"Doggy Paddle" is a huge success!

A "paddle only" tournament on Duck Creek!

May 16, 2025

Competitive kayak fishing has certainly progressed from the days of old when we paddled out to our spots to fish for bass. With the development of pedal drives, electric motors, and of course sonar technology the kayak has become somewhat of a miniature bass boat.

These dogs are certainly having some fun at the “Doggy Paddle!”

The “Doggy Paddle” event brought back some of the traditional paddling with a derby at Duck Creek Lake on May 10, 2025. Pedals, motors, nor sonar were allowed to be used in this event. It was amazing to see the great turnout as anglers strategized on how to get their limit of five bass during the six hour derby. They were also looking for a fishing bobber with a number written on it for the Hoodoo Kayak drawing. They would also hunt for a stick to throw for a dog to retrieve and a chance at a Bending Branches paddle. This event was established to bring awareness of adopting pets and who does it better than Hearts United for Animals. They have a huge dog/cat adoption center just a few miles to the southwest of Duck Creek.

Hearts United for Animals had staff on hand to help out during the day. They even brought some of their residents!

Duck Creek is a small 55 acre lake just a few mile north of Auburn, Nebraska but fishes big. The 27 anglers that participated had no issues with space and many replied that it was the most relaxing tournament they had ever fished. There were veterans and beginners alike and all seemed to have a lot of fun!

The entry fee for this event was a bag of dog/cat food or treats.

Michael Thomas shows a nice big bag of dog food he donated for the cause.

There were multiple bags brought to the bench area and we even had one angler donate a $1,000 check to the Hearts United for Animals! We also had an online donation as well. The Hearts United Board President was also on hand to see first hand our efforts to help them out.

A generous donation given to Hearts United for Animals by legendary kayak angler Andy Moore of Omaha.

It was a beautiful calm sunny morning here in southeast Nebraska and warmed up quickly. The bite was pretty good with 16 anglers turning in five fish limits. Their size ranged from eight to 18 inches. The top three limits averaged 74.25 inches. A total of 103 bass photos were submitted by the 27 anglers.

The top three anglers were from left: Jake Dennis, Brett Wilson, and Marty Hughes.

Brett Wilson of Auburn took top honors with a score of 78.75 with Marty Hughes also of Auburn turning in 74.25 inches of bass. Wilson used a jig to catch his bass while Hughes went to the Neko Rig for his limit of bass. Third went to Jake Dennis of Syracuse with 69.75 inches. Rounding out the top 10 were:

Michael Thomas Fishing, Omaha-69.75”
Mack Flannagan Weeping Water-68.25” (Won by Tiebreaker)
Andy Moore, Omaha-68.25”
David Hutsell, Lincoln-67.5”
Robert Lutz, Omaha-67.0”
Brian Motschenbacher, Lincoln-64.75”
Jennifer Solberg, Omaha-64.0”

The Big Bass Winner was Wilson with a18.25” bass. The Microbag Winner went to Michael Thomas ofOmaha with 49.25 inches.

The Hoodoo Kayak winner was Ethan Wortehy of Humboldt. The Bending Branches Paddle Winner was Shawn Carfield, and the YakGear Crate was won by Andy Moore.