Good People doing good things in the catfish community.
by Ron Presley
The BKPC Nation is a small non-profit organization with a stated mission to promote and further fishing as therapy, recreation, and sport through conservation, education, networking, and community.
Joey Middleton, owner of BKPC NATION puts it simply, “We focus on helping folks within the fishing community.”
After doing online tournaments for a few years, BKPC NATION put its mission statement to the test when they selected Tackle22 Fishing to be the beneficiary of their first onsite charity event. With the help of a lot of volunteers, they pulled it off in grand fashion.
Tackle22 Fishing is also a nonprofit organization. Their objective is to bring awareness to the unacceptable national average of veteran suicides each day.
“Tackle22 Fishing is an organization that attempts to end the national average of 22 Veteran suicides per day,” said Edward Andersen, Founder/President of Tackle22. “We attack the problem by offering no-cost fishing trips to any honorably discharged veteran, retiree, or active duty service member.”
Andersen has a story of his own. Understanding his experience explains why he is so passionate about lowering that national average suicide rate for veterans.
“In 2007, before being formally diagnosed with PTSD, I was planning to end my life,” disclosed Andersen. “Another Marine (Tom) that I worked with offered me a simple gesture. He offered me an opportunity to go fishing with him. Tom’s act of kindness completely changed and saved my life. Fishing became my outlet. Fishing and that simple gesture by another Marine saved my life!”
Nine years later, Tom, the Marine that saved Andersen’s life, took his own and he never knew of the impact he had on Andersen. The experience led Andersen to take action.
“After I lost Tom and my girlfriend lost her cousin Tyler to suicide, we decided it was time to do something about the problem,” declared Andersen. “If fishing saved my life, why couldn’t this simple gesture work for other veterans and service members? I can say for certain that it has!”
BKPC NATION and Tackle22 Fishing are the perfect match. With overlapping missions, the end result was an event that focused on catfishing and veterans. The funds raised through the tournament go to help Tackle22 Fishing provide additional therapy to vets in need.
Middleton, assisted by Matt Russell, Samantha (Sam) Caudill, Jarrett Tempus, Cindy Renee Ritter, all the boat captains that entered the tournament, and a group of supporting businesses pulled off a great event.
“I would like to give a heartfelt thank you to Matt and Sam,” said Middleton. “Without them, this event would never have been possible.”
“We ended up with 29 boats and 26 vets fishing the tournament,” reported Middleton. “We were able to raise $3,000 for Tackle22 and paid out $3,200 to 3 vets for winning Veteran Big Fish awards.”
“We had several older vets who were able to get out on boats and fish this tournament,” Middleton said. “The smiles on their faces at weigh-in were priceless.”
There were lots of fish tales following the tournament. One Captain, Cad Daly was a late registrant for the event but with a little help from a Facebook post, and Samantha Caudill a veteran was found to fish with him.
“My veteran angler, Dale Oe, broke his personal best 3 times fishing the Tackle22 tournament,” reported Daly. “He is US Army and his previous PB was around 10 pounds. Today he caught several in the ’20s and his PB 35.45 pound blue cat.”
When asked about his experience Oe said, “It was a great time. Cad helped me catch some great fish. I kept catching bigger and bigger fish.”
Oe grew up in Montana where catfish don’t get nearly so big. He is currently out of Fort Benning. Since living in the south he had been mostly a bass fisherman but he always wanted to get a big cat.
“I joined the army after graduating high school in 2008,” Oe said. “I’m still serving today. I served two tours in Afghanistan with the 4th Infantry Division. I am married and have two beautiful daughters.”
“The tournament was great,” continued Oe. “The people were great and it was for a great cause. I really will never forget the experience.”
Middleton had a story too. He told of “Mr. Larry” who took the spotlight at the tournament fishing with Doug and Tiffany McAnally.
“They gave that Vietnam vet the total catfishing experience,” joked Middleton. “They put him on the boat with captain Jr Hall on Thursday. Mr. Larry beat his PB 3 times that day and he loves to tell about it, Lol.”
Many similar stories tell the success of the tournament and why it is good therapy. From the captains to the sponsors to the vets themselves, a good time was had by all as the stage was set for future events.
“The thing I was happiest with overall was the outpouring of support for the vets from some of the catfishing community’s finest,” concluded Middleton. “We will be hosting 2 other events this year and will follow with 3 events annually. All will be charity events.
“Fishing was tough,” admitted Andersen. “But the conversation and fellowship made the day and I’m happy that we were able to see the catfishing community step up and help us continue our mission. Several Veterans walked away with great raffle items as well as thousands of dollars in prize money.”
“The support for our veterans by the catfishing Industry was on full display at the BKCP NATION tournament,” concluded Andersen. “I can’t imagine a better forum and better group of people to share time with, in support of a great cause. I couldn’t be more humbled than when I watched complete strangers offer seats on their boats to our nation’s warfighters. Seeing the joy on these veterans’ faces at weigh-in was truly inspiring, and encouraging, that Tackle22 Fishing is making a difference.”
Veterans Big Fish
1st place: Ronnie Tucker – 46.80 pounds
2nd place: Jimmy Meares – 39.78 pounds
3rd place: Dale Oe – 35.45 pounds
Tournament Results
1st place: Meares Mafia – 91.99 pounds
2nd place: Team Rob Cat – 91.58 pounds
3rd place Team Blessed Outdoors 86.15 pounds
Sponsors
The tournament sponsors include Dale’s Tackle, River Rats Reel Repair, Meat Hunter Rods, Cat River Anchors, SeaArk Boats, and Slimecat Rods.
“There are a ton of people in the catfish community who are trying to do good things,” said Steve Henderson, president of SeaArk Boats and sponsor of the event. “I enjoyed fishing the Tackle22 event in support of our veterans. I don’t know of another industry that tries to do so much.”
In addition to the tournament sponsors, raffle items were donated by various companies in the catfishing industry. They include Cat River Anchors, Hooked On Cats Guide Service, River Rodder Rod Holders Outdoors, SmackDown Catfishing, Catch The Fever, MulTbar Rod Rack, Alabama Big Cat Seekers, Partners In Slime, Outta Line Rod Racks, Dirty South Dragging Weights, Team Chasing Whiskers, River Rats Reel Repair, Backwoods Catfishing Guide Service, REEL EM UP LLC, Southerntastics, Line Taming Serum Scent, PayPal friends and family, and Donald Joe Middleton.
BKPC NATION
With a vision to initiate, sponsor, and execute fundraising activities through various aspects of fishing, BKPC provides the resources necessary to carry out its goals and objectives while linking up with like-minded organizations. For more information on BKPC NATION visit their Facebook page.
Tackle22 Fishing
Tackle22 Fishing is located in Columbus, Georgia. Any veteran that would like to take part in their program is encouraged to send them a message through the website at www.Tackle22fishing.com. Any Veteran in crisis can reach Edward Andersen personally through the Tackle22 Fishing Facebook page. Join us to end 22 Veteran suicides a day.
Editor’s Note: This story was first published in May of 2021. It is republished here because it was lost when the CatfishNOW website was hacked.
