Reigning KBF National Champion Mike Elsea was Scott Beutjer’s guest on the Weigh-In tonight. His introduction to KBF competition was through the 2018 KBF Challenge Series. He qualified for the 2019 KBF National Championship and was one of 461 kayak fishing hopefuls who, in late March, staged an assault on the bass populations of the Red River and lakes around Shreveport and Bossier City, Louisiana. At the Captains Meeting, only one person in the packed assembly hall figured Mike had a good shot at being the last man standing when the dust settled.
That one person was Mike.
Positive attitude, years of bass-fishing experience, intense preparation, precise observation of nature, and…intuition?
Whatever it was, he ended up where the bass were biting. Everything converged for Mike, culminating in his holding up the KBF National Champion trophy. On the Weigh-In, Scott will explore the path Mike took to the top.
Of 600+ people applauding Mike when he held up that big check, more than a few must have been thinking, “Mike who? Well…that was a fluke. That’s the last we’ll hear of that cat!”
Man, were they wrong!
Mike parlayed 10th, 13th, and 14th places in his top three KBF TRAIL Series finishes and then Second in the Regional Final into a trip to the KBF TRAIL Series Championship. He capped the series with an Eighth place finish at La Cross. That landed him in a three-way tie for ninth in the 2019 KBF Angler of the Year standings-which came with an invite to Dee Zee KBF The TEN. The man has lake cred and is ready to demonstrate the legitimacy of his Champion status on the Kissimmee Chain of Lakes.
In this episode, we’ll hear what he has to say about that