FIRECRACKER FISH-OFF FUN-FOR-ALL AT LAKE FORK
By Terri ElkinsFirst ALA Event Fun for Entire Family, Viewed as Successful Event
The first American Lady Anglers (ALA) Event, held on Saturday, July 3, 2010 at Lake Fork Marina and Motel, is now in the books. The intrepid participants who chose to brave the intermittent bands of showers spawned by Hurricane Alex enjoyed a memorable day-long extravaganza with something for everyone. The two most-voiced comments, heard repeatedly by the organizers were, “I had a great time, this tournament was the most fun of any tournament I’ve ever been in,” and “I’ll definitely be back for next year’s event”. The ALA had two goals in organizing the Independence Day Celebration. The primary goal was to throw a huge party to celebrate the holiday and honor the military veterans past and present who make it possible for all Americans to celebrate their Independence on this day, and the second was to hold a small, “get-your-feet-wet” event to try out all of the new equipment and work out any potential problems before the big Inaugural Tournament in September. The idea, creators say, is similar to opening a store before the Grand Opening, to work out all of the kinks.
The event started bright and early with a morning fishing tournament. From first cast at 6 am until the weigh-in at 11 am, the teams competed for both cash and prizes. First place honors went to uncle and nephew team Paul and Garrett Pearson, who also won the Big Bass Pot. Friends Cameron Burnett and Jonathan Lancaster won second place honors, weighing in at only three hundredths of an ounce behind the winners. Judy Skibinski and Cora Barker, both new ALA Charter members, won third place. Specialty prizes added to the festivities, with Hollie Brown taking the “Smallest Legal Fish” award. The award was a beautiful pink Ladies’ rod donated by CastAway rods, especially for this tournament. Liz Sanders and Linda Owens also each took home beautiful pink CastAway Ladies’ rods, winning the prize for coming the longest distance to fish in the event. Although there were anglers coming from Louisiana, Liz and Linda won by coming all the way from Brandon, Mississippi to join us at the Lake Fork event. Brandy Roughton, Vice President of CastAway Rods, brought her family to enjoy the event, along with multiple rods donated by her company for the event. She also brought copies of the companies’ freshly-printed new catalog, featurning CastAway’s new technology which will be highlighted in the rods they are taking to ICAST.
Immediately after the weigh-in concluded, several commemorative plaques were awarded by the American Lady Anglers. The first was a post humus Award given to Dorothy Jean Watkins, honorary American Lady Angler Charter Member Number One. Rod Baker, ALA Founder and Firecracker Fish-Off Tournament Director, emceed the event and said of Dorothy Jean. “She was the original Lady Angler and always fishing. When the WBT visited Old Hickory Lake in 2009, we met her son Dave Watkins, a guide at Old Hickory. He was out fishing with his mother and every few minutes would come up to him and say, ’I’m hung up!’ and Dave would patiently go and get her unstuck, all the while fishing and talking. She was a local fixture and everyone would drive by and honk at her as she fished.” The next plaque went to Tim Walker, winner of last year’s Firecracker Fish-Off. As winner of the event, Tim was granted free entry into the tournament this year. The plaque, commissioned and completed after last year’s event, and has been gracing the walls of Moser’s Restaurant for the patrons to comment on since that time. The Model A Fords swept the Classic Car Competition, and no clear winner could be determined. The People’s Choice Award was therefore split between the two Model A Fords, and a second People’s Choice Award will be given so that both Model A Ford owners will receive their plaque. The Mavericks Motorcycle Club swept into the marina with mufflers rumbling, to the applause of the crowd gathered for the weigh-in ceremonies. Fans immediately gravitated to the motorcycle display, after emcee Rod Baker explained the voting procedure. After a heated competition, Motorcycle #4 won the People’s Choice Award. It was a close contest between the winner and Motorcycle #9, another clear crowd favorite. After the Motorcycle competition convened, the Mavericks Motorcycle Club convened to President Steve Glenn’s house for a Commemorative Cook Out to celebrate their success, so that they could rest and regroup for the Fireworks Event later.
Reel Girls Fish, owned by ALA Sponsor Denise Sustiata, brought an entire trailer full of new products to display and sell to fans at the event. Denise’s Bass Caddy husband Larry received an official ALA Bass Caddy shirt as a thank-you from event organizers for all of the effort he put into helping out for the entire event. From dawn ‘til dusk, Larry lifted, toted, and in general did anything and everything he could to help out at both the Reel Girls booth and throughout the event grounds. Not only did the Reel Girls Booth display beautiful tee shirts and camisoles with both bling and originality, they treated customers by displaying on-site production of their wares. Customers could custom-order their individual preferences and watch while Denise made the magic happen and produce the order to their exact specifications. ALA member Terri Elkins is now a proud owner of a beautiful Reel Girls black camisole, with a beautiful aqua blue design. Other booths selling their wares included Impressions and More, and the ALA even got into the act displaying their new patches, decals, hats, visors and tee shirts. Also displayed were potential future products for fan feedback, such as sports bras and camisoles. Families and Fans dispersed indoors during heavy rain showers brought during afternoon hours, with the rain letting up just as the evening activities were scheduled to begin.
Word quickly spread throughout the Lake Fork Marina that the show would go on as planned, and people began emerging from cover. A crowd quickly gathered to delight in the decorated golf carts, all of which showed a definite patriotic theme. Lee White emceed the event, awarding prizes donated by Lake Fork Marina to the winners of four categories: Most Patriotic, Most Original, Best Decorated, and Crowd Favorite. The winners gathered to lead the parade in a victory lap around the marina waving their prizes to the appreciative crowd, to the accompaniment of air horns and crowd applause. After the laughter died down, everyone was ready to view the fireworks, donated by the American Lady Anglers for the event. Not only did people gather at the marina, but boats also gathered off the point where the fireworks were set up, to better view the fireworks from the water. In deference to the wet ground and recent showers, organizers had to forego the planned musical accompaniment, but the collective crowd spirit could not be dampened as the Fireworks Extravaganza ensued. For over 30 minutes, multiple bursts of remote-detonated fireworks continued to evoke appreciative applause, along with whistles and other vocal kudos. It wasn’t enough that each fireworks display used 500 grams of gunpowder, the maximum allowable for sale in the United States. Steve Nail and Rod Baker, the masterminds behind the display design wired four different types of fireworks together for each burst, ensuring that the crowd received the full “bang for their buck” for each burst. The sky was literally filled with continuous fireworks bursts for the entirety of the event, culminating in a Grand Finale lasting for over ten minutes. Fans, friends and families attending the 2010 ALA Firecracker Fish-Off all went home sleepy and satisfied, after a full day filled with fun finished off by the Fireworks Display Finale.
The ALA would like to thank Sponsors Lake Fork Marina, Reel Girls Fish, CastAway Graphite Rods, Sure-Life, Impressions & More, Steve’s Custom Props, along with all of the local businesses who donated for the 2010 ALA Firecracker Fish-Off. A big thank you goes out to Brookshire’s Grocery Store, Hooten’s Hardware, Emory Auto, Tim Walker’s Bait Shop, Steve’s Custom Props, Pott’s Feed Store, OnSite Trolling Motor Service, Service Marine, and Alco for donating items for the raffle. A special thanks to the Classic Car Club and the Mavericks Motorcycle Club for their participation.
About the ALA: The American Lady Anglers (ALA), founded by Rod Baker, husband and bass caddy of former WBT Pro Dr. Terri Elkins, and Lake Fork Fishing Guide Lee White, gives all women the opportunity to fish on an even playing field. Standard ALA events consist of both the Co/Pro Individual and Team Tournaments in which the full field of entrants compete for two days in each. Ladies may enjoy the fun and camaraderie the ALA provides while fishing in either one or both tournaments. ALA benefits include offering the highest paybacks possible for the lowest entry fees, along with increased media attention to promote both the anglers and their Sponsors.
The ALA also hosts specialty events, such as its season-opening Firecracker Fish-Off, an Independence Day Benefit Tournament honoring a specific military charity each year. Like other ALA specialty events, The Firecracker Fish-Off is not just for ladies; the entire family can fish. With the ALA, fishing is not only a family affair, it’s fun for everyone, the anglers, their families, their friends, and their fans. Sponsors Lake Fork Marina, Sure Life, Reel Girls Fish and CastAway Graphite Rods share the ALA ideals and support their charitable and other service ventures.
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If you’d like more information about this topic, go to AmericanLadyAnglers.com or to schedule an interview to discuss the ALA, please call Terri Elkins at (972) 977-6700, or Email Terri at terrielkins@sbcglobal.net.
Perfect Gift
By Kenny BillingsLet me start off by saying that without question I have the greatest wife in the world. No caveat’s or qualifications – Wanda Billings is hands down wife of the year for 2010.
As the wife of an avid weekend angler, just like so many others across this great land, she doesn’t have it easy. So many weekends our wives sit tolerantly by as we disappear for hours and, on occasion, sometimes days at a time in our fishing pursuits. And when we are not fishing we are often talking about fishing with our buddies or reading about fishing in one of the six or seven magazines we subscribe to. Between tournaments and trips to the nearest Bass Pro our wives patiently, and sometimes not-so-patiently, await their turn for a bit of our time while never truly understanding the affliction we suffer that takes us so far away from them even when we are by their side.
I’m sure it is much easier for the wives of guys like Skeet Reese, Kevin Van Dam and Mike Iaconelli to understand the obsession we share because for them there is something of substance waiting for them at the boat. After all it is their vocation and livelihood. Our wives are not so fortunate. They see us pour so much our time and money into obsessing over this greenish fish with seemingly little return. It is beyond their comprehension. And if we’re honest with ourselves it’s not really that attractive of a fish. Yet through our affliction-colored glasses, a wide tail, pot belly, bugged out eyes and giant mouth transforms into something of such profound beauty we stare at it glassy-eyed much like we would over a Hooter’s girl long before our wives came along.
This Christmas, however, my wife earned her wife-of-the-year honors when she moved one step beyond the passive acceptance that most bass fishermen enjoy from their wives and with a simple Christmas gift took the giant leap of fully supporting and encouraging my bass fishing endeavors.
As our family gathered around the tree on Christmas morning to celebrate the birth of our Savior by exchanging gifts, Wanda sat patiently waiting to give me mine. After the children finished opening their presents, she handed me a small envelope with a bow and my name written in bright red. In Christmases past I had received the same token gifts of “acceptance” we have all received – the Largemouth Bass tie, the rubber mounted bass that sings “Rolling on the River” (Proud Mary,) – acknowledging our love for this proud fish.
As I gingerly opened the envelope, I assumed that instead searching for yet another fishing themed gift she had decided to just give me a gift card to Bass Pro or Dick’s Sporting Goods. As I took out the neatly folded piece of paper tucked inside, however, I saw I was holding something far more meaningful than a largemouth bass mailbox (which I had actually asked for by the way.)
There in my hands was a printed receipt for a gift that would likely lead to even more weekends at the lake and in tournaments and therefore more time away from home. As I sat there looking at the printed receipt for the Dallas, Texas Bass University I was speechless. In the simplest of gestures and without saying a word she made the most profound statement while at the same time giving me the perfect Christmas gift.
For the two months that followed, Wanda enjoyed the fruits of my gratitude, and as Feb. 5th approached, my anticipation grew harder and harder to contain. The night before my departure, I could barely sleep. After seeing Wanda off to work and my two daughters off to school, I set my course for Dallas for what I expected to be a perfect weekend which would also include spending time with my close friend and owner of Lake Fork Trophy Lures, Ronnie Parker.
Often times, when we look forward to something with such expectancy, we are frequently disappointed with the outcome. Our expectations become so over-inflated that what we end up getting could never come close to meeting them. I tried my best to avoid this trap, however my enthusiasm could not be contained, and as I travelled the 601 miles from Starkville, Miss. to Dallas, my expectations ballooned to almost unrealistic proportions.
After another restless night, I finally made my way from Ronnie’s home in McKinney to the Hilton DFW Lakes where the seminar was being held. Not knowing what to expect, other than a weekend of classroom-style instruction from some of the best bass fishermen in the business, I joined about 70 of my closest friends whom I had never met, all of us hoping to garner the knowledge to be better bass fishermen and women.
What happened over the course of the next two days is almost inexpressible in words. I could write for hours about how Ish Monroe, Pete Gluszek, Fred Rhoumbanis, Pete Thliveros, Byron Velvick and Mike Iaconelli went into great detail sharing the techniques of their respective specialties, but none of that could convey all of the intangibles that made this weekend such a special experience.
Like everyone at the Dallas event, I left with a deeper understanding of bass fishing as well as the tools necessary to be a better fisherman. But the most important thing I took with me had nothing to do with fishing a shaky head or stroking a jig, and it didn’t come during any of the seminar presentations.
These six men, after fielding dozens upon dozens of questions from participants eager to squeeze the last drop of information out before the weekend ended, stuck around at the end of each session to be peppered with even more questions, comments, and photo and autograph requests rather than seek the solitude of a back room to escape the fray. It wasn’t just the chance to learn from them, it was also the chance to get to know them and interact with them one-on-one. The fact that they were so willing to spend so much extra time with their fans without a hint of pretense spoke volumes.
These are men who are fortunate enough to make a living at the sport we all love and giving their time to be a part of Bass University was about more than collecting a speaker’s fee and talking about how they fish. It was much more than that. It was glaringly obvious they were not only willing, but eager to share with us the things they do that helped make them successful. And as much as we wanted to be better anglers, they wanted us to be better anglers.
But why? Why were they so willing to engage with us at such a personal level? The answer is very simple. If you strip away the titles, championships and the paychecks one thing remains constant among these men and that is their love of fishing. It is what drives and motivates them in everything they do.
Ask yourself this question – if there was no paycheck involved, would Jeff Gordon still fire up his car and head to the track on Saturdays? If there was no paycheck would Jonathan Papelbon still head to the diamond for a pick-up game of baseball? Not very likely is it? But if you were to take away the paychecks and sponsorships from any of these men, it would not stop them. You could virtually guarantee that no matter what, after working all week for the man they would be on the water come sunrise Saturday because they simply love to fish.
For those of us who attended the Bass University, whether it was in Texas, Tennessee, Pennsylvania or California, our stories are no different. Regardless of our skill levels, how much we fish or if we fish competitively or not, each one of us were there for one uncomplicated, straightforward reason – we love to fish. It is that common thread that unites us into a sort of brotherhood that few ever fully understand.
A long drive alone offers plenty of time to think, and as I made my way home Monday, I reflected on the weekend and how to convey to my wife the importance of the gift she had given me. We had spoken several times over the weekend but we were both distracted most of the time and had little time to really talk. My experiences at the Bass University only renewed my feelings of gratitude, and I once again began searching for ways to express it.
But apparently I wasn’t done learning yet, and it was at a small restaurant in Rayville, La. that I learned the final lesson the weekend had to teach me. Using my laptop, I connected to the internet for the first time since Friday to catch up on work and what was going on around the world. While checking my Facebook, I saw something that showed me that while Wanda may not fully understand my obsession with fishing, she thoroughly understood the significance of her gift to me and what it could lead to. Posted shortly after I left on Friday, her status comment bore a simple, humbling message: “Give a man fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach him to fish, and he’ll stay gone for days at a time.”
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