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Podcast by a Panhandle Surf Angler for all anglers of any level. We will talk weekly to guests that are anglers and also industry professionals. I want you to walk away from this podcast with some knowledge either refreshed or new for you to become a better angler. Though it will start in the Panhandle of Florida, it will be around the entire United States so we can all learn something about fishing in different regions.
Speaker 1 (00:00:01):
If you've been listening to this show long enough, , you know how strongly I feel about, well, one, who our guest is today, but also the foundation. I'm all about getting kids out in the water, having 'em fish with their families, making memories, rod and Han and learning everything cool about this sport. And I can't say enough about the Kids Can Fish Foundation 'cause that's what they do. Uh, they provide the gear, education, fishing camps, mentorship, and opportunities for the kids who might otherwise never get the experience a day on the beach with a rod. The running of the Bulls tournament that just happened. It, it helps fund that program. And we'll talk about that in the episode. But they operate year round and they rely on people just like you. Keep the mission going. If you wanna support, volunteer, donate or learn more, head over to Kids Can fish.net. And every dollar you spend it help puts a kid. It helps put a kid on the water. And that's something I'm fully behind supporting and I hope all of you will be too. So Kids Can Fish Foundation, kids can fish.net. Go take a look and we're gonna get into the episode. Here we go.
Speaker 1 (00:01:36):
Man, I messed up. I didn't get to use the cool new intro. Oh. So if you're listening to it, it was no different. But if you're watching, you know, you saw there was something different. Uh, welcome back everybody. Hope you're doing well. Wherever you are. Things have been going very well for you. It is in the fun wintertime that this episode is being recorded. We, uh, we're in that slow time of fishing and this is that time for the Gear Reset, relearn, and, uh, learn about new people and new things. And we're gonna turn the dial back a little bit. We're gonna go back into October and we're gonna talk with Tom tonight from Kids Can Fish. We're gonna talk a lot, a lot of things. Of course. We're gonna talk about the tournament, we're talk about the foundation, talk about the future. There's some really, really cool things that are coming. I've only heard a little bit about it. And, um, yeah, it's gonna be good. So without further ado, welcome back buddy.
Speaker 2 (00:02:26):
Hey, demo. Hey, one thing you said, that's a different intro, but man, it was like going home. It's so good to have you back. . It's so good to have you back.
Speaker 1 (00:02:34):
I have missed this. I cannot tell you when we talked about it on the beach. Yeah. And, uh, I have truly, truly missed this. Yeah. To, uh, to give you guys something funny here. So Tom and I, in the recent tournament to, we had some great time sitting out in very unfriendly rain and wind. Little chilly, uh, it was worse than the, it was worse than that Sunday snap the year before.
Speaker 2 (00:03:02):
Oh yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:03:03):
That Sunday snap was crazy. But this year I was like, oh, waiters yes, please.
Speaker 2 (00:03:08):
Your umbrella was the MVP .
Speaker 1 (00:03:13):
You're like,
Speaker 2 (00:03:14):
Get under here. I'm like, okay.
Speaker 1 (00:03:18):
The only thing we needed was like a space heater or just like a little propane one. And we'd just been like, we're fine. Thanks. Have great day.
Speaker 2 (00:03:24):
We, we snuggled up. But two big guys, we were, we got warm enough, we
Speaker 1 (00:03:27):
Were all right . It was great. No,
Speaker 2 (00:03:29):
That umbrella was blocked. That wind and that little sprinkle we had, oh,
Speaker 1 (00:03:35):
That wind was real this year too. That morning when? Mm-hmm. What was that? 20 Easily 20
Speaker 2 (00:03:39):
Easily. Easily 20 knots.
Speaker 1 (00:03:42):
Oh. So if you guys haven't been to St. Simon's area, um, and you're on the water, if you've ever beached fish, you know, open air, open water, wind, like that, it, it hurts. But throw it in with right off the Atlantic and gosh, a borderline nor'easter and you just get a, a perfect line for just, this is gonna suck. And it didn't, it was an awesome tournament. It was like, holy crap, this worked out great.
Speaker 2 (00:04:08):
Record numbers. We caught the most fish in our two day tournament this year than any of 'em. And the weather was, well, Saturday was rough, really rough. Sunday was much, much better.
Speaker 1 (00:04:19):
Yeah. The only thing that kind of mad about Sunday, the, I would say the sticks, the grass that kept magically popped up out of the rivers and outta the front side. That was the only, like how did this happen? But, uh, seeing all the groups and everything, it seems like the June grass is, it's been a problem everywhere this year. It's still sticking around.
Speaker 2 (00:04:37):
Yeah. Right. Even in the panhandle's really bad, right? Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:04:41):
Yeah. Justin was, uh, from Justin Reed fishing. I was talking with him about it and he's like, yeah, I'm still having to find spots. So it's ugh.
Speaker 2 (00:04:50):
And not just hunting clean water hunting where you don't have grasses in the water. That's nuts.
Speaker 1 (00:04:55):
Yeah. So this is your first time listening to the show. Welcome. We do these, uh, all the time. They're great. And I am very fortunate that I can convince and con Tom to come on . 'cause we can, uh, if you guys ever, like we were doing pre-show and we were talking for almost 20 minutes pre-show, um, 'cause him and I can just do that. We can have a conversation for hours very easily. Um, so, but let's back into this. So if you never heard of Kids Can Fish Tom, tell us about it. What is Kids Can Fish Foundation and what's the mission behind it?
Speaker 2 (00:05:25):
Kids can Fish is, it's, it's exactly what it is. It's, um, getting kids outdoors, spending time with family, friends, getting away from the technology world that we're in, getting kids connected to the world that we experienced when we were younger. And we find that when we get these kids at these fishing camps, we see them not dependent on electronics, getting along with kids at different backgrounds, different races, different um, financial, you know, capabilities with their, their families. They're just kids enjoying the experience. We fundraise throughout the year to make our fishing camps happen. They're all free for the families that attend. We average anywhere between seven and 10 a year. We'll go into that a little bit later. They're 100% free for everybody to attend. And it's, it's almost become like a calling. I think this thing just found me, uh, through my daughter. She came up with a concept almost six years ago.
Speaker 2 (00:06:23):
Um, we launched this little thing through a concept that she called Girls Can Fish, which, uh, slowly morphed into kids Can Fish. And then when people want to contribute and, and help you, um, obviously being a nonprofit helps. So we turn it into a nonprofit pretty quickly. Uh, learning that this is, this is, uh, what we do. We're doing kids fishing camps and clinics from everything from surf fishing at high levels to dock dock camps, pond camps, CNET camps, anything related to, uh, fishing, we pretty much can, can get involved in as long as uh, we have a body of water to do that.
Speaker 1 (00:06:57):
And one of the things that I think people are, at least the times, I've had a couple conversations with people like, do do you really get to keep the gear? It's like, yeah. It's all, it's all there. This is all, all in one learning experience and, and you're getting teach. And the other cool part I loved, especially when we did the panhandle one, you got people out there helping and teach, though along the way. It's not just, here's the gear, figure it out. You got people working with you.
Speaker 2 (00:07:19):
Yeah. The the big thing I get was why do you give such an expensive piece of equipment away? Like the, the surf rods that we give away, they average MSRP from the store shelf, 160 to $180 for the combo. I can tell you that wasn't always the way our, our second camp that we held at Jung's, uh, fish Camp in Crescent Beach, I think we paid $7 a Rod that, uh, captain Morley helped us out with. And like that. We were like, wow, that's a big deal. We just spent 260 bucks today, like on a camp. Now we're spending close to $10,000 a camp. Um, it's, it's changed the way we do things. And our goal is if we're gonna put a piece of equipment in a kid's hand, we want it to not be something that's going to break on their next trip out that they're gonna get the longevity with. We talk about the care and upkeep of that equipment. 'cause that's a big piece even for the adults, because we want to take a cost barrier away from the parents. If we provide them the quality of equipment and tell them how to do the fishing that we're doing. When the kid says, Hey, I want to go, the answer should be pretty easy. Yes. Because all you gotta do is find the body of water and maybe buy a little bait.
Speaker 1 (00:08:33):
Yeah. That kind of ties into something we were talking about pre-show. Uh, you know, you've gotten how many messages about people talking about, well, what kind of gear do I need? What, how do I, what do I need to buy? What do I need to do? It's,
Speaker 2 (00:08:43):
That's probably other than, other than camps fill so fast, how do we get in the camps or when's the schedule coming out is a pretty common one. The an easy top five question is, I live in X area, we know nothing. This is common, know nothing about fishing. What do I spend my money on? And then I ask questions, and then I'm, I lead 'em in, into the, you know, realm of what they might wanna spend their money on. And, and then start talking a little bit about tactics. That is a, is a very, very common question I get. And um, it spanned from, I had people in California and then all the way up to the northeast coast. And you know, when you get those areas, I'm like, all right, you're surf fishing California, I've never done that. But how much different can it be than here?
Speaker 2 (00:09:26):
Gear is gear, salt water, salt water. And um, there's a lot of coaching that happens behind the scenes with me in a, it's usually a single parent actually. Um, and most of the times I hear, you know, dad's not around or, um, you know, the father passed away or I'm the grandpa that wants to reconnect, you know, my, my passion. But the game's changed a little bit kind of stuff that, those are pretty cool emails and, uh, social messages to have. And then, and then here, oh my God, we did so good. Look at the fish we caught. And, um, just reminding 'em, it's not that difficult. You just gotta get out there.
Speaker 1 (00:10:04):
Yeah. We've talked about, I mean, gosh, how many different episodes we've done, you know, you and I have talked about up and down the, throughout the whole country. And the one thing I've always found is fishing's fishing, doesn't matter what it is. You fishing's fishing, you just hook line a little bit of a sinker lock on and go, it's beach fishing. You can do it anywhere if you get just the basics. And the big question, and we talked about it too, is you don't need, or the big statement is you don't need a $500 rod in real combo. No. At all. You don't need any of that. I mean, hell, I started with a 70, 75, like $75 combo and I got hooked on by catching a redfish. Yeah, you've seen it. I mean, what is that, what is that one thing that you tell people for that is, you know, well, what kind of gear do I need? Uh, what, where should I start?
Speaker 2 (00:10:51):
Yeah. You know, it's, I I usually will stick with the brands that help us, obviously. Um, because that's the gear we're using at camps and kind of my mantra is, if I'm gonna put it in the hands of a kid to use, that means I would also use it or I, or believe in that brand or that product. So, you know, I'll tell them, you know, first of all, the biggest thing is if you don't take care of the equipment, clean it, store it properly. Most equip equipment, even the best of the best isn't gonna last. Like, I'm really big on care and maintenance. And then I ask them, you know, is this just a a weekend trip you're trying to take? Or do you live by a body of water? Or is this just a vacation that you're doing that's gonna have water access?
Speaker 2 (00:11:31):
And just think about the frequency. After I figure out the, uh, frequency that they're going to fish or they like to fish, then I ask 'em about, you know, what, what's their price range? Gimme a price range that you wanna work into. There's been so many people that I've told about the Shakespeare, uh, surf rod. My first surf rod that I bought here was a Shakespeare combo. I've caught some awesome fish from the beach here, and I still have that rod. And every once in a while still makes it way out in the sand because it was a really cheap combo. But it's indestructible. It's just, it's amazing. I love it. Um, and it is by far the cheap, cheapest surf combo I have, but it's also had some of the best fish I've ever caught here on a, on the southeast coast. So it's just a testament that like you, just because you have the best equipment doesn't mean that's gonna give you the best fish by any means. But I'm a big, I'm more of a believer. I, I like to spend my money on reels. Um, don't get me wrong, I have some really, really nice custom rods and they do, they make a remarkable difference. But if I'm gonna spend my money, um, I start with the real first. And I'm, I'm a, I'm a hook snob. Um, I just have some brand hooks.
Speaker 1 (00:12:39):
Yes, you're .
Speaker 2 (00:12:41):
Um, I just, and it's not like I've had bad luck with a certain type of hook, like, you know, break offs or straighten outs, things like that. There's just, um, a few brands that I really like and I call home and, um, I won't deviate from those. So especially salt water, I'll tell people I'm like, I I'm a gamma tsu dude. Um, hardcore, they're expensive, but don't get me wrong, you can go to, um, academy sports and buy an H2O Express line, you know, circle, hook and it's gonna get through the fish's mouth. I just, I just have certain things that I fish for me personally. Um, so we talk a lot about that, like means frequency, intention. Um, the age of the kid also is really big. You know, you don't wanna oversize the equipment or, um, get it too advanced for them to where you get out there and the kid can't use it and then you've lost them. If the kid's not doing any of the activity and it's just the parent or the friend or the grandma or grandpa, whoever it is, that's no fun for the kid. So you gotta make sure that the, the piece of equipment suits the capability level. Certainly. So there's a lot of that that goes on. Some of those conversations I'll have with with people that email me or message me can, can go on for several weeks. Um, but usually it turns out good. See good photos and good stories.
Speaker 1 (00:14:01):
You're doing good things
Speaker 2 (00:14:04):
. Yeah. And I, I tell 'em, I go and don't get, don't get me wrong, like, you might go out there and catch nothing, but don't blame me. 'cause it, it happens to me too. Like, I go, I have plenty of trips where I don't catch fish or I don't catch what I'm targeting. Um, that's part of the game. But I'll tell you what, um, when you figure it out, all it takes is that one, that one tug, that one landed fish. And like you're, you're back in, in the game. Like the temperature of the boat or the surf can change really quick with one fish, can it?
Speaker 1 (00:14:30):
Oh yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2 (00:14:32):
It's amazing how that works.
Speaker 1 (00:14:35):
The worst is when it's ice cold and Yeah, yeah, yeah. We've been there. Yeah, right.
Speaker 2 (00:14:40):
A bunch.
Speaker 1 (00:14:41):
I mean, in reality you're gonna skunk more than you're gonna win. It's just, that's phishing and it's okay. You know, remember the other reasons that you're out there, you're out there for a little bit of family time, you know, know maybe if you're on your own exactly. Out there for a little self-healing, whatever it may be. But you went out there for a reason. It doesn't always have to be to catch fish.
Speaker 2 (00:14:58):
I did a, um, one of those 92nd knowledge pieces. I was doing that in the spring and we were still
Speaker 1 (00:15:04):
Loved it.
Speaker 2 (00:15:05):
They're coming back. I got, I got a list of stuff I'm doing. Patience is probably the number one important thing to teach a kid about phishing is it's not results always. And these kids these days, they, they want, they, they have access to things and they get responses quickly. That's not phishing. And I tell parents, I go, that, that might be one of your biggest challenge is you throw a bobber in the water and the thing doesn't go under and the kid gets upset or gets bored or just wants to quit. Do something to buy you time. Let 'em sit. And we've talked about this. Let 'em sit in the chair and listen to some music or play on their phone or whatever. 'cause the second the rod goes off, they spring out that chair, the phone goes down and they're gonna be on the rod.
Speaker 2 (00:15:50):
So you have to find a way to keep that interest and buy the time. Um, unless you're fortunate and you go to some stock pond or some just some really high end area that's, you know, always on. There's a couple, you know, places like that. But, um, so the patience piece is really big, especially with the newbie kids. Um, and when they're ready to go, I tell parents this too, like when they've really had enough, don't force the issue. You, when the kid says, I'm done, it, it's time to rock. Um, time to, to pack it up. Or maybe that's a good time. Or like, you've hidden away some good snacks or some goodies or the sugar stuff that you were hiding away for yourself. And then for, you know, celebration snacks, like do something. If they say they're done, don't just dig in and say, no, we're here. I packed up that. That'll kill it. That kills the mood quickly. That's, that's a really, a really good tip that
Speaker 1 (00:16:41):
Yeah, that is, that's solid, super solid.
Speaker 2 (00:16:44):
And after all the prep and all the getting things together and the travel and you're just trying to have an amazing time with your kid as a parent and you're like, I gotta pack all this stuff up just to, you know, come off the beach or whatever, just to go to, you know, the drive through for the kid or whatever it, you just gotta accept it as what it is. And um, the ones that like, it will grind it out with you. I've found that to be more common. If you get a kid that says, I want to go fishing. Something has sparked in them that they have an interest of some kind, whether it's a, a family born kind of instinct or trend, you know, that families do. Or maybe a friend got 'em into it. If a kid says, I want to go fishing, you're probably gonna be okay with keeping them out there and keeping that interest level. But just have, have a plan B and C in your back pocket to where if it's not one of those dynamite days,
Speaker 1 (00:17:38):
Well put sir. Very well put. Yeah. Well, uh, I tell you what, 'cause we're about to transition into the fun stuff here. So before we do that, I'm just gonna do it early. And if you're new to this show, you're about to find out every 20 minutes. I always tell you to check your bait because quite frankly, fish are thieves, , especially red fish. More so sheepshead, but definitely red fish, . All right, get that line out. Let's check it in.
Speaker 1 (00:18:11):
This paycheck is being brought to you by Ninja tackle, ninja tackle va.com. Great website. You can get your hands on the ninja dagger, uh, all the way, what is it? Seven footer up to the new bomber. 13 three. And that thing is lovely. Absolutely lovely. I'm not saying I'm gonna have one, but I may have one pre-order, but yes, good stuff. So they've got rigs, they got everything you need for that. If you're into a little bit more of the other side of things, uh, they have ninja tactical. If it's any kind of accessories that you need, he might have you really well set up. So go take a look. Ninja tactical va.com, great place. Lots of good stuff. And Matt's a good person. He'll take good care of you. So 2025, man, we are coming to the end of it when this airs. It'll be January 26th. It has been a year.
Speaker 2 (00:18:57):
Great year.
Speaker 1 (00:18:59):
And you got, you've crushed it, man. You, you did all that one. So looking back, uh, what were the biggest wins for the foundations in 2025?
Speaker 2 (00:19:10):
So, for me, as the organizer and the, the, the person that's doing the behind the scenes with my family and Brandon and Caroline, it seems to be getting easier with support. So this year, more so than other years, we've had people seek us out to get involved. Um, sometimes that's, um, either volunteerism and sometimes donations, which is great when, when good, you know, good sponsors come in unsolicited because they, they saw our page on, you know, the internet. Those, those make our life much easier. So operationally we're hitting our stride. I, I would say we used to say we were flying the plane, but it's still being built while, you know, while it's in the air. How does that go? Um, building the plane while flying it or whatever. Um, the plane has officially taken flight. We know our mission, we know our goals, we know our capabilities.
Speaker 2 (00:20:05):
Um, the system behind this whole thing is in place. So if I say, Hey Marissa, we gotta do X, Y, Z. She's off and running. Hey Brandon, we gotta do X, Y, z. He's off and running. Hey Caroline, we gotta do this today. She's off running. Where early on it was, we'd bump into the wall and be like, oh, turn around the other way. Like, that didn't work. Um, so that's been the big win for us operationally is that it's, um, we're oiled up a little bit and it's uh, it's running, it's running pretty smooth, which is a nice feeling still with that and the capacity. Um, it's become more work. So it's not, um, you know, when we did our first year we did two camps and we're like, oh wow, that was awesome. We did so much. You do, you do eight events in one year.
Speaker 2 (00:20:54):
It's every day. Kids camp fish is an everyday thing for our small team. Um, but that's okay. We like it. It's rewarding. Um, and it's, it's something that, um, actually fuels me. Like I'd spend a lot of my free time doing this kind of stuff. It's, I, I enjoy it. It's, it's definitely something that I'm, I'm happy to do and that I get a lot of fulfillment out personally. Plus it connects me with my kids, so I get to, you know, do things with my family as well. Um, big wins for camps. We had some awesome catches. Um, I don't think we had a single camp that was like a total dud where in the years before, there were a couple camps that like, the weather was halfway decent but not the greatest. And like a kid in a catch of fish, um, across the board at every camp there was great activity and um, definitely a lot of excitement from the kids.
Speaker 2 (00:21:47):
'cause we did, we did very well. I think this was the best catching year we've had, which is exactly what we want. Like, hey, bring 'em, show 'em, hey, we know what, what's going on and you know, fake it to you, make it kind of thing. But we had some really, really good catches. Um, and in general that's overarching kind of, I think the best thing is that I think the camps this year were the, the best camps we've ran because it's, it's just, it's working. We know the system and when you know the system and you're not learning it as you go, it allows you to focus on the smaller things, which is, you know, the technical aspects of what makes it work. So we're, we're getting to spend a lot more time with the kids versus at the camp. There have been times where I turn around, I'm like, the camp's over. Like, I didn't even get to talk to every parent. Now I get to launch the camp and I, I pretty much get face time with pretty much everybody, which is pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (00:22:43):
That's one of the hardest things for that I've had to see for you is during the camp, you're up and down the beach, man, you're up and down the pier. You are all, you're an all in, you're not just a sit back guy. You get it done and you want to talk to everybody and you want to hear their story, you, you care.
Speaker 2 (00:22:59):
Right. The the tough part about camp days is like, I don't get to lock in and fish with one kid for a long period of time. I, I try to break it up and, and spend time with each kids. Now don't get me, don't get me wrong, there's a couple kids that like, they tug at your heartstrings or you just connect with 'em right away. And I'm like, oh man, I could spend the next four hours with you, but I gotta go see the neighbor kid. And, and I tell the parents, Hey, I'll try to come back kind of thing. 'cause some of these kids, man, they're just, well first of all the things they say, these kids crack me up.
Speaker 1 (00:23:30):
, it's gold, .
Speaker 2 (00:23:32):
It is, it is gold. And it's like, you, you don't even have to, you don't even prime 'em. They just, the parents are like, Hey, these, these people are here to help you. Like, listen to that guy. And like they'll just, they'll go off and they tell you these, these stories about fishing or where, yeah, my dad, my dad broke the rod in the car and mom wasn't happy. And I was like, I've done that too. I've been, you know, I've snapped a rod in the car door and you know, they, they just go on and on and on and like you can tell that they, they're just, they're genuinely happy to be there. Um, and then when, you know, I think the parent parents probably tell 'em, you know, you're gonna get to keep this equipment. Like, they're like, they just, they're on cloud nine.
Speaker 2 (00:24:11):
They're like, this is mine. I get to keep this. I'm like, yeah, that's yours, man. Like, I'll go forth and do good with it. But just the, the time with the kids at each camp, even though I don't get to like fish hard with, uh, you know, each kid, I do little micro sessions with each one of them. It's, it's worth every single minute, hour, second spent. Um, these kids, some of 'em are, they're just, they're cool. They're really cool. That's probably my favorite part is I started doing like little, um, um, many like, interviews on the sand or at the camps with these kids. Yeah,
Speaker 1 (00:24:43):
Those have been fun.
Speaker 2 (00:24:45):
Can I take, can I take a a video with your kid and can we talk Oh yeah. Do it. Like, he's great. Like they, they, some of 'em are like, can I do an interview? I'm like, what do you got? Let's do it. Um, those are pretty cool because if I get like a, a 32nd, because I try to keep him short, you know, if I get 30 or 60 seconds, they usually don't get any editing. I usually trim the front and the back end. So, you know, the little bit of the, the, the B roll from the front and the back is gone. But I just basically let it roll. Like this is what a kid is saying when I talk to 'em about their experience, there's no editing. So it makes for really good content for me because it's easy. But it's, it's, that's their honest opinion about the day.
Speaker 2 (00:25:24):
And I think there's a lot to be said about that. And I know, I think there's a lot of times where parents don't, um, don't ask the kids the questions like that. Like, Hey, what, what does this mean to you? Or what did you think about today? Or what's, what's the, the highlight of the day or what's the worst part of the day? Or what's the best fishing experience you got? And you, you prime 'em up and they, they've got the answer and they're usually, these kids are usually spot on. Um, when they're talking from that kid's perspective and what their, it's like, you're, where are we losing sight of that thought? Um, 'cause the way these kids think about the sport is the way we all started. It's where it all happened. And sometimes people lose sight of that. And I tell parents I go, we need to go back to that mindset and that easy feeling of this sport and go back to the original roots. And I think you'll enjoy the sport a lot more by doing that.
Speaker 1 (00:26:17):
Yeah, yeah, definitely on those. Well let's talk about the big monster here. Let's talk about the tournament.
Speaker 2 (00:26:24):
Yeah. Whew.
Speaker 1 (00:26:26):
Whew. There were great day, great time, great people. Yeah. Couple of curve balls. One that you launched on us there at the, uh, the pre ceremony or at, at the, at the captains meeting. So, uh, let's, let's pull it out. So overall, how did it go and what made this year different from past events?
Speaker 2 (00:26:46):
I think the rumor mill of what we're doing with this tournament has officially flooded the Southeast, um, flooded. People know that the kids can't fish. First of all, the kids can't fish. Running the bulls is not just the kids tournament, although we had 85 kids compete, or 84 kids compete. And that when people are like, they really have the raffles and the prizes, they do and they, the venues are good. Like the word of mouth has spread. We sold out 60 days in advance, which made my life remarkably easier 'cause I could just focus on going, doing venue sites and making sure that the, the food truck people had everything they need. And, um, collecting last minute things. Um, in the past four years I was doing tournament ops literally the Thursday before the event where the, this year we sold out 60 days in advance. And organizationally that was an absolute blessing. I can only imagine we're gonna sell out 60 to 90 days in advance this year because the, uh, the prize pools are gonna remain the same, if not increase a little bit.
Speaker 1 (00:27:54):
Yeah. Speaking of prize pools, you had one of the largest prize purses for the tournament ever. Yeah. How did you pull that off and what partnerships or str uh, strategies made it happen?
Speaker 2 (00:28:07):
So we set our target at three 50, um, or 300, sorry, 300 anglers. We thought three 50 was gonna be at much. So we, we capped it at 300 and I did the math on ratio of adult to kids. And I was like, okay, this is doable. And I was like, well if we, if we had to dip into the pocket a little bit and give back a little less because we do, we do a 60 40 payout, so 60 to the angler, 40 to the house. So kids can fish surrendered 18% of that back to the angler. So to get to the $10,000 prize pool, we gave a little bit of the money from the entry fees back to the angler. But that's okay because the sponsorships were unbelievably generous this year. Um, our cash sponsors and that's the meat and potatoes with our cash sponsors.
Speaker 2 (00:28:58):
That 1000% insured that 2026 was gonna be fully funded. So it was an easy yes. Um, we didn't go to three 50 to err on the side of caution. We ended up having 333 because what happened was, even people that volunteer for kids can't fish that are like personal friends locally, they call me up and they're like, it's sold out. I'm like, yeah. Like where's your registration? They're like, missed it. I'm like, give me, gimme your money. Register now. And then, you know, you have, you have people that come and volunteer time with you. I can't say no or a sponsor says, Hey, my, my um, district manager wants to fish it with his kid. I can't tell him no. Right. So there were a lot of those. And then I ended up getting with the sponsored kids, 'cause we had eight sponsored kids. We ended up getting the 333, but the price pools went up a because we hit our target goal of 300. And then, um, we dipped in a little extra money 'cause the sponsorships were just on top. They were, they're amazing. Um, and that's, that's how we were able to do that.
Speaker 1 (00:30:02):
It was beautiful. It was amazing. And for those of you, if you haven't done this yet, it is worth it. I mean, I I am so glad that I drive down for it. I I love coming to these 'cause it's just so much fun. Get to hang out with my kid, meet, see my friends and fish. I mean,
Speaker 2 (00:30:17):
We didn't even tell, we didn't even tell people, um, the amount of money that they were dealing with we're talking $23,000 in cash. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (00:30:24):
It was huge. Yeah. So please enlighten us, sir.
Speaker 2 (00:30:29):
Yeah. So, um, I, I think I forget the cash breakdown for the adults, but $10,000 was the adult, uh, Kelly Ballard, who's gonna be one of your guests, right? And her husband Landon.
Speaker 1 (00:30:41):
Yep. Kelly. Yep. The, the Ballards will be on the show soon.
Speaker 2 (00:30:43):
Female Angler won the adult division and a novice, self-admitted novice through the help of her husband who knows a little bit more. But they're very much at the beginning, you know, of their fishing life and lifestyle. Um, 'cause they moved from Idaho, I believe to this area. And um, second place was 3000 and I think 2000 for third, a thousand for fourth and maybe 500 for fifth. And then we juiced up the kids, uh, this year. First time we, they got custom rain shadow fishing rods, uh, courtesy of Bill Batson, Batson Enterprises and Brian LeBel from Bandit Custom Rods. And then kids can fish. Um, kicked in some of the entry fee money, um, where for cash prizes for the kids, which we never did before. And then, um, we did a raffle. We did, I forget what it was that we raffled last year, a couple things. And I said, all the proceeds from these raffles are going to, um, juice up the kids' pot. So, um, we're gonna do that again. I just, I, I got, um, a bunch of authority reels sitting that I haven't opened. They came today, they're gonna raffle off some authority reels pretty soon. 'cause they had an awesome Black Friday sale by the way. It's still going on. Um, so if you're an authority person, now's the time to get one. I don't think you're gonna see 40% off on those anywhere else.
Speaker 1 (00:32:01):
People are gonna be butt hurt now. 'cause when this airs in January, like no it, no . Oh that's right.
Speaker 2 (00:32:06):
Sorry. I not, sorry. I got some
Speaker 1 (00:32:09):
You shut, shoulda got on it. People like seriously.
Speaker 2 (00:32:12):
Well hey, you know what, we'll segue into that since this is gonna post and that sale is going to be over, 'cause I know, um, a couple days, it like always runs a couple days after Black Friday. Mm-hmm . We are going to raffle off some Penn authorities on the kids Can't Fish site. And if you wanna help, that's those, those raffles. There's some of the custom rods and stuff where we've raised a thousand dollars in a half a day just doing an online raffle. So if you want to help from a distance attend, sometimes the, like we did a van stall, those were $20 a ticket, but I think we only sold 50 or 60 spots for that. So your odds are good. You know, for me, I don't own a van stall, but if I put my $20 in a bucket and my name got pulled to win a van stall, I'd be pretty happy about that.
Speaker 2 (00:32:59):
Yeah. So the stuff we're raffling off is usually higher end stuff. So check that out. Those will be coming probably after the first of the year they're here now I'm gonna inventory what I got. We're putting some on some of the, uh, the bull red rods for, for next year for the, the kids surf camps. So we're gonna play around with some authorities on the sand. 'cause the, the price was just really, really good on those. So yeah, it's a good set. Um, but we went from running of the bulls and price pools and raffles and, but the tournament, um, again, we're learning and the tournament this year was e easier for me to organize it. Um, it was more streamlined. It's still a ton of work. Um, I worked on tournament stuff today for a while. Uh, the insurance is paid for, the permits are secure, the dates are locked in. I'm learning like that kind of stuff. Get done early. Like literally the next week after the tournament, I got my insurance, the permit got approved. I'm securing venue sites and then I can just focus on, you know, date donations and sponsorships and announcing, which, we'll, we'll announce it in March. We always announce the, the registration in March, which is crazy. It's, so, it's like seven months in advance and we'll have a hundred people sign up in the first day.
Speaker 1 (00:34:15):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:34:17):
It happened, it's happened the last two years. So I, I hope it's the same this year.
Speaker 1 (00:34:22):
Well, with the tournament, uh, I mean a lot of people, they don't get to see you all the time on this and because when the tournament's out there, you, you're, you got the kids, you're taking care of the kids in that section, that's your sector. Um, but behind the scenes, let's talk about that one. Tell me about the highest moment for you personally during the tournament. That one moment where you thought, yep, this is why we do this.
Speaker 2 (00:34:42):
Yeah, this is easy. So, and I'll even tell people like the tournament. I take a group of sponsored kids and they fish with me and they fish, the team range, shadow customs, they're really good rods. And I tell the mom and dads or the relatives, I go, just come sit on the beach. This is your time to relax. Like, I got the kids, um, I had, I had 16 rods in the water and I worked 16 rods by myself. And the one parent was like, you, it's like an orchestra. They're like, how do you keep it together? I'm like, it's not always easy, but I do have a system. But to me, the running of the bulls with the sponsored kids, that's, that's my reward because I get to fish hard for two days with sponsored kids. And the easy, easy, easy top, top thing for me, although there's so many from the tournament, is that Wyatt, I got to be the repeat champion.
Speaker 2 (00:35:40):
And the big difference between Wyatt and three years ago was three years ago, Wyatt struggled with his fish. Caroline helped him. And I remember being out in the surfing and looking back and Caroline was holding the rod and helping him. And Wyatt has come a long way by coming to our camps and fishing more with his family. Wyatt did pretty much all of the work with his dad, just studying the rod just to make sure that the rod didn't, you know, get let go of and fall in the water. And, um, I, the only thing I helped w it with was when the fish hit the sand, I grabbed it and brought it up on the beach and took the hook out. So to see Wyatt, who, for those of you who don't know, uh, Wyatt has some challenges and some disabilities, A lot of, um, a lot of assistance needed there as far as like the motor function stuff.
Speaker 2 (00:36:31):
But the kid loves fishing and his passion for it is so pure and it's so amazing. And to see why it repeat, it's, it's, I I can't put a price tag on it. I, there's, it's, it's, I thought Wyatt winning the, the championship the second year of the tournament was gonna, again, wasn't gonna be able to be topped. But seeing him catch this fish again this year was pretty close. 'cause it's him and his dad. I'm watching him and his dad reel it in and then his excitement was exactly the same as the, as the first time. So that, that was, that was easily, um, number one. And that, and a close number two from the tournament is, um, wow, man, there's so many of them.
Speaker 2 (00:37:18):
The, the 190 some odd spot red fit, like one guy Mike Ucci caught one that was like 63 inches. We're like, all right, Calcutta is gone. For those of you who don't know, our Calcutta is the red fish with the most spots. So this guy Mike Lucci, who's a big supporter and helper, if kids can't fish, caught one that had 63 spots. And I was like, okay, that's done. Calcutta is over like 30 minutes later. Um, one of our other competitors caught one that was just, I, I think he said it was 104, 102 by his count. But when we recounted it was like 90, you know, 90 plus. Still ridiculous. It's still a ton. I was like, I was like, are you sure that's not the same, the same fish we just counted wrong the first time. That was pretty cool. Um, and then, um, Abby, the girl that fished with me caught her first red fish and I, I told her secretly, I'm like, Abby, I'm like, I'm gonna go wade way out.
Speaker 2 (00:38:12):
And that water gets deep and that water gets swift and I don't encourage that. Now I fish these beaches a lot. So I kind of, I know my terrain and my comfort level's a little different. And I mean, I put a hero cast on this thing. I'm, I'm in the shipping channel and it's way out there and I walk the rod back and I go, I go Abby, I go, I really want you to catch a red fish. And then like the, the line soaking for 30 or 40 minutes and she's like, I got one. I look over and Abby's rod's going off and she reeled it in. I go, I'm so happy that happened. . Yeah. Um, but Abby caught her first surf red fish and Abby, this girl man, um, she came to our, our bull red fish camp in September and she caught, she caught a stingray that's like the size of a dinner table.
Speaker 2 (00:39:01):
And this girl worked this stingray masterfully. She did her red fish 'cause it was running her up the beach 'cause it was so far out. She's in a, she's amazing. Uh, I, I launched my boat a couple weeks ago. First time I went out on my new boat and I come back into this little launch. It's a, it's a really small, um, village Creek landing on St. Simon's very thin water. I come in and I'm like, Abby's on the dock throwing a cast net like this girl's all in. Super impressive. But to see her catch her first bull redfish was, was another cool one. But then I think about on the adult side, having uh, a lady angler win the tournament is amazing. So I can't wait to hear Kelly and uh, Landon's, uh, episode the first time we've ever had a lady angler win the whole thing, which I think is a great thing for the sport. Um, and certainly a good thing for the young girls that were fishing the tournament that they can say, okay, yeah, it's not just the the advanced because we have a lot of advanced anglers out there, but I found more often than not our surf anglers that are like hardcore really good know what they're doing. Usually if a few of 'em find themselves on the leaderboard, but usually whoever wins it is somebody unsuspecting, which I think is pretty cool about our tournament. So I can't wait to hear Kelly's episode.
Speaker 1 (00:40:19):
It's funny too that you bring that up. 'cause guys like Seth or oh gosh, most of the St. Simon's crew, I mean, I talk to so many of 'em all the time, uh, uh, they're there to fish. But you go out there and talk to them, they're talking to the people that haven't fished. They're the ones coaching, right? They're, they're, they're in each mode and they're like, oh well. And it's like, dude, don't even try it. You were having more fun having a conversation teaching them how to fish, then you are worried about your line. You didn't even look at your rod
Speaker 2 (00:40:51):
. And that, that's something about our tournament that I think also speaks to the people that attend. Thank goodness we've had no shenanigans. There's been no beach disagreements. There's been no nothing midday that's called me away from the kids. Everything runs smooth now. There's, there's things we gotta iron out and always, you know, thinking and changing. Um, this year I, I learned the code word, which, um, we did a code word of the day to me was like two factor authentication. Like you have an angler number, but then you gotta say the code word. You don't need the code word on one of the video on why it's on, why it's catch, which is the guy that runs the tournament. I didn't even say the code word, but we got why it's angler number on the video. And isn't that all that matters is that I know the angler number's different from day one to day two.
Speaker 2 (00:41:41):
So the code word confuse things a little bit and we're gonna change a little bit of the verbiage on some of the rules and make it a little more easy on the angler. Especially in that moment when you're excited the things you're, you're not thinking about a code word. No. Your hands in the video, I see your number. That's all that matters. So, you know, we've, we've made some changes, but the, the anglers are so kind to us and are so complimentary of the event and it's because they know what they're fishing for. There's big money, but they know they're there to support the cause, which I think makes our tournament a little different than, you know, some of these other tournaments that I've seen videos on YouTube or social media where there's like these huge outbursts and people not enjoying it. And I'm like, if our tournament ever got to that, I just stopped doing it. Yeah. Um, everyone comes in and like I heard so many times, like the people right next to us are now friends. They're, I've never knew 'em. Like, we're gonna connect and we're gonna camp next year together for the tournament. I was like that. That's to me stuff that you just don't, you don't have price tag on that stuff. And there was, there's a lot of stories like that.
Speaker 1 (00:42:50):
Yeah. I mean, gosh, how many, I'm trying to think of a, what's the best way for this one? Like Dylan Love Dylan had 'em on the show, met 'em through there, talk to 'em every now and again. Absolutely love him, is here. Talk to them all the time. Any other time they're in Georgia, where am I gonna see them? But we still chat, right? Stay rank. Oh boy. kid's riding Bulls now Fish with him one year and I'm already like, what are you doing? Where is he at? He caught a red
Speaker 2 (00:43:20):
Fish this year.
Speaker 1 (00:43:21):
He did. He
Speaker 2 (00:43:22):
Very good. Um, the um, which which is crazy. He, um, his, he's always like, so I, I said at the awards banquet, this kid literally rode a live bull like earlier in the week and now he caught a bull redfish. I go and that's, that's not made up. Kids a bull rider. Um, Clayton is, he is, he is another kid that met him at one of our camps and now we see he shows up at a lot of different things. He posted a kid a photo on the kid of the year. Now I'm friends with his mom on Facebook too. He's been hammering some big bass lately. Yeah, I'm talking like eight, nine pounders and I'm like, uh, you're getting pretty good at AI bud. That's supposed .
Speaker 2 (00:44:09):
Uh, but it just goes to show like he's a kid, but he's fishing at such a high level and that was fostered through his parents supporting his interests to do these outdoor activities. Like I'm sure he is got his electronics in his kid time, but I can tell you what, anytime I see his mom's feed come up, they're fishing, they're hunting, they're camping, they're, they're bull riding. And, and to me that those type of quality time with your family is, is what this is about. So yeah, the stay ranked kid Clayton, um, he had, he had a really good year. Really good year. Proud of that kid. Um, this awesome kid.
Speaker 1 (00:44:50):
He's so much fun. All right. It's been 20, it's been 20 more minutes is 45 in. So we're gonna transition to the next one. Like why we warned you people that these conversations will happen like this for me and Tom . We're on track though, so uh, yeah, it's time for another paycheck. We need to get that line back in. Make sure you're good to go because hey, you don't wanna miss that one because you can't fish on credit never works.
Speaker 1 (00:45:19):
Like I said, bring that line and make sure you got good bait. If it is already off there, throw it back on. If you haven't caught a fish yet on what you're using, change it up. Sometimes the buffet is just not what they're looking for. They may want something special. So always bring more bait. This paycheck's being brought to you by Ds. Custom tackle. That's right Delaware, they got a lot of great things in there. If rigs floats, everything if you need it, it's a one-stop shop. If you are looking to become a maker or you want to get into selling on those pieces, have a conversation with 'em. That's something that they can do. They, so I got the old pomp, it ain't easy. That's right. They got that whole apparel line. Lots of good things on there from the DS custom tackle team. Go take a look. Ds custom tackle.com. Great stuff. Alright, so we've, we've nailed into some of those ones. Um, and uh, I'm gonna go ahead and skip that one piece there, but let's talk about, geez, what was probably the one where you were like, oh my gosh, the, the, what was the low for you for this tournament?
Speaker 2 (00:46:19):
For the tournament
Speaker 1 (00:46:20):
Was the tournament? Because I know that there weren't many for the year for you. You only had a couple. Yeah,
Speaker 2 (00:46:24):
You know, and I, I don't care sharing this, um, the, the awards banquet, we didn't get the turnout that we wanted there. Um, quite frankly, that that ended up being a loss for us as far as like the rental and the, some of the service fees. Uh, we took a loss on the, on the, uh, awards banquet and I surveyed, uh, the, the anglers and I got feedback. And the feedback makes a lot of sense. Um, a one of the common responses was I didn't win anything, so I didn't go. Okay, I get that. Uh, number two common response was I fished really hard for two days straight. I was tired. And then a lot of people were like, we traveled from Virginia, we headed home, traveled from West Virginia, headed home, a lot of people that headed home. So I need to rethink how we do the awards banquet. 'cause Village Creek Landing where we hosted is one of my favorite places ever. As a matter of fact, I, I can't even believe I got a, I'm gonna repeat this, but Caroline's like, one day when I get married, that's where I want it to happen. I'm like, oh my
Speaker 1 (00:47:28):
God, whoa, whoa, whoa. Slow down kid.
Speaker 2 (00:47:31):
But it's that kind of place. It's a wedding venue, it's high end. But I'm like, I looked at her, I was like, what? What? Get outta here. Like we're, we're not, we're not talking about that right now. But, um, it is, it's a magical place. It's a beautiful venue, but I really, I'm gonna look into other options and who knows, maybe we'll go back to Village Creek Landing. I think the biggest letdown for me was that the banquet is where I get to kind of somewhat relax and enjoy and hear stories and connect and, um, I I just, we just didn't get the attendance we wanted. We still accomplished our goals for the tournament and some like, easily, but I, I would've liked to see some more people, but I get it. Like I spent, I guarantee you I spent 30 hours on the sand in two days, maybe more. I haven't even done the math easily,
Speaker 1 (00:48:21):
Easily.
Speaker 2 (00:48:22):
Like so 12 hour fishing days. Yeah, 30 plus hours on the sand and I'm running the thing. But I can tell you if I was just competing and I spent that kind of time, yeah, Tommy, Tommy likes to sleep too. . Um, so I get that. So we gotta we gotta do something different there. That was probably my, my biggest letdown is the, the awards banquet. I wanted to, um, I something different. That makes more sense.
Speaker 1 (00:48:51):
It's funny, you, you talk about that as a low point and I think about me and Julie . you Julie. Oh
Speaker 2 (00:48:59):
My God. Oh, you're, you're battle. That is insane.
Speaker 1 (00:49:02):
I wanted it .
Speaker 2 (00:49:05):
I clearly like, I I look at the silent auction. I, I I think it was a kids can fish bucket and you know, stuff.
Speaker 1 (00:49:12):
No, it was the cooler. It was the cooler.
Speaker 2 (00:49:13):
Oh, the cooler. The mystery. Was it mystery cooler?
Speaker 1 (00:49:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:49:16):
Yeah. So we, we take like a, a cooler of some kind usually donated cooler and we just stuff it with all kinds of things. Gift cards, fishing stuff. Um, and, and, and usually stuff you have Brian, like you and Julie usually have these things and I look at the sheet and I'm like, this, this cooler's at $1,200. I'm like, the cooler's at $1,500. I mean, you two are battling each other. And like, I think there was like, stop, you will lose. Or something was written,
Speaker 1 (00:49:41):
She wrote it
Speaker 2 (00:49:43):
Like basically drawing a line in the sand. And I think you even were like, no, my next bit is whatever. And it, um, that, that's not expected certainly appreciated. But yeah, you, you, you two went bananas on that silent auction.
Speaker 1 (00:49:58):
But it's, it's not just what the thing, and and somebody had said something else to us, they were like, why are you guys doing this? You guys are friends? And we're like, yeah, it's two part one. Yeah. We want the things and do we have what's in them? Probably. But everything that goes for that auction, everything that's done at those events goes back to the organization. It helps fund a camp, it helps something, it helps a kid get a rod. Yeah. And I, I mean, yes, right now I'm fortunate I've got a decent job that is letting me have some money to be able to float a little. I mean, I know a couple years ago I sure was coming in on fumes. There was, there was no bidding. But you know, it was like, okay, so we can do this. If I get some cool stuff, I get some cool stuff. And what really matters is there's gonna be a kid that's able to go fish this year because we did this. So Julie and I, yeah, we, we, we wanted it more. She made her point very, very clear. Um, so I had to win a bucket. But , but in the end of it, that's really what we were talking about. It really what came back to it's about the kids. It's, we, we didn't, we didn't really think about the other stuff. It was about getting the
Speaker 2 (00:51:09):
Kid there that, that generosity. When you see, and obviously we're friends and we know each other and you know, I, I can look at you and be like, you're, what are you doing? Like, you're ridiculous. You did, you did when Yeah, I, I, because I look at it, I'm like, is I, I think I even asked like, are you joking? Like you two? And they're like, no, no, this is real. And I was like, whatever. Like, keep doing your thing. But I like when it, when it's somebody that we don't know, and usually what it is, is they, when they win, they're like, we came to the camp and we just had such a great time and we just, we wanna support, or, or we see, we've seen you do this and we, we haven't attended anything. And we wanna help. The, the generosity that we're seeing across the board from internal people that become friends now, um, to complete strangers is, it's, it's unbelievable.
Speaker 2 (00:51:55):
It just, it's reassuring that like, I could click on the 10 o'clock news today and, and be pretty depressed in about three seconds on what I hear. But the people that come to our events and the people that are supporting us are the type of people I wanna surround myself with. And the, the type of people I want my kids to be around. Um, just genuinely good hearted kind people that really are teaching their own families the way that this, that we want our kids to live their lives. And, um, on a, you know, I keep going into this, like, another benefit is I've made some awesome friends through the charity, like life friends by people that just stumbled into a camp. And now they're people that I like call, or, you know, I see them post stuff and I was like, oh, that's like a lot of the feed. I'm like, oh, good to see you. Why good to see you lane Good. You know? And it's like, 'cause now I know their kids because I see 'em a couple times a year. That's, um, that's a really big plus for me is that, uh, it, it's hard as a, an adult to make new friends. But this little foundation we got going. I've, I've made some really, really solid, uh, friends as a, as a older kid, right?
Speaker 1 (00:53:05):
Yeah. We don't grow up. We just, we don't do that. It's not our thing. It
Speaker 2 (00:53:09):
Gets worse in a lot of ways. I think for me, , I know the right buttons to push, at least in my, in my house. Like, um, my wife and I had a conversation about a trolling motor I want today.
Speaker 1 (00:53:21):
Oh no.
Speaker 2 (00:53:24):
And I was coming at all angles and, uh, I was pushing the buttons pretty hard.
Speaker 1 (00:53:31):
Is she within earshot? ?
Speaker 2 (00:53:35):
No, because
Speaker 1 (00:53:36):
I would've got yelled at. Yeah, I was gonna say, you're safe. Okay. , I saw you looking. Hi, Marissa.
Speaker 2 (00:53:42):
And then it was awesome as like, uh, Caroline. 'cause she's like, yeah, yeah. Like, you need that. Like, it's, it's the trolling motor I want. It's the, it's the, the Quest Auto deploy brushless like
Speaker 1 (00:53:55):
Line Ooh, nice and quiet. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (00:53:57):
Yeah. And, uh, you know, Marissa's, you know, she lets me, I I pretty, she, I have a long lease. She's great to me. But then she like, Caroline's like, I'm team dad here. And then Marissa got right on Caroline. I was like, this is awesome. I'm like, keep throwing those daggers at her. 'cause I'm watching them go back and forth. Um, but I'm doing it from that kid perspective. 'cause I'm just enjoying the banter, right? Yeah. That's, um, all, all around the trolling motor that I'm gonna get. Yeah. some way, somehow
Speaker 1 (00:54:29):
One way it's, it's gonna happen, right? It's gonna happen.
Speaker 2 (00:54:32):
Yeah. Santa Claus is probably gonna have to visit first, but it happens.
Speaker 1 (00:54:36):
I will find,
Speaker 2 (00:54:37):
I will find a way.
Speaker 1 (00:54:39):
. Well, you talked about this and we're we'll lead into it. So you've got some amazing volunteers. You've had it Oh yeah. For a lot of the camps and so many of the other pieces. Yeah. There's a lot more to this structure than just the camps. What stood out about the volunteer support for 2025? And are there any stories that you're like, po easy?
Speaker 2 (00:54:59):
Okay, so the easy story is kids that were normally, that were repeat customers to the camps that came because they wanted to do the fishing are now volunteering. The mom would be like, Hey, um, is it okay if RJ comes or Skylar comes, they, they just want to help. Or, um, a a kid that, um, Caroline goes to school with, his name's Aaron. His dad helps. And Aaron has attended camps, but now Aaron just like, I want to help with the kids. So we've morphed into where these are still kids. These are kids that are 11, 12, 13, some, some a little younger. Um, Sam Silverstein and Caroline were always like the kid, you know, main helpers locally. Now we got a crew of kids that show up and I look and I'm like, all right, they're with that one, they're with that one. I'm like, this is cool.
Speaker 2 (00:55:46):
Like kids teaching kids. And the great part about that is, and because I see this with me and Caroline a lot, if I'm working with a kid at a camp and it's just, it, it might not be registering or it's not clicking, I'll be like, Caroline, come on over here and Caroline will talk to the kid. And when you speak that kid language, it's like, oh, they're good to go. Because it is just a different way of saying things. I don't run into that often, but when I do, I'm usually calling for Caroline or Graham, my son Graham, pretty quick. So that is probably one of my favorite parts about the camps is we have a pretty solid batch of kid volunteers now, which is, uh, which is amazing. That's pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (00:56:29):
That's full circle, man.
Speaker 2 (00:56:31):
Yeah,
Speaker 1 (00:56:32):
It's so,
Speaker 2 (00:56:32):
And I imagine in, I imagine in 2026, there'll be a couple newbies that are in the same, you know, Hey, I've been to a couple camps, can I just come and help? And it's as an easy yes. Like, absolutely like, yeah. Then our, their parents are like, we don't want the gear. It's not about the gear. We just wanna hang out.
Speaker 1 (00:56:49):
Yeah. It becomes that very quickly. It really does. People don't realize that, but it really does.
Speaker 2 (00:56:54):
And I wrote down our volunteer hours, 'cause this is one. Um, so this year alone, we had it literally on the dot. We had 500 volunteers. Uh, 'cause I keep track on an, on an Excel sheet, every camp, all the analytics, um, and 758 hours of volunteerism just this year alone. Um, which that's, I can't, I can't do these things without volunteers. Like, it's easy if me and Brandon, Marissa, Caroline show up to an event, we can make it happen. We've done it before. But when I tell Seth and the local crew, Hey, the, the shark camp is gonna be on June, whatever, I'll text it. And then next thing you know, there's a text group. I'm like, all right, we're in, we're in, we're in. I'm like, that's 12 people that have already locked into it. And this year at the Shark Camp, I um, I roll up with the trailer and they're already at the beach. And I parked the trailer, unlocked the trailer, and it's just like the assembly line. The equipment's going out. And we set up pretty quick back in the day, um, it was not very quick not very quick. So that, that's been a blessing setting up Pensacola this year. Oh, that was a chore. And then, um, I'm in the parking lot across from what's, what's the beach access over there?
Speaker 1 (00:58:14):
Oh gosh, gosh, it's the trail. Oh my. I can't even remember the name of it, but yeah, I know where you're talking about.
Speaker 2 (00:58:21):
Anyway, so there's a big parking lot across the street that I, it's just easier for me to park there. And this guy pulls in and you know who this guy is? Mike Rowe
Speaker 1 (00:58:31):
. Right. Love Mike.
Speaker 2 (00:58:34):
And uh, he goes, Hey, what are you doing? And I told him, he goes, well, I'm pre fishing for the Pompano tournament. That's next week. I know this person from Fish Bites and this person, I was like, yep, friend of mine. Yep, friend of mine. He goes, you need help moving this stuff. I was like, I do. And he just loaded up and he made like three runs with me and next thing you know, I see him at the Fish Bites, you know, 25th anniversary. And he actually came down and helped with the kids at the camp. And, you know, that kind of thing is amazing. Like I didn't, I had no idea who that guy was and he knew you and he knew, um, um, Brent and Julie and knew the Fish Bites crew and all our friends. And he is like, yep, let me, let me park the truck.
Speaker 2 (00:59:13):
And he's like, I'll help you out. And he three big loads from, and it was a walk, like across the street, down the beach, a little bit. Coast Guard station or whatever that is, the lifeguard station. And then it's a, it's a hike. And, and if, you know, if he wanted to stop in me and Marissa and the kids had quite a bit of work to do. Yeah. So stuff like that, those are cool stories that are not kid related, but it just shows that that guy looked at our trailer. He is like, yep, I believe in what you guys are doing. And he is like my day's shot now. 'cause he didn't pre fish. Like his, his his morning was helping us set up, which he didn't need to do, which is pretty cool. So Mike, I don't know if you'll see this. Thank you for that. I think I've told you that a couple times, but yeah, thanks.
Speaker 1 (00:59:58):
He called me
Speaker 2 (01:00:00):
. Did he? Hey.
Speaker 1 (01:00:01):
I was like, really? You got to hang out? He is like, yeah, it was awesome. I was like, yeah, you're a good dude. He is like, who's totally worth it. It was the best. It was so good. He, he loved it. He loved every second of it. He was not sad. He was really happy.
Speaker 2 (01:00:12):
So that, that camp also threw me probably the biggest challenge I've ever had.
Speaker 1 (01:00:17):
What was it this year?
Speaker 2 (01:00:19):
Weather?
Speaker 1 (01:00:21):
Yeah. Yeah, you did. So yeah,
Speaker 2 (01:00:24):
We travel six hours, six and a half hours from Georgia to Pensacola. And I was like, well, we're making this far of a ride. We should double dip. So I was like, we're gonna do surf fishing on Saturday and then I'm gonna do a cast net camp on Sunday. And I told the parents early on, I was like, look, if we have a bad weather event, Sunday becomes the fishing day and the cast net camp gets canceled. The weather model was crazy. Me and you were actually talking. Yeah, you, your weather guru more than me. And you're like, oh, I don't know. I think, I think you're gonna have a window between one and three, but that's not enough to surf fish. And the surf was rough on Saturday. Like, I went out early in the morning and it's like a, like there's some guys that are like, yeah, I'll fish that, but it, it would not have been safe for kids.
Speaker 2 (01:01:11):
So that's like a no-brainer call it. But then we went on the bay side across the street and I'm looking at the same wind and I go on the bay side and it's slick and clean and I'm like, Ooh, we could do the cast net camp today. And I messaged, I, I create a, um, a GroupMe with all the parents for each camp. And I was like, if I switch the cast net camp to today at one o'clock, and we didn't do it on Sunday, because that's gonna be the surf camp. That Sunday weather was good. I was like, can you make it? Yes, yes, yes, yes. And I, I call Marissa, I'm like, uh, let's roll. We gotta set up this cast net camp. 'cause we're doing it on the fly. And we had 50 kids at that cast net camp and gave them like two hours notice. So again, that just shows me that like the parents are, um, you know what, that was a, excuse me, I got the story completely wrong. It was Friday night. I was
Speaker 1 (01:02:08):
Gonna say, wasn't that an earlier day? It
Speaker 2 (01:02:09):
Was Friday because I, it was school. I, I asked them, what time does school get out? And I was like, alright, we can do it from six to eight or something like that. And same thing, they were all like, yep, yep. And I'm like, oh, school, these kids are gonna have sports. Or they got family stuff. Most of them showed. And then we ran, then we ran the, um, we did the, uh, surf one I think on Sunday. We missed Saturday and did Sunday or something like that. But again, what that was was, um, like in my, um, civil service background, all hazards management. So I was like incident commander, like moving resources, committing things here, hoping that the, uh, it's Brevard County, right? That Brevard County is cool with the move that I didn't
Speaker 1 (01:02:52):
Okaloosa
Speaker 2 (01:02:53):
Okaloosa, um, Brevard South, isn't it? I don't even know. Whatever it
Speaker 1 (01:02:58):
Might be. Might be Escambia. I think it's Escambia.
Speaker 2 (01:03:00):
It is. It's Escambia. Thank you. Yeah. Escambia. So it's like, okay, they gave me okay to do this this day, but then it, the next day they don't know we're here. And it all worked. But God, the, the organization and the group thread and the questions and the, can I bring my neighbor? Is it okay? And I got two more kids instead of just one. And I'm like, just bring them, we're gonna figure it out. It was mayhem until the kids started showing up at the camp. And I didn't have to worry about the electronic that when, that was the first major weather curve ball I've had for a camp because we traveled so far. And to me, if we would've left Pensacola and didn't run our camps, it's a lot of, it's a lot of investment. The time, the travel, the Airbnb, like the, the foundation pays for that. And to me, I'm like, we, if we're spending this kind of money to put this camp on, we gotta find a way to make it happen. And the weather window for the cast that camp was, was awesome. And then when the camp was over, downpour, ,
Speaker 1 (01:04:00):
.
Speaker 2 (01:04:01):
So you, you were, uh, you were my ace in the hole because you're like, there's a window and it's this time. And I'm like, that they got schooled. They're like, no. And I think you were like, Hey, I know somebody in the school district. I'm like, Nope, they're done at three 15 or whatever it was. You know, they can get there. And it, yeah, it worked. But that was, it was not easy
Speaker 1 (01:04:21):
Scrolling with your finger on that going maybe, maybe. Oh, now? Yeah. Yep. Okay. There. Yeah. Trying to play that one. Not a fun taint. Not fun for the panhandle. Not
Speaker 2 (01:04:30):
Even. And I, under, I underplay, uh, hear Julie from real coastal Julie was pretty much my shadow for three days. Like, um, I know I gave big props to, to Mike, but Julie was, Julie did not go on a very, very cool personal trip to come to my camps. And when she told me after the camp, I'm like, you're insane. Like, it was like the Virgin Islands or something. She's like, Nope. She's like, I wanted to be there for the kids. That's the type of people when you, when you see real coastal, that's what fishing means to that person. Like she had a trip to the Virgin Islands that she could have went on and she's like, no, no, no. She's like, I'm doing the kids can't fish thing. 'cause I I wanna do that. That's pretty cool.
Speaker 1 (01:05:16):
She's good people.
Speaker 2 (01:05:17):
Yeah, she
Speaker 1 (01:05:17):
Is. They both are. I mean, I love everything about Brendan, Julie, you know, I love hanging out with 'em. And I was actually talking to her the other day. It's funny you bring that up. Yeah. We're, we are reminiscing about the tournament and trying to figure out the next fun, uh, next fun adventures that are coming up. So it's, uh, it's always good. Um, all right. We, we you and I, it never fails ever, never, ever, ever fails. Um, make this one easy then. So let's talk about the why your passion for this time, for all. This is very, very apparent and you've always, always put it so far out there and you really can see it. What fuels you the most personally going into yet 2026?
Speaker 2 (01:06:01):
Like, I, I think I've just accepted that this is supposed to be, I think for some reason, you know, I, I still remember my first fishing memory. Like I remember when my dad gave me my first fishing pole, I was asleep and he came in and he was late from work. 'cause my dad worked a lot to support the family. And I remember my mom and dad having a conversation about why he was late. And he is like, but I got Tom, the fishing rod, and I sprung out of the, i I sprung outta my bed. I was like, what? And it was one of those snoopy fishing, you know, combos with the little tiny yellow fish, the casting fish, the test, you know, the casting dummy to practice. Um, so I, I think in a weird way, this thing just was meant to be, it.
Speaker 2 (01:06:44):
Like Caroline's my little fishing buddy from the second she could walk, she was like my little shadow and gram's the same way. Um, I think it was just meant to be. But what what fuels me is those little, those little conversations with those kids. A reel will come out here next week. I'm scrolling on Pensacola Beach and kids are like wanting to see fish pictures, right? Show me your best fish and show me this. And I had pictures with Santa Claus from last year, that Mary Fishmans event. And this girl, her name's Grayton, she goes, you know, Santa Claus? And I was like, he comes to our Mary Fishmans event every year and she's like, you know him, can you tell him that I want this and this and this? And I like, I was like, why don't we do this? Hey mom, can, can I record a message with Grayton about you know, what she wants from Santa? 'cause I'll see him And she's like, yeah, go ahead. It is solid gold it. And and it was all from just showing her fishing pictures. Like, look, I caught this one last week and I caught this one here. And then I was like, oh, that's my wife wearing funny sunglasses. And I go, yep, yep. She's just scrolling through. She's like, that, that's Santa, you know, Santa that. I just, it was awesome. We, and, and she's gonna get hopefully a special message from Santa Claus. 'cause we're wearing C 'em next Saturday.
Speaker 1 (01:08:05):
Oh,
Speaker 2 (01:08:06):
Nice. Which I know we gonna post in January. So you'll see the fun that we have Mary Fishman's event, uh, that's happening next weekend as our way we end the season. I, I got delivery today of 450 rods from the North Pole that are sitting in my garage. Um, so we can get 'em over there for Santa next weekend. My garage is becoming a problem.
Speaker 1 (01:08:28):
, it's been a problem, but now you've identified that it is a problem every year. Marissa says the same thing to me, like, oh, cool. I get my garage back and every year, I say for today,
Speaker 2 (01:08:41):
. Yeah. So that's another thing. Uh, organizationally I'm trying to find, uh, uh, offsite facility storage options. Something. I still like to have things here because, you know, the kids will go to bed and I'll, I'll tinker and spool reels or whatever. Um, but I we're growing at a rate that I can't keep up with the warehouse and I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna say it now, but the sponsor we have for 2026 for the panhandle is gonna be pretty good.
Speaker 1 (01:09:20):
Yes. It's,
Speaker 2 (01:09:22):
Yes, it's, um, we, we made a connection with a brand and it's, uh, I think we're, we're gonna develop a really, really cool relationship. I think we've, we've cracked, I don't wanna say the code, but I think we've, we've proven, I think we're proving to people that what we're doing is worthy of their attention and time. And 2026, we're gonna have some pretty cool, some pretty cool stuff coming out.
Speaker 1 (01:09:47):
Uh, we'll bring this one in here. We'll, we'll wrap it up here with the last couple questions then for speaking of 2026 and the, you know, the, the future of this. So if you could challenge the listeners to take one action after this episode, whether donating, volunteering or spreading the word, what would it be?
Speaker 2 (01:10:04):
All right, so unselfishly, um, being about the kids here, just take the leap of faith. If your kid wants to go fishing and you're new to the hobby or you know nothing about it, you have local resources, call your local bay shops. They want to sell you tackle and they're gonna lead you in the right direction. 'cause if you go and catch fish, you're gonna go back to their shop. If you don't have that resource, message me message, demo me. We have people in our network that will help you. Um, just like I said earlier, get a lot of emails. So if you have that kid that wants you to take them to the local municipal pond or stream or whatever it is, go and even if you don't catch anything, just see, see the experience. So you, you have to, you have to try something different.
Speaker 2 (01:10:51):
And we have so many success stories with the kids Can't Fish camps. They're, they're numerous now of families that, like we've never fished before and now we're a fishing family. So you have to, you have to take the advice of people like us that'll help you like navigate the confusion of this thing that we do. But it's really not that difficult. It's as simple as find a good spot and get the line in the water. And usually good things can happen. So, um, don't be intimidated to just take the kid, take 'em out. That that's my best piece of advice to give anyone that's watching this. And you don't have to go at it alone. Call for help. Call, call Kids Can't fish. Email, demo. I even know if you messaged Julie from Real Coastal, like our, we got a slew of people across the United States.
Speaker 2 (01:11:36):
Pretty much every state. I think we could say, we, we know somebody pretty much in every state that knows something about fishing in those states. I think that's a fair assumption. We can make that happen. Yeah. So if you're in that boat, you're in that boat. We got you covered from, from the extended, um, kind of like the help desk. Let us be the help desk, um, for kids Can fish the, the sponsorships that find us without us seeking. Like, don't get me wrong, they're, there are some brands that I am very interested in. As a matter of fact, right now, I've opened some dialogues with NLBN. Um, granted, they're very entry level and the reason I'm interested in NLBN is one, I, I fished one of their lures for the first time last year in Melbourne. And I was like, okay, this is a cool bait, but the kids are locked in on that brand.
Speaker 2 (01:12:28):
Like the kids love NLBN, I see all these little kids wearing their hats and wearing their stuff and you go to academy and they got their stuff. I'm like, what is this brand is rocking it with the kids? So I told 'em, I go, I'm like, look, I'd like to think Kids Can't Fish is one of the more known youth programs in the United States now doing pretty cool stuff. We need a partner somehow. So, um, if you have the ability to contribute or donate, um, obviously cash helps us most because the, the gear we're spending over $10,000 in surf rods this year. Um, that's guaranteed gonna happen. It costs money to put on these camps. And the more cushion we have, the more we can do, the more we can travel and, and meet new people and work in different communities. So if you have that ability, um, reach out to kids, can't Fish, that helps us immensely. Um, I will self admit, running Raffles is not fun , but right now it's necessary. Um, you know, especially as the operational costs are exceeded. So if I go into, I need to run a facility for storage because we have so much stuff that ultimately would take away from camps and the amount of kids we can connect with. But if the sponsorships keep coming in and that o those overhead costs get absorbed by charitable contributions, we can continue the frequency of what we're doing. And we've, we've done 41 events in five and a half years.
Speaker 2 (01:14:01):
That's, that's still a little smidge. So, and I count, I count running a Bulls, like I I throw that event in there because it's an event we sponsor some kids. But yeah, 41 events, it's, um, it's no longer a, uh, oh, I'm just gonna work on this a little bit. It's, it's an everyday labor of love and the people that are helping us. I can't thank you enough. It's, it's why you're seeing the frequency and our commitment to doing it really well is because of the people that are helping and the, and the volunteers, like we said. So take the leap of faith, take the kid fishing and if you can contribute any way, we, we still can use that help immensely.
Speaker 1 (01:14:45):
Speaking of contributions and help, it is not just, it's not just local companies and tackle shops. There is a lot of non-fishing businesses too that can get involved. And one of the biggest sponsor is a non-fishing business, right?
Speaker 2 (01:15:01):
Yeah. So, um, cornerstone First Mortgage on St. Simon's Island is my largest sponsor easily. And Leighton Johnson grew up in an outdoors type family. And that's where if he has the ability to contribute, he wants it to go to something that he believes in. So our mortgage company is our largest contributor restaurants. Um, we have a couple restaurants that that help us. A um, and the Hilliard's Restaurant Group, the Sea Island Forge, which is an ironworks company that that does, they do a lot of custom things, but they make these really fancy kettles. They don't, they don't make anything fishing related. They just believe in getting kids outdoors. Their big thing is bonding by a campfire and bonding an outdoor over a plate of food. But there's nothing better than catching that food and cooking it on the grill the day of. Like, I've been there.
Speaker 2 (01:16:02):
I've, I've had that experience with my dad and I, those are core memories. So yes, you don't have to be a fishing company, um, to contribute. You, you can be, um, we have a mobile home company, uh, a trailer that does these, um, these trailers, a higher end trailers, a Clayton Homes. So a lot of different brands, a lot of different companies that are helping us. So if you are in that position, and we're all, we're nonprofits, so everything's a tax exemption for us and, uh, a write off for your companies. And we have the, the forms and the documents to make that happen. If you have that capability
Speaker 1 (01:16:36):
And it's about the kids, it's, that's what it is. Everything a sponsorship does, puts a rod in a kid's hand and gets them an experience or a cast net for them to get out there with the family. It's,
Speaker 2 (01:16:47):
We've done, um, it's, it's, um, we did 750 kids this year after, after next week, um, 750 kids this year alone. And we're creeping on the 2000 kid mark and we've given over 1500, uh, fishing rod combos away. So, um, the analytics I keep always humor me, um, because it, it keeps getting bigger every year. The number keeps going up and I'm wondering like, what's the bandwidth? I don't know what the bandwidth is yet.
Speaker 1 (01:17:17):
It's not there yet. It's not done. It's still still on the upward peak
Speaker 2 (01:17:21):
, I think. So we'll find, we'll find it. To me, bandwidth is, as long as I'm still having fun with it, when I, when I'm not having fun with it anymore, then I know I've taken it to a level that I'm creeping on a dangerous area. So, um, Marissa's really good at reigning that in sometimes. She's like , she told me this last week. She's like, do I just need to buy you a bed for the garage? ?
Speaker 1 (01:17:52):
No,
Speaker 2 (01:17:53):
I'm out, you know, organizing gear that's coming in and I mean, we just purchased 36,000 yards of braided line.
Speaker 1 (01:18:02):
Ooh Jesus.
Speaker 2 (01:18:03):
That'll go on reels this year. And I do all the spooling in my garage and I like to do it December, January, February because the garage temperature is actually enjoyable. I don't want to be spooling reels in June. .
Speaker 1 (01:18:17):
No,
Speaker 2 (01:18:19):
That's not, um, not happy. You know, beyond Braid is very kind to us and just ordered 36,000 yards of, of Braided Line. And that's not even for the Pompano camps yet. 'cause I, I do a smaller diameter braid. So I said, Hey, I'm gonna, I'm gonna order some more braid later so it'll end up being 45, 40 8,000 yards of braid this year. Which is insane .
Speaker 1 (01:18:41):
That that is, that is a lot of braid.
Speaker 2 (01:18:43):
Which that's another donation. The triangle spot line liners we're, we're doing so much line spooling. Yeah, they gave us a second machine. . Did
Speaker 1 (01:18:52):
They? You needed it. . You really did.
Speaker 2 (01:18:55):
So, uh, instead of Brandon coming to my house and spooling with me and it's like, I'll do three, you do three and we flip flop, um, Brandon's gonna get a box of 50 reels and I'm gonna get, and you know, we're gonna be able to tag team it. So that's a, I told him, I go, that's an efficiency gift. You like you, you made my life easier by that donation by the triangle sport line winder. I, those things are so helpful to me. Stuff like that. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (01:19:21):
Yeah. That was a good one. Alright, final question for you here and then we'll get you going. What's one thing you want people to understand about kids can fish that they might not realize until they get involved?
Speaker 2 (01:19:33):
Ooh, that's such a good question. That they might not realize until they get involved. When you see kids being kids, my kids play travel sports and when I go to a baseball field, softball field, a wrestling match, and I see these kids interacting. It's not like at one of our fishing camps, our fishing camps, take me back to the eighties. Like, it, it, it really, it makes me feel like that's, that's exactly how it was when I was a kid. And to get that feeling is pretty special. Like, as we get older and like, you know, my, my dad's turning 75, my mom passed away a couple years ago. I'm, I'm thinking more about those memories as, as I get older and older, we get to duplicate that for these parents to, to just go to a body of water and live for a couple hours like we did as kids is pretty magical. You can see a reel on Instagram and you can see a photo of a kid Nolan holding a a, a red fish with 60 spots on it. But when his mother posted literally today, 'cause we're doing the Kid a year contest, which will be over by the time this post, they moved from Ohio. Oh, by the way, go Buckeye and, um, , I think the national championship game will be a couple days after this air, so I hope they're there.
Speaker 1 (01:21:01):
It very will, it very well will be in Ohio. 19 will be there more than likely.
Speaker 2 (01:21:07):
But anyways, this, this family moved from Ohio to Georgia and I'm gonna paraphrase the mom's comment today and she said The Kids Can Fish Foundation has been the best blessing to our family since we moved here. I I, I don't really, other than thank you so much, um, I, that that's why, that's the why you, we can end on that. That's the why
Speaker 1 (01:21:37):
I love it. Well, it's always good having you on. I am excited to see what 2026 brings. I know we'll be chatting again. We got plenty more to go with and, uh, if
Speaker 2 (01:21:45):
I'm so glad you're back.
Speaker 1 (01:21:48):
So glad I'm not going away this time. I'm, I am cemented back in. Whether it's my voice alone or guess I'm, it's, it's, this ain't going away. Thank you. I love it,
Speaker 2 (01:21:57):
. I'm glad, I'm glad for that. And I know your viewers are, we were, we were razzing you pretty hard on the social sites. You
Speaker 1 (01:22:03):
Guys were. It was, it was deserved.
Speaker 2 (01:22:06):
I was about to get, I wanna say I was about to get creative, not ugly. I was about to get real creative. You didn't come back on ?
Speaker 1 (01:22:14):
Oh, I was waiting. I can see the text message was salty. Those were, those were fun ones too. But yeah, it's, it's good to be here. It's good to be back. It's good to be doing this. Even Jen was like, you seem happier. I'm like, ah, mean, you know, I'm not sad
Speaker 2 (01:22:26):
.
Speaker 1 (01:22:27):
So it's
Speaker 2 (01:22:28):
Good. Well, thank you. Thank you for having me and, and, uh, look forward to, um, a successful year for the Finding Demo podcast too.
Speaker 1 (01:22:37):
Thanks brother. All right. Stay in the back for a minute. I'm gonna get this thing closed out.
Speaker 2 (01:22:41):
All right, .
Speaker 1 (01:22:43):
All right, ladies and gentlemen, I hope you enjoyed this episode. As I've told you so many times through so many episodes, kids Can Fish does great things. And if this episode isn't proof, uh, go back and listen to the last one and then the one before that and then the one before that. There's a reason that I constantly, constantly bring it up. They're the next generation of fishermen, anglers, outdoors, all of that. And you get to have that moment with them, with a fishing rod in hand or a cast net. This is another chance for you to get that time with them. So go take a look. Kids can fish.net. Take a look at all the great things that they're doing. If there's a camp in your area, sign up if you can volunteer, volunteer. And if you can donate by all means donate because like I said, every donation puts a rod in a kid's hand or a cast net. You've been listening to Finding Demo Surf Fishing. Thanks for being here. We will see you next time. Until then, take care of yourself. I'm outta here.