Fishin' with Duffel

Fished the BAM Bassin’ Kayak Fishing Toledo Bend Event this past weekend. Haven't been up to Toledo Bend at all this year and knew my typical areas would be messed up with all the rain leading up to the event. So I decided to hit an area I have fished in a few years. Morning was pretty windy and rough... proceeded to miss my first 3 bites, one was a really good one that hammered my bait and pulled drag for a few seconds before letting go. Continued fishing and finally landed my first small fish, nothing to brag about but got the skunk off my back... Then an hour later I caught my 2nd fish which was decent. Went a few hours without any luck and decided to start making my way back towards the launch and possibly venture to opposite direction. As I was coming up on the launch I noticed my other buddy was still fishing over there, but knew he wasn't doing much either. As I was working my way to him, still fishing... I made a cast along a grass line and BAM.... Fish on finally, and it was a good one! Ended up Winning my Big Bass of this Event as well as helping my the Lake Charles Kayak Fishing Club Dinkapalooza Event which was coming to an end on Sunday!

The Big Fish ended up being 21.75" and right at 6lbs. I only ended up catching 1 more fish for the rest of the day so never got to fill my limit for the BAM event. Also during the final 5 minutes, I missed not 1 but 2 bites that would have help propel me up the leaderboard. Not sure it would have been enough for the win but would have been some much needed AOY Points and possibly little more winnings.

Ended up finishing 17 out of 33 for the event with 4 fish for 62.50". Luckily for kayak events you are able to double dip your fish so I was also able to use that same fish for our LCKFC Event which helped push me into First Place!

Ended 2023 with a High Note!

Hope everyone had a great New Year's.

Ready for 2024.

Day 1 Footage from Caddo is up on YouTube! Go check it our and be sure to like, comment, and subscribe. Day 2 will be coming soon!
https://youtu.be/p77RhIjYgNc

This weekend I will be fishing the BAM Bassin’ Kayak Fishing Elite 10 Event against the Top 10 anglers in Angler of the Year Standings! I'm currently sitting in the lead but still need to have a good finish to claim this Title! Follow along on TourneyX this weekend and see how it all plays out on Bussey Lake! https://tourneyx.com/leaderboard/standings/bam-bassin-2023-trail-series-elite-10-bussey-brake

Caddo Lake BAM Bassin' Championship 2023 Day 1 Check out my Day 1 of the BAM Bassin' Championship and see how I was able to lead the event after Day 1 and Big Bass! While pre-fishing, I found fish in area...

Got to fish my favorite lake, Caddo, this past weekend and it didn’t disappoint me! Can thankfully say I pulled out not only a 1st Place Finish but also Big Bass for the BAM Bassin’ Kayak Fishing Championship. Prefishing went well; I was able to find fish in a few different areas on a couple different patterns. I knew the weather conditions would be completely different come Tournament Days but figured the fish wouldn’t go far and my patterns should still work to an extent.

Day 1: I decided to fish the area where I caught the better quality fish. However, the numbers were not there like I hoped for and I was only able to pull out just over 80” by rotating between a wake bait and lipless crank around some clumps of hydrilla and lily pads. As the morning went on, the winds made that area almost unfishable due to the high NW winds. So decided to try and find some more protected water to see if I couldn’t find an upgrade or 2. As I began making my way around the next point, I started seeing some fishing swirling in shallower water so decided to explore water that was 2’ or less. Not even 5 minutes after that, I cast next to a clump of trees and a huge explosion happens… short fight later I get my Big Bass in the net! It was a 23” Bass that weighed 7lbs. 3 oz. which also was enough for Big Bass for the whole event. With this upgrade I was sitting at 92.25” so figured I was in a good position for the top 3 finish. I decided to try and explore to see if I could find some new water for Day 2, because I wasn’t sure how my original spot would hold up from the weather and other anglers around my area.

Day 2: I started back in my original spot from Day 1, but only managed a single 11” bass and then proceeded to miss a bite or 2…. Ran into some other anglers that were catching around me, and but this time I was starting to spin out and was a nervous wreck seeing my chances for a top finish slipping away. So I decided to make the 1.5hr trek with my Torqeedo Motor to my back-up spot, this time allowed me to recoup, reset, and restart. Before I launched Sunday morning, I gave myself a time limit I needed to leave by so I could get up there and have a few hours to fish. I got up to my 2nd spot shortly after 11:30am. Within in the hour, I had a limit and was starting to cull. During prefishing, I found some fish shallow in this area. However, there was not that much fishable water due to the vegetation so I didn’t think there would be enough fish for 2 days. Thankfully the high winds helped open up the water and allowed me to get even further back where no other boats have fished lately! My Hobie Fishing ProAgler 360 paired with a Power-Pole Total Boat Control Micro Anchor was crucial for the fishing I was doing. All my fish in this area came off top water around lily pads, grass, and trees in less than 2’ of water! My St. Croix Rods were key to helping me detect my bites and keeping those shallow water fish pinned in the thick stuff! I was able to end Day 2 with 79” and a total of 171.25” for both days!

Be sure to stay tuned for the YouTube Video coming eventually! Likely will be in 3 different videos: Pre-fishing, Day 1, and Day 2!

Of course, none of this would have been possible without my amazing wife, Laurelea Duffel, holding down the home front!

Up next is Bussey Brake for the BAM Bassin’ Elite 10 Event next month!

Don't miss your chance to win!
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St. Croix Mojo Bass Trigon Rod Giveaway - 3 People Will Win! Enter to win a Smackdown Braid package! 5 winners in all!

Well yesterday didn't go as planned. Left fish to check out another area I wanted to fish only to go back and fish it and catch a couple fish and miss some more. Miseed this one at 1pm and event ended at 130. This would have been my 4th keeper and caught my final fosh at 1:26... just needed another 30minutes to fill.my limit. However. Should have stayed in this area all day... oh well that's fishing. Still had fun fishing the Swamp Country Kayak Bass Association Event on Chicot, definitely a neat fishery and wanting some redemption. Congrats to the winners!

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZT82JSfmn/

TikTok · joshduffel Check out joshduffel's video.

Well haven't posted here in awhile but trying to get back to keeping up with my fishing trips again.

Fished the BAM Bassin’ Kayak Fishing Lake Martin Event on Saturday and finished with a 2nd Place Finish. Figured out the morning bite quick and had my limit before 7am with a couple good kickers! Nothing like a good topwater bite for most of the day! Temps were brutally hot, even though I stayed in the trees as much as possible... was ready to load up by 11:30 but knew my lead wasn't safe with with couple smaller fish left on my 5 fish limit. Sp stuck it out but ended up calling it a day shortly agter 1pm even though the event didn't end until 2pm. Too bad this wasn't MLF Style cause I caught around 12 fish for the day.

Thankfully I got some Frenchies from 50 shades of Baits to help when the bites got tough, just didn't produce any upgrades unfortunately. Also didn't help my area got crowded quick once guys found where I was fishing.

The Hobie PA14 360 was pivotal to fishing this shallow cypress lake where I spent most of the day in 3' or less of water and some bites were in less than a 1' of water.

Congrats to the others that Placed!

Hobie Fishing St. Croix Rods Rougarou Tackle Co. Ship to Shore Co

Go check out our recent Local Lagniappe News for a little info about kayak fishing!

https://youtu.be/8rAKp-tqc3s

Finally finished editing my footage from Rayburn last month.

Hope you enjoy. Don't forget to like, comment, share, and of course follow!

Battle of the Brands: Sam Rayburn Kayak Division Made my first trip of 2023 for the Battle of the Brands Event on Sam Rayburn for their First Kayak Division Event in conjunction with the Boat Event. This wa...

Come join the team... Great weights and if you are a Crappie Angler, check out the new Jig Heads!

We are looking to add to our pro staff!

https://youtu.be/Rw_8yqdf3vw

Little Short from Rayburn a couple weeks ago. Full Video coming soon.

Big Bass! #shorts Big Bass of the Day from Battle of the Brands: Kayak Division on Sam Rayburn. Be sure to subscribe for the full video coming soon!

Made my first fishing trip of 2023 yesterday. Decided to fish the GSM Outdoors Battle of the Brands Kayak Division Event on Sam Rayburn. The unique catch to this event, you were only able to use baits from Yamamoto Baits, Bill Lewis Fishing, Buckeye Lures, and SteelShad Lures. I paired some yamamoto baits with my Rougarou Tackle Co. Tungsten, tied on some Rat-L-Traps on my St. Croix Rods, and was ready for the tournament.

The winds were blowing all day out of the North with a Post-Frontal conditions and Bird Blue Skies as the day progressed which made for a tough day fishing. Which made for a cold day on the water, but thankfully the rains finished up over the night. The boat division also had over 160 boats registered so knew the lake would be crowded and with high wind would have most seeking protected banks and pockets.

Luckily, had a fellow kayak angler allow me to tag along with him and launch since I'm not super familiar with this lake. Did a little map study before getting on the water and found the area I wanted to start. As I got close to the pocket I liked, there was not much of any water in it since the lake was down almost 4ft. So i continued along the bank to the next pocket I like little further towards the main lake. I started out chunking a Rat-L-Trap and never really put it down. I was fishing along a hydrilla line and also some clumps of grass by popping the bait out of the grass to get my bites. I caught 4 fish off one clump of grass and then my other 2 off another bank grass clump. Which was along this 150yd stretch and which as I got to either end I would have a bass boat pull up behind me constant all day long. However, they didn't seem to catch anything and even saw me catch a few. My 5 fish stringer was anchored with an 18.25" Bass (little over 3lbs) and 19.75" Bass (4lbs) each came off one of the spots around this stretch of protected bank.

The Hobie Fishing Pro Angler 14 360 paired with a Power-Pole Total Boat Control Micro Anchor was pivotal tool for me to stay positioned in the Strong North Winds all day long. Check them out ar Ship to Shore Co along with other top brand kayaks!

Of course, these trips wouldn't be possible without the support of my wife holding down the house and kids while I'm gone all day.

YakAttack Torqeedo AFTCO Costa Sunglasses

Fish first night event last night, so decided to go hit up Toledo Bend! Didn't catch a lot but caught the right ones for a 2nd Place finish! Might be wondering how I finished 2nd and not tied for 1st place, well tie breaker goes by longest fish. Caught my 19 before sunset then had to search for my next 2, but was able to catch them on back to back cast!

St. Croix Rods Rip N Chatter makes a great chatterbait rod!
The Hobie ProAngler 360 is a fishing machine, especially when paired with a Torqeedo... put in 16miles last night.

Of course, fishing trips like these aren't possible without my amazing wife (Laurelea Duffel) for holding down the house and kids while I fish and even allow.me to get a little powernap after fishing all night!

Finally was able to get out for a Night trip last night to Toledo Bend. No better way to beat the heat we have been having already this Summer. Ended up staying out this morning longer than planned due to cooler temps and some wind this morning plus it helps when the fish keep biting!

Did some exploring this trip and put over 15 miles in with my Torqeedo Motor and 360 Mirage Drive!

Last weekend I finished 3rd in the Lake Bruin Season Opener for . Took me awhile to figure them out but was able to figure them out enough for a good finish.

Today, I fished Vernon Lake for the Elite 10 Event, which included the Top 10 finishers in the AOY Race for last season. Todays event was MLF style which means every fish counts. I must say that sure is an intense event and a fun change up!

Luckily, I was able to get off to a fast start and keep putting fish in the kayak throughout the day! Missed a good one this morning and also had another decent fish jump off at the kayak. Thankfully those fish didn't come back to haunt me at the end of the day. I was able to hold onto 1st Place. Figured out a constant bite and just stuck with that bite all day since all fish counted didn't have to worry about finding some bigger bites.

Put some miles on my Torqeedo and my St. Croix Rods Tournament Legend did the heavy lifting for both events!

Fishin' with Duffel updated their business hours.

Well made my yearly trip to Lacassine on Saturday... original tournament was canceled and changed to a month long due to low turnout. So got a jumpstart with some decent fish and finish the Lake Charles Kayak Fishing Club Dinkapalooza strong! Easily caught over 50 bass, and mostly d***s. Fun day on the water for sure, wish I would have brought the ice chest to help cull out some of those smaller fish!

Tested out the Torqeedo 1103 with a weedless prop and it performed great with all the the grass and pads. The Hobie Fishing PA 360 helped me battle the wind in the canals. Not the easiest kayak to get through some areas, but was definitely doable!

Ship to Shore Co
St. Croix Rods
Team Rougarou Fishing

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Looks for a new Fishing Rod, Check out the New Redesigned Tournament Legend Series Rods from St. Croix Rods. Know my older Tournament Legend Rod have been my go to rods over the past year and can't wait to get my hand on a few of these new ones as well!

“The new Legend Tournament Bass rods feature next-generation hybrid SCIV+ carbon fiber blanks. Select reaction bait models will feature all-new iACT Glass hybrid blanks. In addition to their unique combinations of proprietary materials, all-new Legend Tournament Bass rods will also incorporate all of St. Croix’s top technologies and premium components. “

Check them out, and you won't be disappointed!

🚨🚨🚨 4K Giveaway 🚨🚨🚨

Y'all rock! Thank you for the 4,000 likes. To show our appreciation we are giving away the following: your choice of the Rougarou Snap Back, our full line of Voodoo Series Flipping Weights, and a couple of decals.
Here are the rules:

1. Like and share this post.
2. Make sure you like Rougarou Tackle Co.
3. Tag three friends in the comments below.

We will announce the winner Friday, March 11th. Good luck!!!

I was able to go battle the winds today and prefish Vernon Lake some before the and Southern LA Kayak Anglers Tournaments in a couple of weeks. I figured out the bites early and got my best single day stringer with 98.5" (roughly around 21lbs) for a good jumpstart for the LA Monthly... There is still plenty of work to do against some of these LA Hammers, though.

Of course, I gotta shout out my amazing wife, , for holding down the house and kids for the day... especially with the kids battling stomach bugs. (I don't do well with that stuff.. 🤢)

Youtube video will be out in a few weeks... so be sure to check back!

The New BlackPak is gonna be sweet! Follow the link below for your chance to win one... or be sure to stop in at Ship to Shore Co soon once they come in!
https://wn.nr/S65hG6

Introducing The New BlackPak Pro & Giveaway Writing this email brings such joy and excitement as it has been years in the making to get to this moment. For the past few seasons, we have known it was time to update the BlackPak. The original hard-sided kayak crate just got better. A lot better. The result of intense collaboration and more than...

I know I love my Tournament Legend Rods and can't wait for these new rods to come out!

Fish A Legend Fish a New St. Croix Legend Tournament Bass Rod

Fished the False River event yesterday. Didn't have the highest expectations with fishing post fontal conditions,my typical areas on this lake out of the water with the water being almost 6ft low, and don't really enjoy fishing docks. However, after the 1st 30 minutes with 2 good bites and another one shortly after that, thought it was going to be a good day. Those 3 bites were my last bites until after noon when i landed my 4th and final bass. I thought I had my 5th keeper and was a good one but ended up being a stripper. North end definitely had better numbers than the south end, which I picked.
Next event will be Vernon Lake, March 19th

Torqeedo Foot Steering Install Video complete, next will be footage from Day 1 on Toledo Bend for Hobie Bass Open.

https://youtu.be/w1XH-26banA

Torqeedo Foot Control Steering on a Hobie PA14 360 Recently upgraded to the Torqeedo 1103 for my Pro Angler 14 360. The extra power with this motor requires some kind of steering system, so decided to install...

Day 2 Recap: Post Frontal Conditions made for a slower day. I still caught around 8-10 fish, but still no size, unfortunately. The fish were definitely suspended because all my bite came before the bait ever touched the bottom.

Ended Day 2 with 71" with a total of 148.5" for 2 days and ended up staying in 46th place out of 200. YouTube videos coming soon.

Day 1 of the Hobie Bass Open on Toledo Bend is in the books... faired well at 46th out of 200 anglers and caught plenty of fish just couldn't find any kickers. Also finished 3rd out of 20 in the Swamp Country Kayak Bass Association today, which was in conjunction with HOB. Day 2 tomorrow to see if I can make some moves, only 5" out the money.

Well have been fishing since November, but did get to finally edit some footage from early November fishing the Lake Charles Kayak Fishing Club Sabine Smackdown. Hoping to get back on the water soon!

https://youtu.be/XzU8k3s5pPQ

LCKFC: Sabine Smackdown 2021 Fished the LCKFC 2021 Sabine Smackdown on the Sabine River. This was my first time on the river in over a year, so I was not sure what to expect for the day....

I can't be the only one... I am terrible with names! Sorry....

Day 3 is finally up! Hope you enjoy... don't forget to like, comment, and subscribe!



https://youtu.be/bgdphRiBhcM

KBFNC 2021 Day 3: Trying to Finish Strong Finally got a chance to finish editing my footage from the Final Day of the 2021 KBF National Championship on Caddo! After Day 2, I am sitting in the Top 20....