The water was crisp and clear, shimmering from the spring sunlight, gurgling
and bubbling as it flowed over the various river rocks. I was almost lost in
the peaceful setting of my hometown river when my rod doubled down. That moment
where you snap back to reality and set the hook happens in a blink of an eye
and then the fight begins. As I fought this smallmouth to the
Jackson Coosa, I couldn't
help but wish there were more anglers in the area that kayak fished. I reached
down and lipped the smallmouth admiring his colors and size before releasing
him and receiving the usual thank you splash. I paddled out of the eddy I was
sitting in only to be picked up and carried by the river's current. As I
sat, just letting the river decide the route, my mind flashed back to various
times I had noticed other car topped fishing kayaks in passing.
Now home, I started thinking about what tools I could use to bring anglers
together in this area. I searched the internet with no luck in the area I live
in. This led me to reading what others were doing or had done. I decided I
wanted to start a club and from what I could tell, Facebook was the easiest way
to do this. So I picked a name and created a page on Facebook. Getting people
to see the page meant building a rapport with other clubs. This is an
essential step to building your club, because even though they may not live in
a particular club's area, odds are they still follow most clubs within the state
you reside in. All the clubs I interacted with were very supportive, shared the
groups page, encouraged anglers to check it out and most important gave
guidance to get this started.
A month had gone by and there was now at least a small core of active
members, so at this point the first weekly tournament was held. I chose a week
night for this as it would be a way to break up the week as well as offering
all of us a chance to finally meet. By all of us I mean five people. That was all that
showed for the first tourney. Even with a small turnout this is a success for
you, so don't get down on yourself. If you're a growing club, I suggest small
weeknight tourneys with a cheap entry as it will encourage growth as well as
new members to the sport.
Meeting and greeting local kayak and fishing shops are vital for the
success of a club. I was fortunate to have been able to link up with
Uncle Lems Mountain Outfitters, who also shared the same goal as I did: to promote
kayak fishing and bring anglers together. This allowed us to build a strong
relationship where they helped promote the club as well as offered the members
of the club certain benefits. This partnership also lead to being able to
co-host the
River Bassin tournament when it came to town, again only helping to
further expand the club.
As time goes on there will be decisions that have to be made. You cannot be
afraid to hurt feelings with these decisions as your goal is what is best for
the club as a whole. There will always be someone that doesn't like how you are
doing things, the rules, where the tournament was held and the decision on a
fish during weigh in. These are rare, but they inevitably will come
up. Handle this calmly and explain your reason, then let that be the
end of it. A wise man once told me, "No matter the idiot who started
the yelling, if you yell back, to spectators it's just two idiots yelling." This
will do nothing but bring harm for your reputation as well as the club's.
By midsummer the club was booming. There were posts
about fishing, tips, product reviews were consistent, and
turnouts for the tournaments were 15-20 members on average. At
this point, I wanted to start giving back to the community. So I held
my first charity tournament to benefit two members in the local community
battling cancer. This tournament was a huge success and
this was not only due to the members of the club, but to
companies I reached out to asking to sponsor the tournament. Now when you reach
out to these companies, you’re going to get a wide variety of responses. The
main things are to ensure you explain what the tournament is
in support of, give them an honest estimate of how
many anglers will be attending, and explain how you’re going to promote them for
supporting the tournament. Understand that not every company will have the
budget to donate, but that doesn't mean they will not on the next one, so
always thank them for their time and support in order to leave an open
door for the next time.
As I sit here and write this, there has been roughly 8 months from
start to now.
East TN Kayak Anglers now has 300 plus members, a very
active internet presence, a core group of around 30 that show for
almost every tournament and two sponsors for our trail next year.
That doesn't mean that your club will take off that quickly. I was very
fortunate for mine to have taken off as quickly as it did and a lot of it had
to do with the support I had from various groups in Tennessee helping me to avoid
mistakes. The key is to not be discouraged. Even if it takes a season or
two to get where you want, know that it will get there. I think about all the time and effort I have put into getting
this club going. I will be the first to tell you it has been worth every second.
I have had the opportunity to meet, fish with, and learn from some of
the best anglers around and have made friendships that extend much farther
than in my local area. Now with most putting the kayaks up for
the last part of the year, this is the time that you start planning next year.
Look back at the things you have learned and ask the club for their
input on things they would like to see for next year. Talk
to other clubs in your state about hosting joint tournaments on
middle ground. At the end of the day remember this, kayak
fishing is about camaraderie, helping newcomers, preservation, giving
back, and having fun. If you keep these as the core values for
your club, then your club will succeed.
Until next time
Tight Lines and Screaming Reels
John Champion
