One of the best parts of volunteering for all of the preparation is the ability to catch up with old friends who come back year after year to help out. As always, a huge thanks to everyone who helped out this year, whether they stuffed captain's bags, did meat prep, or manned the raffle and registration booth. We started prep work on Wednesday and Thursday, shopping for all of the food, utensils, and other items we needed. Meeting up with volunteers Thursday afternoon, we did some meat prep and set up. Early on Friday, captain's bags were stuffed and we finished setting up the facility.
Once we started cooking, a great mishap happened! For the first time in eleven years, the power went out all over the state park! Fortunately, we were still able to cook on the propane stove provided by Twin Lakes. Anglers would still eat. However, the unplanned power outage resulted in sweltering heat in the facility, no PA system, and no reasonable way to do the Captain's Meeting. Thinking outside the box, we decided to do the Captain's Meeting outside using a speaker and microphone that one of our anglers had brought with him to play music on the campsite. During this time, the power came on, giving our anglers light to eat their dinner by.
As always, we served tournament favorites - seafood chowder, ribs and ribeyes, mashed potatoes, and green beans. As anglers finished their food, they went home to get some rest before the big day.
On Saturday, fishing was tough - but that didn't ruin the mood! As registration finished and the winners were announced, anglers conversed. This comradery is what the YakAttack tournament is famous for! Food once again was served - smoked barbeque with potato salad, cole slaw, and pasta salad - and raffle tickets were called. With some great prizes to be won, anglers were eager to find out if their ticket would be called!
With lots of helping hands, clean up took no time at all, and the facility was clean soon after a majority of the anglers left. The bonfire took place, everyone joked and laughed, and we went home.
My experience of the tournament is fairly unique. I've been to every single event, and a lot of these anglers have watched me grow up year after year. Being able to support such incredible organizations is nothing short of a privilege, and watching the tournament become more and more popular has been super cool! As I've gotten more and more involved in YakAttack, it's been a pleasure to be more involved in the tournament, taking on projects like the vlog. Enjoy!
Sponsors
Twin Lakes State Park | Smithfield Packaged Meats | Bonafide Kayaks | Malone Auto Racks | Native Watercraft | Virginia Tourism Corporation | Hobie Fishing| Scott Beutjer Fishing | BRD Jet | Doomsday Tackle Co. | RCI Optics ( Right Coast Independent ) | Floating Feathers Kayak Fly Fishing School | NRS | St.Croix Rods | Action Kayak Adventures | Watershed Drybags | Nocqua Adventure Gear | Bending Branches | MTI Life Jackets | Power-Pole Total Boat Control | Deeper | SuperNova Fishing Lights | Nite Ize | Tourneytag | Neverlost Gear | Appomattox River Company | Off Shore Tackle Company | Sea-Lect Designs | Acrylic-Werks| ActionHat | RinseKit | Sea to Summit - Outdoor Gear | SPRO U.S.A | Kayak Bass Fishing | Tektite Industries | GetterBack |