Angler Combat is generating a lot of buzz in the kayak fishing community and is making big moves to continue their invasion of the digital fishing tournament world. If you are an angler who fishes from the bank, a kayak, or from a bass boat, I encourage you to take a look at Angler Combat. Get in now while it’s early because I predict it will explode in popularity in 2016 and beyond. They are now announcing some big changes which will help with this growth…keep reading for their big news!

OK, so what is Angler Combat?
Angler Combat is a catch, photo and release (CPR) oriented digital tournament where participants compete within a broad geography against other anglers. What makes Angler Combat unique is it includes three competitive divisions – Land, Kayak and Boat. No other tournament series provides anglers from almost anywhere an ability to compete, no matter how they choose to fish. Competitors are ranked by their top five fish submitted via the iAngler Tournament app, using a unique identifier code for each 28 day tournament period. For a $10 monthly entry fee, division winners can walk away with a significant cash prize or some other high end prizes. To get an idea about the experience, read this round-table discussion about Angler Combat from some Arkansas Kayak Angler members who have been actively competing.

For a tournament series which only began in November of 2015, Angler Combat has already gained a lot of awareness and notoriety thanks to word of mouth and social media. Their officials report that they have averaged more than 100 competitors in each of the first three months, which is already ahead of their initial expectations (especially in these winter months). There has been some interesting data coming in from the first three monthly tournaments. One of the most surprising stats is that on average, anglers fishing from the bank are out-catching those in kayaks and boats. It’s reported that competitors in the “Land” category are submitting better five fish totals on average. At first this is very surprising, but they say this is likely because bank fishermen can fish more, often daily while on a lunch break or before or after work. The more you fish, the more you catch to turn in. So far the prize packages have been impressive, thanks to some of their key sponsors: Jackson Kayak, Orion Coolers, WASPcam, Boonedox USA, Manley Rods and YakGear, among others.

Big News #1 – NEW Division Structure Begins in February
The crew at Angler Combat has been listening to their participants and analyzing the data. With a bit of number crunching they have determined there is a competitive imbalance between the fishing qualities in some of the states currently in the South division. Beginning this February, Florida, Texas and California will be broken out into their own division call the Big “3” division. This may lower the participation total in the short term in each division but will be a great improvement overall and I believe will help them grow more quickly with a level playing field. This should address the top concern about Angler Combat in our AKA roundtable discussion and review of Angler Combat.

Big News #2 – Marketing Blitz and Tournament Expansion Plans
This is only the beginning of the growth as they plan to begin to seriously market the tournament series, including a new television commercial recently filmed in Florida. Anyone who competes in Angler Combat should be pleased as they increase their TV and online marketing, which will improve the participation numbers and in turn will drive up prize values. In addition to a ramped up marketing push, there are also plans in the works for expanded contests and prizes, and eventually the launch of Striper and Redfish online tournaments.

Big News #3 – Television Series
The most intriguing and exciting news to me about the future of Angler Combat is their plan to launch a competition-style television show which would air on a well-known fishing network. This show is said to feature fishing pros competing against amateurs who are winners in Angler Combat monthly tournaments – showing their battles for supremacy. Pros against talented locals in Land, Kayak and Boat showdowns should be very entertaining. We should hear a lot more about this television project in the coming months. Stay tuned.

These are lots of positive moves which will improve or enhance an already fun online tournament which could be the next big thing. My advice? Get started now, sign up and compete. Get in early and you will be an Angler Combat veteran by the time it goes main stream.