Fish are fish, whatever water they swim. Steve Lessard of Baton Rouge, Louisiana proved that last year, when the redfish wizard fooled the native pike and zander of the Netherlands to decisively win the 2014 Hobie® Fishing World Championship.
Lessard is back for Hobie Fishing Worlds 5, leading a United States team stacked with fresh faces to Shang Lake, Changshu, China. They will contend with anglers from 20 other nations over three days, November 13-15. Their true opponents are the Chinese perch, top mouth culter, and yellowcheek carp that call Shang Lake home.
Fish are fish, but don’t underestimate these piscine adversaries based on their names. The Chinese perch is a near match in size for a feisty largemouth bass. Yellowcheek can outstretch an angler’s height. At their full potential, they are larger than most any North American freshwater tournament fish.
Lessard, the first visiting angler to win a Hobie Worlds, is taking a low-key approach to defending his championship.
“This year’s event on Shang Lake is a new world for me and not just because it’s about as far away geographically as it gets but new fish in a different climate makes this event the Mt. Everest of kayak fishing. It’s difficult to put into words how much grit and mental toughness it takes to catch three species three days in a row with only artificial lures and instinct,” he said.
Teammate David Jaskiewicz punched his Worlds ticket by winning the Inshore Fishing Association Kayak Tour Georgetown, S.C. event. It’s his first time out of the country, but he’s not thinking about sightseeing.
“I’ve been so focused on the fishing part of this event that the adventure of being in a different country with people from across the world has just started to sink in. To be fishing along side some of the superstars of our sport, including past Worlds winners Scott Baker, Richard Somerton and of course the USA’s own Steve Lessard, is an opportunity of a lifetime,” Jaskiewicz said.
Team USA’s Tyson Peterson is planning to plug his largemouth know-how into finding a pattern that’s effective on China’s unfamiliar freshwater fish.
“It’s all different so there’s no confidence in what I will be doing. I don’t consider that a bad thing because I won’t be getting stuck in old ways or habits. It’ll be constant adjustments until I find something that works,” the 2015 Hobie Bass Open champion said.
The fish are unknown; their platforms will feel like home. Team USA will join the international field aboard identically rigged Hobie Pro Angler 14s, each outfitted with a Power-Pole Micro Anchor and Lowrance Elite-4 fish finder.
The 5th annual Hobie Fishing World Championship presented by Rhino-Rack is proudly supported by Rhino-Rack, Lowrance, Power-Pole, Yak-Attack, Daiwa, RAM Mounts, Lurefans, The Chinese Angling Association and Kayak Fishing Beijing. Follow the action as it develops at hobiefishingworlds.com. . –Paul Lebowitz
