William Lusk, a young angler on the Kayak Fishing ClassicS Tournament Series trail, is ‘Bringing It’ as they say, to some very experienced tournament anglers. It’s not by luck either, as the competitor has been doing his home work around the clock. Lusk has made a total commitment to becoming a top contestant among some of the very best that the Gulf Coast area has to offer. He saw early on the huge advantages that a Diablo Paddlesports Kayak affords and purchased one.
The Diablo allows William to stand up and sight fish from his kayak and also allows him to get into places that some kayaks can’t go. He used these features last weekend in the ClassicS, Tarpon Fever Classic which was hosted by The Old Salty Dog Restaurant in Sarasota, Florida. The area is fantastic for tarpon fishing which was one of the species on the score board for the event. The anglers were issued a DNA Kit provided by the FWC Marine Research Institute, so they could gather samples of tarpon DNA which provides a fingerprint of the fish for research.
The young hungry lion launched his Diablo at 5:30 AM in pursuit of redfish, trout and of course tarpon. He scored his trout early and moved on to redfish. Light was just breaking and he was hoping to spot tailing reds or tarpon coming into the pass for breakfast. William got his red later in the morning, photographed it and released the fish as all fish are in the series. Now it was time to locate the big challenge, the Silver King.
Lusk has been learning a great deal about inshore fishing by following the ClassicS Series and competing at a high level. He also has been spending his off the water time reading and studying the various species the series fishes for. He has raised his knowledge base considerably and it is showing on the leader board in the Series Standings. He has steadily been advancing toward the top after every tournament and a win in the Tarpon Fever Classic would help him considerably.
William had never fished for tarpon before and he knew that there was a lot too it. He hunted and hunted trying to locate them. The conditions were perfect and he was in the right spot. He could be seen from the Old Salty Dog by the national tournament director of the ClassicS, Captain Pat Horrigan who commented that he was on a tarpon. Capt. Pat could see the tarpon and Lusk was in the perfect position for a connection but it just didn’t happen.
“Tarpon can be funny that way” said Capt. Pat, “you can cast to them, and they will take a look and reject your offering. I think he would have had success had he thrown some feathers to her.”
As it turned out William Lusk had a great day in his Diablo. He finished the Classic in Second Place which propelled him to Sixth Place in the Series Standings and earned him a kayak full of sponsor gear. Included in the gear were a new TFO Fly Rod and a Redington Delta Fly Reel which he greatly needed.
We will be keeping an eye on the angler and we are sure to see more good things from this young gentleman at the Green Key Classic on July 9. Congratulations William on your great win.
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