Galveston Area Kayak Anglers Find a Home at LSKS

In the fall of 2011, Dustin Koreba had a dream to create a home specific to competitive kayak anglers in the Galveston area.  With every creative dreamer, comes the need for an organized, "Git 'er Done" follow through.  Lucky for Dustin--- he just happened to be married to Wendy, and she handles the finite details like a BOSS!

See a need; fill a need.  That's exactly what these two have been doing.  After fishing in tournaments over the years, Dustin realized that boat-powered tournaments with kayak divisions only on the side were not going to cut it any longer.   The sport of kayak angling was growing at a quick rate.  The Korebas understood that the Galveston area needed  a tournament dedicated solely to these competitive paddlers and peddlers.  A different need for a different breed.

And so it was that they birthed a new Koreba baby with the Lone Star Kayak Series.  The late nights sacrificed, the specialists consulted, the learning curve implemented, the new supplies needed ----  the website was up and running by December of 2011.  The first event (ready or not) launched with 61 anglers on April 21, 2012.  

It takes a village to raise a child, and so it goes with angling tournaments as well.  Clint and Cameron Barghi stepped up to man the scales while Sonny Mills mastered the hell out of that web.  In today's mentality of "pics or it didn't happen",  Jeff Herman showed up with his cameras to record the history of grips and grins while this baby grew at an alarming rate.  From 61 anglers in 2012 to 176 anglers at the April 2015 event, LSKS has recently outgrown its birthplace at Louis Bait Camp and will now be relocating to the Lazy Lizard Cantina in Sunny San Leon, TX this Saturday (June 6, 2015).  

Dustin and Wendy attribute the outstanding evolution of this grass roots tournament not only to amazingly generous sponsors and volunteers like Russell Bradley, Roy Perry, Mark Miller, and the Bairds, but mostly to the anglers themselves.  Never before have they witnessed a tournament where the "anglers have advertised more than the tournament.  The word of mouth and social media activity with the anglers have really had an impact on the growth of the series."  The Korebas didn't falter at the overwhelming response and quickly acquired a second scale, a new CPU, additional weigh bags, a bigger awning, and are even running side-by-sides to taxi incoming anglers.  LSKS is not only a place for those who compete; it's an experience that encourages sponsors to come and foster the symbiotic, interdependent relationship between industry and kayak anglers.

"I created this series for the kayak angler.  If y'all keep coming, we will keep hosting," exclaims  Koreba.  

Don't worry, Dustin.  The Korebas built it, and we will come.  Coastie Culture will be there- Crystal, volunteering at the check-in table and Tony, on his Wilderness Ride 135, looking for them redfish.

On behalf of all Galveston Area kayak anglers, thank you for building us a home at the Lone Star Kayak Series.  An even bigger thanks on behalf of angling conservationists for your efforts to keep those gorgeous reds alive and breeding.


*For more information on upcoming events, visit the LSKS home page

Let the Games Begin

There comes a point in your angling career when you must decide whether you will go the tournament route.  This is a decision that I’ve been considering for about a year, and I can’t escape the question:  Are tournaments for me?

For some people, competition is a natural course.  For others, it seems that competition brings out an ugly side to something that is otherwise a peaceful outlet.  When you enter a tournament, your otherwise private skunk becomes embarrassingly public within moments after the weigh-in begins.  Instead of just a slow day on the water, you begin to wonder if all those who have supported or sponsored you will doubt their faith in you.

Fact of the matter is- if you want to be a pro, you have to prove that you are a pro in a public forum.  No longer does it matter if you are your mom’s favorite angler.  

I had been signed up for my first Lone Star Kayak Series Tournament for several months. The first event out of four was to be on April 18th. I was more than anxious on several levels. Before the 18th came around, I got the opportunity to fish in a local benefit tournament for Lance Linthicum . I was excited to be able to compete for a good cause, and this was also a great way to pre-fish for the LSKS.  I had my Hook 1 jersey ready for the winner’s stand and my new T-bone bed extender  was going to get my Wildy Ride 135  there in good condition.

 

It took me until about 10 pm the night before to rig up my HookSpit Performance Rods and finally decide on a spot to fish. I wanted to be close to the weigh-in located in Sunny San Leon, but at the last minute, I decided to fish a familiar spot in Galveston. Since this tourney allowed bait or artificial, I decided to use both.

 

This proved to be a fun mistake on my part. I know live shrimp can be a great choice, but I usually go with dead shrimp if I'm using bait. I was confident I'd catch some reds on it. Instead of a beautiful red, I ended up catching the following (on dead shrimp):

- Two stingrays

- a 22" gafftop

- several hardhead catfish

- one small black drum,

- a whiting

- a  couple of croakers

I knew I had back-tracked into a pattern of fishing I had started out with years ago and although I don't discourage it because it can be fun for some, it’s just not my style anymore. Too many unwanted fish caught and precious minutes with my line out of the water while releasing them. Running out of time, I found a familiar deeper channel in the marsh and started throwing a popping cork with a Vudu shrimp. A few minutes later, I felt that hit and knew I had a redfish. 17" was not going to cut it, but I was relieved it was not a stingray. My buddy, Jose, joined me in my spot and he, too, quickly got a smaller redfish. He was smarter and using live shrimp. Sadly our time was running out, and we both ended up with an empty stringer. Later on in the day, I found out that only four kayakers had signed up and out of the four of us- only one caught some tourney-grade fish. One keeper redfish, flounder, or trout would have put me in second place. I'm sure I won’t get that opportunity again.  This is likely something that will haunt me for quite a while, as my Hook 1 jersey will have to wait for another day in the sun.

The weigh-in was a blast as this tournament had a boat division as well, and I loved watching the fish being brought in, especially when so many were released to fight another day. Most importantly, they raised quite a bit of money to help Lance and his family out. I met lots of new people and saw some friendly, familiar faces. I'll be back, better and with no dead shrimp. Add in that I missed a couple of flounder and had a nice trout get off at the boat somewhere.

After getting a few high-fives and hand shakes from the wonderful Pier Pressure Girls and Mike Bishop (the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner - he and his lady are cool as a fan) in my first-ever tournament, it was good to learn that most people in the angling world are still supportive and understanding when a day on the water doesn’t turn out as expected.  It was also important to learn that the only expectations I have to live up to are the ones I set for myself. No bad days on the water... only lessons learned.

Big Money Red Tourney

Me, Eric, Cody

Galveston Urban Ministries ( galvestonurbanministries.org)  hosted their First Annual Big Money Red Tourney a few months ago and it ended up being my first tournament too.

My #1 homie, Eric, and his brother, Michael, drove all the way down from Denton, Texas to represent and fish in the tournament. 

The tournament was supposed to start at 5 pm on a Friday, but we got there a few hours early to stake claim to our spot on the Galveston Fishing Pier.   I was pretty crunk when the tournament started because I was the first one to catch a red.  Unfortunately, it was only about 34" and I knew that wouldn't be big enough to place in the end.  So--- Fish on.  Most of the catches came that night.  It was cold and windy, but we tried to stay warm with a little help from a handle of Jim Beam and some of the best Habanero Beef Jerky from Mean E's Meats. (getcha some --->  facebook.com/meanesmeats )

Those two things kept us awake for 3 days straight with a few naps in between, but sleeping on the pier isn't that comfortable.  Even though we went most of the day Saturday and Sunday without catching much we couldn't complain because this was our view:

Eric ended up catching his first red at this tournament.  It was a good looking fish, but it wasn't enough to place either.  My buddy, John Stapleton showed up to fish the tournament and pulled a red in that made it on the board. My buddy, Cody Ryden (pictured above) did not fish the tournament, but he was there with a friend a few hours before the tournament started.  I actually think he is the one that caught all the reds, and I blame him for our slow weekend.    In hindsight, we probably should have gotten  a spot at the end of the pier because the guys set up down there were pulling in most of the reds.  If I'm not mistaken, that's where the tourney winners were set up.  

Eric's first red

1st catch (34 in.)

2nd catch (36 1/2 in)

Even though we didn't place--- it was a great experience.  This shout out goes to Eric Murphey for driving 5 hours to sleep on a wooden pier in the cold, and Michael Murphey from Mean E's Meats--- thanks for sponsoring us, bro.


Y'all go check out Galveston Urban Ministries to see how you can give back to underprivileged youth on the island.