St.CROIX RODS – ROUND 8 – MISSISSIPPI RIVER La Crosse

Let’s Do IT! (Updated 08/08/2023)

You do not want to miss our 3rd visit to the Mighty Mississippi out of La Crosse WI over the last 5 years!

In the 2nd to final event of the 2023 season anglers will have the famous Pools of 7, 8, and 9 to find the best 5 fish each day and potentially capture the title of Champion at the St Croix Rods Mississippi River event!  This fishery is as diverse of a place that you could imagine and provide a lot of great opportunities for our anglers!  Variable flow, ample vegetation, rocks, structure, docks, etc… If you want to fish it, this place has it!  Tons of Largemouth Bass and plenty of Smallmouth too!

– Local Dealer Support- There are not any dealers in this exact area, so we suggest maintaining and fixing all known issues prior to arrival or stopping at a dealer on the way.  Hi-tempo in Minneapolis is the closest dealership.

Event HQ– Onalaska Omni Center- 255 Riders Club Rd, Onalaska, WI 54650

We encourage all of our anglers and the folks traveling with them to stay in La Crosse, WI as that is the community that has invested money and time into this series and the sport of kayak fishing.  They are only able to recuperate their investment in us, if we support their local establishments.  Please stay and eat in La Crosse as much as possible and let them know you are in town for the Hobie BOS Kayak tournament!

A maximum capacity field of 225 or less will be competing for a cash payout to 15% of the field and the top 3 non-qualified anglers will earn their spot in the 2023 Tournament of Champions (TOC) at Lake Chickamauga, Dayton TN Nov 8-10.

The TOC is a 3-day, 60 angler Championship that saw a $100,000 payout in 2022 and an expected payout of $100,000 in 2023.

If Maximum capacity is reached, anglers can use the waitlist feature on TourneyX  to get inline if any spots become available.

All BOS questions can be sent to:

BOS@Hobie.com

Tournament Director- AJ Mcwhorter

Event Media  – Steve Fields

Official Schedule- All times are CST.

July 6th  -12 EST Registration Opens

July 29th – Off- limits begins- Anglers are no longer allowed on the water in any capacity. Hiring, communicating, or receiving information from guides is no longer allowed through the end of the event. Public information from a guide that is available to anyone, like websites or social media posts are allowed to be utilized.

– Waters that are out of event boundaries are not considered off- limits at this time.

August 4th- Refund Process ends at 6pm CST.  This is the last opportunity to request a partial refund (70%).  No refunds will be processed after this date.

August 8th- 7pm EST.  Live broadcast on BOS Facebook Group Page.

August 11th- Registration/ waitlist window closes at 11 pm CST if not already capped at 225.  Anglers will receive a practice email from BOS Officials to their Tourney-X registered email within 12 hours of event closing.

August 12th – Official practice window begins.  Anglers are now allowed to access the waters, but must be in a kayak and follow all practice rules. Motors are allowed for practice only.  Receiving and gathering info is allowed as long as the info isn’t paid or bartered for and the source is not a guide.

August 18th-

4pm- Practice Window Ends/ Off the water

6:20- All Anglers are expected to be at Event HQ with their measuring device.

6:30- Angler Meeting and event Instructions

7 pm- Board check/ Day 1 and Day 2 ID Distribution.  Sponsor Prize Giveaway

– If anglers can’t attend the Friday night events, they are still responsible for coordinating with the director, getting their Ketch board checked, receiving event IDs and being aware of everything covered during the meeting.

August 19th-

5:30 am- Launch- Anglers can Pedal/ Paddle away from their start location.

6:00 am- Fishing Begins: Anglers can make their first cast.

2:00 pm- Fishing ends

3:00 pm- Submission deadline

7:30 pm- Facebook Live meeting and Day 2 ID code Announcement

August 20th

5:30 am- Launch- Anglers can Pedal/ Paddle away from their start location.

6:00 am- Fishing Begins

2:00 pm- Fishing ends

3:00 pm- Submission deadline

4:30 pm- Live Awards at HQ.  Anglers are welcome.

Event Boundaries:

Anglers are not allowed to wade or portage in this event.

Anglers will have access to ONLY Pools 7, 8, and 9 and its connected tributaries.  Due to the rivers levels and fluctuations, if a tributary or ramp is disconnected from the main river/ flow at the time of the event but still has a legal ramp/ access on the official list, it will remain part of the legal waters for the event as long as the official launch is used and all access rules are followed.

Published launches:

Anglers must use launches from the Official list to launch and land on competition days. Anglers must follow the rules of the facility they use. Some ramps and locations have published hours that are not reflective of event hours. This is a live map and running list.  It is subject to updates at any time and will be announced to the field. Participants are expected to help this list stay up to date through communication with the TD as they learn additional details through local knowledge, map study and time during pre-fishing. Not all access areas will be considered legal launches for the event. Link is below.

https://www.google.com/maps/d/edit?mid=17fGG5zqqWB7pMapKSWMxsTqsBlRWMCo&usp=sharing

The Hobie BOS requires a Metal Ketch Board for competition.  Anglers are expected to provide their own board.

Anglers must have a valid fishing License before they get on tournament waters.

Wisconsin-

https://dnr.wisconsin.gov/topic/Fishing/outreach/FishingLicenses

Minnesota-

https://www.dnr.state.mn.us/licenses/fishing/index.html

Iowa-

https://www.iowadnr.gov/fishing/buy-your-license

It is anglers responsibility to be aware of the license they need to be fishing legally in the waters they plan to fish.