From His Kayak, Heyburn Bass Angler Kyle Zemke Reels In Championship Titles
By Dianna Troyer
What colors do fish see at a depth of 50 or 60 feet?
“Some people will tell you they don’t see any color, but that’s not the case,” says professional bass fisherman Kyle Zemke, a Heyburn resident. “Someone dropped a waterproof cardboard with the color spectrum on it, along with a welding rod for light and a camera to see how fish would react. They liked blue, purple and black.”
Based on those color studies, about five years ago, Kyle began designing and making colorful jigs.
“I never imagined that these silly-looking jigs would do so well and give me an edge,” he says. “The first year I used them, I placed high enough to cash a check at every tournament.”
He credits the jigs with helping him to win four Idaho Kayak Bass Fishing Angler of the Year titles from 2016 to 2020. In 2021, he won a Yak Bass Nation Pacific Northwest championship title.
Kyle says meeting other professional fishers is as rewarding as winning titles at tournaments. In 2022, during a national Bassmaster Classic Kayak Championship on Lake Russell in Anderson, South Carolina, Kyle met anglers he has admired from afar for decades.
“Ever since I was a kid, I watched Mike Iaconelli and others like Bill Dance on TV and admired them,” the 45-year-old says. “At the classic, I not only met Mike but even beat him. Fishing as a pro has taken me places I’ve only dreamed of and is a way to make lifelong friends. It’s a dream come true for me.”
Kyle says he sometimes forgets he is a professional fisherman. “I’m just doing what I love,” he says. “I feel like I haven’t worked in a long time—I just go fishing.”
From April to October, Kyle competes after working as a boat mechanic at Idaho Water Sports in Burley and working at his welding, fabrication and repair shop in Heyburn.
Sharing Secrets of Success
Wanting to share the secret of his success so others could also experience the thrill of reeling in a 20-inch fighting bass, Kyle began to make and sell tackle. He named his jigs Lil Bugger and Texas Bugs.
To make the jigs, he melts discarded lead weights and pours them into tiny domed molds a little smaller than a dime. Once hardened, he applies a powder coating with a heat gun. Finally, he hand ties on a thin, colorful plastic fringe and a hook.
“Dad designed all the tools to make these, a stand with an alligator clip to hold the jig so a heat gun can be used,” Kyle says.
He works in his late father’s shop where he grew up helping with whatever needed to be done.
“If Dad could dream it, he could make it,” Kyle says. “He loved to be resourceful and taught me that mindset, too.”
His father, Ron, also taught Kyle to be a boat mechanic and to make whatever parts were needed for repairs.
Ron also shared his love of fishing with his son.
“As soon as I could hold a pole, I started fishing with Dad and Grandpa,” Kyle says. About 10 years ago, Kyle decided to try fishing competitively and began entering Kayak Bass Fishing tournaments. He attained professional status in 2018.
“I love fishing from a kayak,” he says. “It’s quiet, up-close and in-your-face fishing.”
Kyle prefers a Hobie Cat brand kayak because he says the company is renowned for its maneuverable and lightweight watercraft. A small motor can be attached to the kayak, too.
“A friend at work put one in the back of my truck and told me to try it out,” he says. “That was it for me. I was hooked.”
The technology to guide kayaks has changed from when Kyle started. “They have pedals and a rudder, so you can go in reverse, forward, sideways or even a full 360,” he says.
He competes in tournaments, mainly organized by Kayak Bass Fishing, an organization founded in 2009. Its low overhead and accessibility have made its tournaments popular.
“They even have an online series if you’re curious about competing but don’t want to travel,” he says. “During 30 days in the series, you might have a variety of fishing venues—a bar in a river, a pond of 200 acres or less, or going to a place with large and smallmouth bass.” Competitors post their wins via an app with an identifier number.
Paying It Forward
Kyle says community volunteerism is just as important to him as fishing. That ideal was instilled in him when he wrestled at Minico High School. His coach, Brad Cooper, urged his athletes to use their unique talents to make a positive difference wherever they live.
“At the end of every season, we always got the ‘pay it forward’ speech,” Kyle says. “Giving back has always been important to me.”
Kyle helps coach wrestlers at West Minico Middle School. He has also taught a class, “Kayak Fishing Essentials,” for several years at the College of Southern Idaho Community Center in Burley.
As a tribute to his father and their mutual love of fishing, Kyle continues his business tradition and motto to take care of customers when they need mechanical or fishing tackle expertise.
As his dad always said, “The shop is always open.”