As daylight broke on Saturday, May 17, a group of excited youth from Connie Maxwell took off in bass fishing boats with seasoned anglers for the Take a Kid Fishing Tournament on Lake Greenwood.
“O man, we’re going fast,” said Trey, a sixth grader who began screaming at the top of his lungs with anticipation. He was riding with real tournament pros including Rusty Nickles, a lifelong fisherman who cosponsors and leads Connie Maxwell’s three annual fishing tournaments.
With Trey’s grin of approval, Nickles continued the boat’s pace to a fishing spot. He was driving one of the 15 boats in the competition, each holding one kid and two adults.
The competitors had just shy of six hours to fish before the weigh-in at noon. Within 20 minutes of casting into the water, Nickles had a fish on his line. He handed over his rod to Trey, letting him reel in the bass.
Just five minutes later, Trey had his line in the water again. “I got one! I got one!” Trey cried out, reeling in his very own fish. With the help of Nickles and another fishing enthusiast, Trey caught around 10 fish over the next few hours.
As the sun broke through the overcast sky, it was time for the weigh in. Each kid grabbed their fish and put them in a basket on the scale. Prizes were awarded to the kids with the biggest catch.
While Trey didn’t win first prize, he had an unforgettable experience, which is exactly why Nickles started the fishing tournaments. Although the kids are accustomed to fishing on Connie Maxwell’s property, it was the first time many of them had been in a boat.
“I wanted to let the kids at Connie Maxwell get to experience what a real fishing tournament is like,” said Nickles, who has faithfully hosted benefit tournaments for Connie Maxwell, helping more than 1,000 kids over the past 24 years.
After the weigh in, everyone celebrated with a hotdog lunch at Fish Bonz General Store and Tackle, where store owners Nikki and Tim Parker had given each of the kids new rods and reels at the start of the day.
It was a moment that Nickles hopes the kids—and adult fishing pros—will remember in the days and years ahead.
“I’ve had grown men who have been in fishing tournaments for years. They come up to me after the tournaments with tears in their eyes and just tell me, ‘Rusty, thank you for letting us be a part of this. This is the greatest tournament I’ve ever been involved with,’” Nickles shared.
For the adult volunteers who fish with the kids, the tournament isn’t focused on money or winning.
“It’s all about making sure those kids get the experience and have fun,” Nickles said. “I know these kids have been through a lot more in their life than most of us can ever imagine. For me to be able to take them out, organize that, give them a day to where they can forget about everything else and just have fun. Hey, that’s my highlight that they all had a great time.”
MORE THAN A TOURNAMENT
Five years ago, Nickles and local businessman and realtor Trent Smith started sponsoring Connie Maxwell fishing tournaments together, setting up a foundation for the proceeds to go toward conservation activities and scholarships.
Beforehand, Smith had been volunteering and giving to Connie Maxwell but had a desire to do more. “I have a really big heart for those kids,” said Smith, who mainly runs the April tournament. “The fishing tournament idea came along, and I think the first year we donated about $8,500 and it’s increased every year ever since.”
The Trent Smith and Rusty Nickles Outdoor Fund provides Connie Maxwell with money for the kids’ outdoor activities, such as the supplies or resources needed for equestrian events, cattle shows, and hunting and fishing excursions.
“It’s just something that we did to try and help keep the kids outdoors,” said Nickles, who felt called to start these tournaments. “I was blessed growing up that I had a grandfather and my dad who took me hunting and fishing and spent time with me and I passed that on to my kids.”
In addition, an endowed fund has been created to provide scholarships for those pursuing an outdoor or ministry degree.
“Trent and Rusty wanted to provide tournaments that would be perpetual and life-changing for Connie Maxwell and Connie Maxwell kids for generations,” said Maxwell Farm Director Brad Martin, who helps coordinate the Pro-Am Fishing Tournament. “They’re trying to work up a generational gift through these tournaments that provides for anything that a kid wants to pursue in the outdoor conservation world, [such as a] game warden, scientist, biology, anything like that.”
Each year, Nickles’ and Smith’s impact grows through events like the two annual benefit fishing tournaments—the Connie Maxwell Benefit Fishing Tournament in April and a Toys for Tots Tournament in December—that help raise money and supplies for the kids at Connie Maxwell.
In May, Nickles and Smith presented Connie Maxwell with the proceeds from the April tournament, including a $17,800 check and a box truck full of supplies like bed sheets, bottled water, toilet paper, and laundry detergent.
“[It’s] just a way to alleviate some of the financial stress. I run a couple of different businesses. I get it,” Smith said, explaining how Connie Maxwell is a nonprofit that raises most of its funds. “When you’re raising that much of your budget each year, it takes a lot of faith. I just wanted to find a way to help with that. If they can’t meet their budget, they can’t take the kids out. That’s important to me.”
Martin believes the lessons kids learn outdoors, especially in fishing, can have a long-term impact.
“The relationships you have when you fish, you can’t really do it in 10 or 15 minutes in a row. You have to go out in a boat, you have to work, you have to strive, you have to learn things. The more education you get outdoors and especially fishing, the more successful you’re going to be,” Martin continued. “And these men and gentlemen really love to share their craft and their hobby with anybody, but kids especially, and it’s something that can be duplicated throughout their lifetime, all ages, all tenures, all economic status, can go fishing.”
