I don ’ t think some people realize how hard it is to win the Toyota Series Championship . The regular season fields are generally pretty big . You either need to win a tournament or fish so well throughout the year just to make the Championship , and then you ’ re fishing against some of the best in the country at that level of fishing .
Toyota Series ( events ) are the hardest to win by far , just because you have all the [ local ] anglers and everything . There ’ s several guys that qualified for the championship knowing it was going to be on Guntersville .
You ’ ve spent some time on Guntersville , but you ’ re not a local or a seasoned vet on that fishery like some of the people you just beat . How much does it mean to you , coming from Texas , to win on fisheries that aren ’ t necessarily places you ’ ve spent a massive amount of time ?
It was my second time there . I spent a lot of time in Texas in the winter , last winter mainly , on some of the lakes around here just learning LiveScope . I actually did a little bit of research about Guntersville before I went this time , and figured I ’ d be able to LiveScope .
After the third day of practice , I was ready to go home . I couldn ’ t LiveScope anything over 2 pounds , and I was pretty frustrated . The last day , I figured it out , and LiveScope was my No . 1 key to the success there .
Forward-facing sonar has really leveled the playing field in a way . You get into those situations where you go to a fishery that ’ s primarily a grass fishery or ledges and you get guys who are so good with those techniques , but LiveScope opens up a lot more patterns for people who are good with the technology .
It really does . Even when I was there earlier this year ( for Pro Circuit Stop 4 ), there was a ton of fish on the ledges , and that ’ s what most of the guys were doing .
Normally , a couple years ago , I ’ d be out there with the ledge guys . I think I was one of very few that was LiveScoping there earlier this year . I was able to see those fish on LiveScope and people were driving right over the top of them graphing because it wasn ’ t like you had a whole school there . It opens up so many more different ways of fishing that have never been done before .
You and [ Bass Pro Tour pro ] Dakota Ebare , who you beat by 5 ounces at Champlain , are really close friends and longtime roommates . He has 21 Top 10s in MLF competition and is still hunting his first win . Was it tough for you to see him come so close again and come up just short , even though you were the beneficiary of that close call ?
It was very hard , especially with us being the last two on stage . It was something I don ’ t really ever want to go through again , but at the same time , I wouldn ’ t have traded it for anything .
I ’ m closer to him than anyone else on tour , and going into the week , we both knew we were going or have a shot at it . At the very end of the week , it was me and him standing on the stage . You don ’ t get to do that too many times .
Dakota ’ s a great dude . I ’ m sure he was as happy for you as you were about winning .
I ’ ve never wanted Dakota to win as bad as I have this year just because of how many times I ’ ve seen him so close .
I own a tackle store here in Granbury , and I sat there on the final day while he was at Lake Fork ( for Bass Pro Tour Stage Two ), and I thought about driving over there but I decided to stay at the tackle store . We were doing a giveaway for every fish he caught over 5 pounds . We ’ d give away a $ 100 gift card every time he caught a 5-pounder .
I sat there and pulled my hair out all day ; couldn ’ t even enjoy him catching 5- pounders , giving away hats and merchandise and shirts and all kinds of stuff . We had about 30 people in the store that day pulling for himAs many times as he ’ s been so close , I wanted him to win just as bad as he wants to win .
So what does Kyle Hall do when he ’ s not fishing ? Because it seems like you do an awful lot of that .
When I ’ m not fishing , my No . 1 thing is the tackle store . During hunting season , I like to hunt – duck hunt , deer hunt , pig hunt . I like to golf quite a bit . I got into that recently .
Last year I spent a lot of time at O . H . Ivie here in Texas chasing ShareLunkers . I plan to do a lot more of that this year from December 1 to February .
I don ’ t blame you at all . That place has been so insane lately .
I caught a 16-pounder there this year . March 1 , 16-10 . Pretty crazy .
My goal this year is to catch more than one 13-plus-pounder for the ShareLunker program . It only goes from January 1 to March 31 , so my goal is to catch two 13-pluses there .
Are you going to put in some time in Florida in preparation for the start of the Tackle Warehouse Invitationals ?
I don ’ t know just yet . I get the idea every year and I never end up doing it .
I ’ ve been to Okeechobee before , and I kind of have an idea of what they ’ re going to be doing . I think as long as I stay fishing from the first of the year until the middle of February , and have my head wrapped around the fishing world , I think I ’ ll be fine .
Being as young as you are , you really have a steep learning curve when it comes to the national trails because of lack of experience on some fisheries . What ’ s your process for breaking down a new lake and putting yourself in position to compete ?
When I get to the lake and break it down , I do a little bit of research and I figure out what ’ s going to fit me best . I like to figure out my types of fishing , which is LiveScope , and if I get on a river system or something where I can ’ t LiveScope , I ’ m flipping wood and stuff .
I just try to keep away from my weaknesses is my No . 1 thing . I do plenty of research to know what areas of the lake have my types of fishing , so when I launch my boat for practice the first morning , I ’ m not at the wrong end of the lake for what I like to fish .
Any big goals for next year ?
My No . 1 goal next year is to qualify for the Bass Pro Tour . I want to be on the biggest stage with the biggest names . I ’ ve leaned toward the FLW / MLF side of the industry much more in my whole career . It ’ s just who I got started with and who I believe has the most potential for the sport .
DECEMBER-JANUARY 2023 | MAJORLEAGUEFISHING . COM 81