Outreach in Action
This is the reward. Seeing the smiles when a kid catches his first fish. We volunteer several times a year for the South Carolina DNR at public fishing clinics, rodeo’s and catch ponds.
Our friend Matt who went out with us on one of our “Keepin It Reel” guided fishing trips. He was dealing with addiction recovery and we had the chance to create a friendship in just a few hours on the water. One of the amazing things about fishing is that you can take a complete stranger fishing for a few hours and by the end of the trip you have a new friendship. There is time to listen, encourage, share, and pray and engage with the person who is on the boat or walking the bank with you.
Such a great “action shot”. Roger Metz captured this photo of the moment a fish is landed. It is such a joy to celebrate these moments with young anglers. This is from our time volunteering through our partnership with the South Carlina Department of Natural Resources, at the Sportsman’s Classic in Columbia, South Carolina.
Giving Back! As part of our partnership with Bass Pro Shops, the Greenville County Rec, and Oak Grove Lake, we were able to help transfer over 400 fish from the youth event at Bass Pro Shops, to Oak Grove Lake to help support the fish population at the lake. We are also partnering with them for a litter clean up as well as to help create and build some fish habitat at the lake. One of the requirements of our Youth Anglers Club is that students have to participate in at least one community service project per year.
The “Honey Hole”. Our friend and volunteer Scott pointing us the secret spot for trophy trout on our trip to Cherokee, NC.
Restocking. Through our partnership with Bass Pro Shops, we received over 300 rods and reels from the Spring Classic event at the Greenville, SC location. These rods and reels go to participants in our programs and are donated to local boys and girls homes. Not only to we donate the rods and reels, we go and spend time with them teaching them how to use them and taking them fishing. We are so thankful for Bass Pro Shops and their commitment to support local outdoor youth organizations.
Going to the creek... When I was younger, fishing was an escape for me. I faced challenges inside of my household and to get away I would grab a piece of white bread, grab the top half of one of my poles, tie one about 4 ft of line and a tiny hook and go to the creek. I would spend hours fishing for small “minnows” and “horny heads” as well the occasion bream or catfish. I have passed along this tradition to my son and nephews and now we can escape to the same creek I did as a kid and enjoy some time together, outdoors.
Our youngest volunteer Banks, helping Andrew with his first fish.
Dinner? A beautiful trout that was caught on our day trip to Cherokee, North Carolina, with our Youth Anglers Club.
A smile like that…..priceless!
This is from a clinic we hosted at Table Rock State Park for a local troop in the Trail Life USA organization. It was a cold day but we had a great time fishing and hanging out with this group. We are working with this national organization to create a curriculum to fulfill fishing related requirements in their faith based outdoor program as well as to host summer camps in which we can teach troops from all across the Carolinas and Georgia.
The McCormick Boys. We have had the opportunity to travel to Clarks Hill Lake to take a group of youth some fishing gear and to take them out for a day fishing. This gear was donated to us by Bass Pro Shops and is going straight back to youth who are just getting started in this sport. This group has gained interest in the sport and are trying to create a fishing team at their local high school. We have enjoyed the time we have had with this group and are excited for the opportunity to support their efforts. We have partnered with a local fishing club who has volunteered to host a “mock” fishing tournament and take each student out for a day of learning and seeing how a tournament is ran. This wouldn’t be possible without the work of an amazing father and volunteer in that area. Thank you Robert for all you do for these boys and for your support and friendship.
A catfish one of our club members caught during our trip to Firelake Catfishing and Paintball. We try and cover several species of fish in our instruction and outings. We cover bass, trout, catfish, panfish and other species to give our students experience learning and fishing for different species.
A fish of a lifetime!
Malia showed the boys that “girls rule” catching the most fish at this event.
The smile says it all!
We volunteer every year for the SCDNR’s “Catch Pond” at the Palmetto Sportsman Classic.
One of my life long friends and fishing partners, Michael, volunteering his time to show the next generation some basics of fishing at one of our events.
Success. We caught this tank while we were getting some material to highlight some of our sponsors. We have an amazing group of partners that generously help us fulfill our mission and support our outreach.
A special time with a group of young men that are facing challenges most of us never could imagine.
Gavin with his very first fish!
Volunteers give their time and energy to help us fulfill our mission.
Our good friend and partner Danny Cobb who created the Fully Equipped Fishing Ministry. We spent some time on the water “working” and discussing how we could partner together to reach more youth in the upstate of South Carolina. We volunteer every year at the Fully Equipped Fishing Rodeo and are so thankful for Danny and his friendship. He was the first person to reach out to us and offer to support, partner and donate to our outreach. He is just one of the amazing people the Lord has brought to into our path since we got going that have been vital to our growth and our mission.
Practice makes perfect.
This is Scott in his happy place. We rely on my volunteers to make our outreach run. Scott reached out to me and offered to volunteer to come and teach a class for our Youth Anglers Club on trout fishing. He then took us on a guided trip to fish for trophy trout in Cherokee, North Carolina. We are so thankful for Scott and all the other volunteers who give so much to help us fulfill our purpose.
My mentor and fishing partner Greg, showing me how its done.
Maddox with a nice bass on topwater.
Not only do we offer our Fishing Clinics for free, we also try and provide a rod and reel for each participant to take home for free.
Our Fishing Clinic’s include instruction on conservation and proper fish handling.
This wonderful human is an amazing example the impact of fishing can have on society. She was fishing by herself at the pond where we held an event for the Youth Anglers Club. I noticed several of our students fishing right around her. I walked down to have them give her some space, and she went on to tell me that her grandchildren had moved away and that she fished here every Saturday. She told me that she loved the students company and that she had exchanged some of her shrimp for some of our kids crickets. She was there when I got there to set up and was still there after the event as I was leaving. I went and spoke to her again and she was so thankful for the time she had with our students. This was a milestone moment for myself and one of the times the Lord confirmed we were on the right path with our outreach. Fishing bridges all gaps that the world may put between us. It bridges gaps in age, gender, nationality, religion, race, social status, and more.
A little “classroom” instruction.
Volunteer Josh Hart, a full time college student and Clemson Bass Fishing Team member donated his time on a Saturday to come out, mentor and teach some kids to fish at one of our events.
One of my fishing mentor’s Eric, volunteered his boat and time to take a kid out for his birthday.