for winter and help us support Hoosier families in need during the Holiday Season.
GRBY | SUMMIT LAKE #5 SERIES PRESENTED BY GITTIN JIGGY WITH IT BAIT AND TACKLE
Even though the totals were a little lackluster times this season, this series is still one of my personal favorites to watch. This AOY race came down to the wire for the 2nd year in a row.
For the final event of the 2023 season, it was a dog fight. Coming out on top for the 3rd time in this series was the silent assassin once again. Mr. Ryan Reedy, with 75.25 inches adding the cherry on top to a very impressive season.
Ryan also put up the Big Bass of the event - an 18.25" Summit Lake Chunker
Missouri Waite comes close, once again, to an AOY title. Finishing 2nd in this Derby with 71.75 and 3rd overall in the series AOY Race.
Justin Ayers took the final spot on the podium, coming in 3rd with 71.25.
As for the AOY race, the Challenger, Ryan Platt, falls just one point from the top with a total of 381 points.
Which means...
Your 2023 GRBY Summit Lake Series AOY is Antoine Hayes, aka Tweezy! We all knew this angler was going to come out on top of one of these series, it was just a matter of time.
Tweezy takes the GRBY Summit Lake AOY title with a total of 382 points. His best finish in the season was a 2nd place finish in the first event of the year and a 1st place finish in the 2nd event of the season.
Tweezy finished 3rd in the GRBY Lake Overall AOY Race with a score of 1174 for his best 12 events.
So you might be asking yourself, how did Reedy win 3 events in this series and not win the AOY title.
Well, Reedy did not enter the first two events this season, leaving one event shy on his scorecard. So with 300 points in 3 events, Ryan finished 18th in the AOY Race. Think he will miss one next season? I don't.
IKA | HOOSIER BIG BASS HUNT
We can't wrap up the 2023 HKB Top Performers series without taking a look at how things are shaping up in the IKA Big Bass Hunt.
Currently, Josh Robbins leads the way with 42.25 inches.
His Biggest Largemouth measuring in at 22.50 inches!!! Josh landed this beast back in April on Summit Lake during a GRBY Series event.
His biggest smallmouth, a 19.25" beauty.
Brian Moore also has 42.25 inches, with a 21.25 Largemouth and a 21-inch Smallie. Going to be hard to upgrade the smallie but finding a bigger largemouth has a much higher probability.
Wendall Gray is now third with 41.25"
Anglers have until November 30th to upgrade for a shot at the top 3 payout.
That's a wrap! Not just on week 25, but the season. It's been an amazing year and I've truly enjoyed following all the anglers on the water and recapping each week's events.
I'm so impressed by the caliber of anglers we have in this state and the men and women behind these tournament organizations who have made Indiana the best state in the country for Kayak Bass Fishing.
Thank you to everyone who has followed along this season and supported these anglers by helping me shine a spotlight on them.
Congratulations to all the week 25 Top Performers and to all of our anglers throughout the state for an amazing season.
I look forward to doing it all again in 2024!
Championship Season is here and there is a lot of drama left to unfold, so while we are closing the lid on the weekly HKB Top Performers Recaps, we still have plenty of content coming your way with previews of the Championships, AOY Race Recaps, Angler Spotlights, and so much more.
Stay tuned!
Comments