Can’t We All Just Get Along?

Contributed by Geoff Luckett,
Tennessee Kayak Anglers
HOOK1 Kayak fishing team

The kayak angling community in Tennessee is strong and growing by leaps and bounds. We are lucky in that we have HOOK1 and Jackson Kayak based in our home state. However, recently we discovered that we have something even stronger for the growth of the sport. We have leadership at the kayak fishing club level that is willing to work with others to progress the sport.

This past month the leaders from all the major kayak fishing clubs (and we have 6) meet in an attempt to work out the specifics to come together for a common cause: TO BE ABLE TO BRING THE TOP ANGLERS FROM THE STATE TOGETHER TO CROWN A STATE CHAMPION! For all of us that were in the room and working towards this goal, it did not really seem like a novel concept. However, after several post on social media it was clear that this was not something that comes easy in most other states.
I am not certain why that is, and I cannot really speak to the growth/leadership in other states. What I can do is give some insight as to what has happened in Tennessee over the past three years to get us to this point.

Three years ago the kayak fishing community in this state was very fragmented. I was fishing with a couple of friends and we knew that there had to be others out there doing it too. We needed a way to find these other kayak fisherman. That lead to the formation of www.tennesseekayakanglers.com. A website and message board that was designed to help kayak anglers connect and form a community. At this same time Corey Stansifer, who lived in Chattanooga, and some of his friends from work were looking to find others to fish with as well. These guys started a club called Chattanooga Bass Yakkers ( www.chattanoogabassyakkers.com ) These two groups began to organize tournaments and grow our club numbers completely unaware of the other.

The following year, and this is the important part here, the two groups became aware of each other. What happened next was, in my opinion, the pivotal point in this story. When TKA and CBY were made aware of each other our first instinct was to include one another and not compete. The leadership of both groups were more worried about THE GROWTH OF KAYAK FISHING in Tennessee than about THE GROWTH OF THE THEIR CLUBS.

The following year our numbers in the state grew like wild fire. It was becoming obvious that there were enough kayak anglers to support more tournaments in Tennessee. TKA and CBY had grown beyond belief. There were sub groups within the clubs that had grown enough to run their own events, and because of the way TKA and CBY approached things from the beginning the atmosphere promoted this type of growth and did not try to control it. Now we have 6 groups in Tennessee running tournaments (live and online) and these groups will send their top 5 anglers to our Tennessee State Championship Tournament at the end of the season. This would not have been possible if the any of these clubs put their own interest ahead of the growing the kayak fishing community at large.

If you are ever in Tennessee, live in a neighboring state, or would like to travel to fish with us please check out the Tennessee Clubs and their schedules for next year. I would like to leave you with one great quote that sums up this issue well:
“It is amazing how much can be accomplished if no one cares who gets the credit.”? John Wooden

Tennessee Kayak Anglers:
www.tennesseekayakanglers.com
https://www.facebook.com/groups/566343970063604/
Chattanooga Bass Yakkers:
www.chattanoogabassyakkers.com
https://www.facebook.com/groups/chattanoogabassyakkers/
Kayak Bass Fishing TN:
http://kayakbassfishingtn.com/
https://www.facebook.com/KayakBassFishingTN
East Tennessee Kayak Anglers:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/536960849752108/
Southern Middle Tennessee Kayak Anglers:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/516453761822080/

Tri-State Kayak Anglers:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1458190141095728/