Present for their April meeting in no certain order are: Chris Watkins, Billy Whalen, Emanuel Pappadakis, Jarrett Jones, Patrick Pennell, John Pond, Tommy Waddill, Chris Brown, Will McCall, Donnie Duncan, and Tara Smith. Tonya Smith, their adult sponsor, is standing.

Though Tonya Smith conducts the Castaway’s Lip Rippers club meeting like any other – reviewing activities from last month, recruiting volunteers for next month’s activities, and discussing future club events – her focus is a little different. What brings Smith and her group of young teens together is bass fishing.

Most of the members of Castaway’s Lip Rippers have been fishing since childhood.  Smith started the club three years ago to support her son’s interest as an angler and to get more youth, “who are the anglers of the future,” involved.  The Lip Rippers are members of the Junior Bass Angler Federation, which is the youth division of The Bass Federation (TBF), the national organization.  Their yearly dues of $35 are shared with the state group, The Virginia Bass Federation, and the national group, with a small portion staying with the Lip Rippers.
Through their membership, they have opportunities to fish in tournaments sponsored by the federation on the state level and to qualify for national tournaments.

The young teens also have opportunities to bring activities to the community.  On June 21 from 9 a.m. until 12 p.m., they will be hosting a TBF’s Reel Kids Casting Event at Castaways Sporting Goods, located at 11600 Jefferson Davis Hwy.  This will be the first casting event in the community. TBF, along with Castaway, will be sponsoring the event.  They know that some children who participate in the casting event have never had the opportunity to go fishing or even hold a fishing rod, and this event is a great way of getting children interested in fishing.  Through their “Reel Kids,” they hope to instill the zeal they have for fishing and the outdoors and to promote sportsmanship and conservation as well, because they all know that the youth of today are the fishermen and fisherwomen of tomorrow.

The TBF’s Reel Kids casting events are open to children between the ages of eight and 15.  The children who compete in the events are separated into two age groups:  8 to 11 and 12 to 15.  During each event, participating children are given hands-on instruction in three basic techniques that can be used to present a fishing lure: flipping, pitching, and casting.  The participating children then aim for a target and attempt to get their lure to land on the target by using each of the three basic techniques.  Points will be awarded where the lure lands.  The highest points gain from the participant is the winner.  The Lip Rippers and Castaway will have prizes and giveaways during the event.

While making plans for the community event, the young anglers are also preparing for their state tournament, held on May 10, where they hope to qualify for the state championship tournament, held August 31.  They will also volunteer their time helping kids bait hooks for the Free Fishing Event, held June 7 in Hanover County during National Fishing Week. In addition, senior members will help put out brush fires at Lake Anna, and help with weigh-in and clean-up at Castaway’s Fishing Tournament on May 24.

During the conclusion of the Lip Rippers’ April meeting, angler Kenny Keener offered the young anglers tips on fishing for Bass in April at Lake Gaston, one of their qualifying tournaments.  He talked about the water temperature, where the fish’s staging area was right now, and what type of bait was good to use.

Club member Stuart Smith, a senior at Thomas Dale High School, has been fishing since he was a tot and has been state champion angler for the last two years representing Virginia at the Nationals and placed in the Top 10 in 2006.  Eventually, he hopes to go pro, but right now, his main goal is acceptance at Virginia Tech University. “Fishing is like playing any other sport, and colleges like seeing your membership in the Junior Bass Angler Federation,” he says.  

Of fishing, Chris Watkins, a junior at Thomas Dale, says, “It’s relaxing and an adrenaline rush at the same time.  It takes lots of concentration.”

Smith adds, “It takes brain power and concentration, just like math, only different.”

For all the teens in the Lip Rippers, the biggest challenge today is the rising gas prices.  Tournaments mean a tank of gas for your truck and gas for the boat, which could mean anywhere from five gallons to 40.  That’s a lot of grass cutting for many of these teens.

For more information about Castaway’s Lip Rippers, call Tonya Smith at 751-9078.

lfausz@villagepublishing.com | 751-0421

© Copyright by Village Publishing

Top of Page                                              Comment on This Article

The Village News office is located at 4607 West Hundred Road Chester
Mailing address is PO Box 2397 Chester, VA 23831
Phone: 751-0421  Fax: 751-9155
Office hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday - Friday call ahead for other hours.
Statement of Journalistic Ethics