​On behalf of the current board serving the Crappie Anglers of Texas and the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition, thank you to the entire crappie fishing community for one of the most incredible displays of sportsmanship and good-hearted support of a great cause that I believe I’ve ever seen in this industry. You have once again left me in shock and awe, with the words “gratitude and appreciation” not feeling like they mean enough to express my feelings on what I witnessed this past Saturday at CrappieFest.

Coming from a man who started guiding for crappie when crappie fishing wasn’t cool, I think it’s important for you the angler to understand just how much of an impression you’ve left on me and others. Whether or not you actively participate in competitive tournaments is not a big deal. Simply put, if you are a crappie angler, you are part of a rapidly growing movement that can no longer be ignored, and is no longer simply dismissed as not being relevant. In other words, men, women and children that find themselves enjoying a day on the water in search of food or trophies, are actively changing the fishing industry as a whole. You are literally changing the way we are looked at by the world, and it is incredible to witness first hand.

A prime example of why I love this fishing family so much can be seen in the check CAT was able to write to the NOCC on Saturday at the end of CrappieFest. With the help from crappie anglers all over the country, we were able to donate $9,350.00 in an effort to research and eventually irradicate ovarian cancer in women all over the world. Stop and think about that for a second. By simply showing up in masses, and doing what you love to do, you were able to change the world for the better. If you ever wonder as to whether or not you’ve made a positive difference in someone else’s life, rest assured, you have.

As you may have noticed, we had a bit of a line getting into weigh-in. We went with this format to prevent any chance of this event getting cancelled due to a possible resurgence in COVID. I think the string of cars and boats was visible from space. You may recall that I mentioned how impressed I was with the sportsmanship that was shown on Saturday. Myself and Alec Dyer of Star Industries (the man who literally makes CrappieFest possible) started handing out weigh-in cards and Golden Tickets at around 10:30am on Saturday. 406 teams and six hours later, we were finished. Not one person complained. NOT ONE SINGLE PERSON. We just kept going from truck to truck, boat to boat, star struck and in awe of all the big names who showed up and all the cool fishing rigs they brought with them. If congress was full of crappie fishermen, I’d have a lot better opinion of politicians.


In closing, thank you again for supporting the NOCC and CAT. My hat goes off and my heart goes out to all the men, women and kiddos who fished with us, and I am truly grateful for the opportunity to meet so many people over the weekend. I can honestly say I was left in awe, and will be forever be impressed by the crappie fishing community.



Sincerely,

Lane Palmer
President
Crappie Anglers of Texas

Sounds like I missed out on something big and amazing. Great read and good stuff right there. Maybe I can go to one of these events one day. Laner we met years ago when you guided for a guiding service on cedar creek lake and it was a pleasure meeting you as I have learned a lot from you on this forum and it’s paying off too. I still have your educational thread from year or so ago where you broke down the temps and when to go looking for them during the spawn and how to work back in the coves etc also the moon phase fishing educational thread. Anyways thanks and it sounds like this was and will keep being an amazing event.

Awesome post.

Great Post Lane!!

The crappie community rocks and is the best.

I continue to be impressed by the crappie fishing community. I know we fuss at each other from time to time, but we’re family.

Speaking of which, I hope everyone has a great Easter with their loved ones!

Super cool day! Hat's off to ya'll for keeping it going!