SKA National Championships

SKA Nationals Powered by Yamaha

Get ready for the 33rd Annual SKA National Championship Powered by Yamaha in Beaufort, NC, November 18-22, 2026! The top Open Class finisher will take home a BRAND-NEW YAMAHA OUTBOARD F300 XCB MOTOR!

This is a TWO DAY, TWO FISH AGGREGATE event. Fishing Days are Friday and Saturday. Weather days are Thursday and Sunday.

We’ve heard your feedback. For 2026, the SKA National Championship Powered by Yamaha will move to a four-fish format.

Teams will be allowed to weigh up to two fish each day, with their two heaviest fish of the tournament counting toward the overall championship rankings.

Qualifiers Registration Location TWTs

QUALIFIERS

To qualify for the National Championship, a team must have:
1) Weighed a fish in AT LEAST ONE sanctioned event in the current tournament season;
2) AND finish in the current tournament season in the GREATER of:
A) Top 25%* of the Division's Class OR
B) The top 25* of the Division's Open Class / the top 15* of the Division's Small Boat Class.

* Number of teams is determined by the total number of participating teams in that Division Class fishing AT LEAST ONE sanctioned event for the current tournament season regardless of whether the team weighed a fish.

Additional Qualifiers and Exceptions:

1) If a team qualifies in multiple Divisions, that team will be excluded from qualifying ranking lists in all but the highest ranked Division.
2) Past National Champions, Hall of Fame inductees, AND past Anglers of the Year are automatically qualified for the Championship and will be excluded from any Divisional qualifying ranking lists.
3) Teams that ranked 1st, 2nd or 3rd in their Class in 2025's Divisional rankings are automatically qualified for the Championship and will be excluded from any Divisional qualifying ranking lists.
4) The SKA will allow for a current SKA Partner to nominate Teams otherwise not qualifying. The Team entered must be in good membership standing with the SKA.

Teams that meet these criteria will be invited to compete in the SKA's National Championship and will receive an invitation as notification of their selection. Small Boat teams receiving an invitation code may compete in the OPEN CLASS after paying the Open Class registration fee.

Nationals Crew: Captains can fish with their original team or may pick their crew as long as crew members meet all criteria listed. ALL ANGLERS on a National Championship crew MUST BE CURRENT SKA competition members PRIOR TO the National Championship FISHING DAY 1. The addition of a hired "local captain" to your team is strictly prohibited.

Crew members may ONLY FISH WITH ONE TEAM during Nationals. Team members are declared at registration and no later than the end of the Nationals Captain's Meeting.

REGISTRATION

Registration for the 2026 SKA National Championships OPEN CLASS is by INVITATION ONLY. Invitations will begin going out via email around September 15.

Online registration is $1,000 per OPEN CLASS team / $600 per SMALL BOAT team. Card payments will include a 4% processing fee.

LOCATION

The 2026 SKA Nationals will take place at Town Creek Marina in Beaufort, NC. Additional details coming soon!

RULES

Complete rules coming soon!

TWTS

All TWTs are optional. Kingfish Calcuttas (TWTs) are CASH ONLY

50/30/20 Split TWTs:
Open Class Big Fish - $100
Small Boat Big Fish - $100
Big Fish - $250
High Roller Big Fish - $1,000
Big 40 TWT - $100 (Closest fish over or under 40 pounds. All weighed fish are eligible, even if the fish is not one of the team’s two championship fish.)
2-Fish Aggregate TWT - $250 (Teams weighing one or two fish are eligible.)
4-Fish Aggregate TWT - $500 (Teams weighing one to four fish are eligible.)

Winner Take All TWTs:
High Roller 2-Fish Aggregate - $1,000 (Teams weighing one or two fish are eligible.)
Super Pot 2-Fish Aggregate - $5,000 (Teams weighing one or two fish are eligible.)

All In: $8,200 (Cash and card payments accepted. Processing fees apply to card payments.)