how long of a paddle is it to the sulphur mines?? are you going to be one of the kayakers??

It's about 2 - 3 miles. Not too bad and I've done it several times. I'm not fishing this one but taking my boat to take photos.

Cool tournament. Everybody will get 4 jig heads, four plastic tails and one top water bait that morning. Everyone gets exactly the same baits and that's all you can use for the tourney. No corks or any other baits allowed. That's why it's called the Minimalist Challenge!

Usually hundreds of pounds caught by the yaks. Field is limited to first 100 to sign up. Close to 90 at last count!

wish i would be a little, well maybe a lot younger, sounds like a great time!!! everything evenly matched, unlike most fishing tournaments! nobody has an advantage over another fisherman!!! maybe they should have regular fishing tournaments with the same rules, as far as everyone using the exact same baits??? just a thought!!!

Just checked the list--95 signed up now. Looks like it's going to be a sell out!

Shhh....I always find clean water just north of the launch along the protection levee. Not right against the levee, but in the general vicinity. I will run all over the place sometimes and come right back there and catch fish. There's a little dead end right near by my fav spot. Think you can find it? Good luck!

The tournament is limited to the first 100 to sign up.

The last official count was 95, but a few more may have been added.

Registration cut-off is Wednesday, January 16, 2013 at 9:00pm. You will not be able to pay by PayPal after 9:00pm on Wednesday.

If you want in on one of the last spots that may be available, you need to sign up now:
http://www.bckfc.org/showthread.php?10804-Official-MC6-Rules-FAQ-Q-amp-A

i dont get it, why no corks? you just told someone like me to stay home we dont want you to fish with us.

IMO a cork is as basic and minimal as a plain hook and its more of a fishing style then anything to do with being minimalist.

i get and like the minimalist concept but to exclude someone who mainly fishes with corks seams to be unfairly limiting fisherman to one style.

you want pure minimalist give everyone a cork, drop shot weight and plain hook with 12 shrimp each then let them have at it lol.

i would bet if you polled all involved they wouldnt mind the option to have a basic regular non rattling, clip on style cork as an option to have another form of bait presentation.

just my thoughts

Corks have been discussed, but the organizers have continuously ruled them out. That being said, several of us McGuyvered our top water bait to use as a cork. That is not prohibited

All I can say is not too many have been deterred by the no cork rule as all 100 spots will likely be filled Part of the challenge is to get folks out of their regular comfort zone and I think tight lining is harder than fishing with a cork.

Chris,
Why can't a rule be added that all yaks must fly an orange bicycle flag when in the marsh?
A few times we have been in the marsh running the bayous at a safe speed and can see a boat over the grass so we know that we have an obstacle coming up.
But when you round a curve and there are yaks there, it's dangerous. If you are at safe speed hopefully you can avoid the yak(s) But you can't avoid throwing a wake big enough to swamp a yak when you have to do a quick shutdown.

I personally think its a good idea and I fly a flag on my yak. However, the local club actually discussed this and the majority believe it should be up to the individual to decide. There is no law requiring a flag.

I fish (crabs) out of Delacroix I see a lot of kayaks fishing that area and I always slow down and idle by them most are bright colors and easy to see but this past Saturday morning i took off in bayou gentilly around 6:15-6:30 still not quite daylight and plenty foggy well about half way to little lake they had a guy in a kayak paddling on his way out I almost ran him over he never had any lights on and was not even close to the shoreline I told him that he was crazy and that he should have waited for daylight or at least had some lights on he just said I do this all of the time and kept on paddling out

Now I was in a 30ft skiff running 25 mph if I didn't see him at the last min I would have probably killed the man because he wanted to get an early start and never had lights

The law requires a white light capable of signaling another vessel when a yak is used in the dark. Not having one is illegal and, well, stupid! Glad nothing bad happened.

I do everything possible to make myself more visible bright yak, bright clothes, bright flag and bright light when applicable.

As a boater as well as a yaker I understand how hard they are to see sometimes.

Thanks for your courtesy by slowing down to idle. It's much appreciated!

I guess some folks are just crazy I was worried for him they had plenty of other boats running out that morning but I'm sure he made it out and back in ok because im sure I would have heard if something had happened to him but with him taking chances like that something bad is bound to happen I just hope he comes to his senses he starts doing things smarter

The local gang and this should be fun bring your vedio for some great action.

Don't fore get this is the last weakend for Duck hunting.

I'll remind the rodeo officials know so they can advise the 'yakers to be extra cautious since the duck hunters will also be launching before daylight. We certainly don't want anyone to get run over by one of those weed eaters on steroids!

I wanna see the video of 100 yaks putting in at the 1 concrete back down, and the parking lot. Not trying to be a nay-sayer, cause everyone here knows me as a straight up guy, but there could be some snags at the launch. Everyone needs to bring their happy face and work together.

Chris Holmes

Here's a pic of Steve Lessard with his winning stringer from the 2011 Minimalist Challenge.

There's also an area to the left of the launch ramp that the 'yakers use to put in. All are encouraged to have everything ready ahead of time to speed launching. Guys pitch in and help each other. It really is organized chaos and not as bad as you would expect. Many of the 'yakers do not have trailers.

I ran everywhere. I found clean water right here. If you don't have yak, or your not from here don't try to get here right now. If you yakkin tomorrow and wanna go the other way from the crowd, this is the spot(s). The whole area is fishable.

Where's the pics? Who won? How did it go? I went to Cloverly to avoid the chaos, but I hope yall had fun. Chris, you still typing? Or was it so good it was a cover story?

The turnout was great, the weather was very pleasant, the water was extremely low and dirty and the fish were all but nonexistant!

The water was low and falling. The guy at the launch reported several power boats from the day before getting stuck on mud flats and others running hot.

When it's too low for yaks to get in many areas, you know it's low.

Several guys reported having to drag their yaks through mud and the winners all showed signs of mud battles. Bill Crawford came in second remarked that it was the 'Hardest day fishing in my life.' Bill is a Mine regular and a very good fisherman.

Let me tell you that some really good fishermen got their hats handed to them Saturday. Only 25 out of 100 weighed in fish. The most trout caught by anyone was five.

It was a great tournament and the winner deserves a lot of credit considering the conditions and limited lures. It was both a physically and mentally exhausting tournament. Congrats to all that participated.

1st Rodney Soigner 5 reds, 4 trout 35.6 pounds
2nd Bill Crawford 5 reds 19.4 pounds
3rd Casey Brunning 5 reds 17.85 pounds
4th Mark Eubanks 3 reds 16.1 pounds
5th Joseph Chevalier 2 reds, 5 trout 15.65 pounds