Hypothesis

This article asks the question: which is the best Largemouth Bass fishery for kayak tournaments in central North Carolina?

Let’s take a closer look at the question. First, it asks which is the best bass fishery for kayak tournaments. Therefore, the lake must be 1) publicly accessible to kayak launches and 2) able to accommodate a reasonable number of kayaks. So, small lakes and ponds are out of the question. One might also eliminate much larger lakes (I won’t). The majority of kayak tournaments are held on mid-to-large sized lakes in the state. Let’s say 1,000 surface acres/50 shoreline miles and up. That’s our general range.

Now, the second part of the hypothesis. The question introduces a valuation (“best”) that can have multiple quantitative measurements (not to mention qualitative explanations). There is no way to prove which lake is “best” in a definitive way. Do you measure weight? Length? Year class? Forage base? Catch frequency? Harvest numbers? To do so, you would have to sample and survey every mid-sized public lake in the state at the same time, crunch data, analyze the numbers, create charts and spread sheets, explain your methods, etc. You would need more scientists, electro-shock boats and funds for such a project than any entity currently has, and by the time you finished the job the lakes would all have changed.

The best you get is an estimate. And you know what? That’s still pretty good. After review of five years of evidence (2020-2024), I believe the answer is clear.