TKAA Tournament Results 2008

On behalf of the Tidewater Kayak Anglers Association, I am happy to announce the winners of the 2008 TKAA Kayak Fish for Charity event to benefit Project Healing Waters.

It was again a very humbling experience to have members from Project Healing Waters come down and fish in our tournament. The sacrifices the men and women have made on our behalf is tremendous and I am proud that we can give back to them in a small, but hopefully meaningful, way.

Before I get to the winners, I’d like to take a moment to acknowledge our generous sponsors. Without them, this tournament would not be possible. Whether it was t-shirts, hats, certificates, lures, gear, or kayaks, each manufacturer played a role in making this tournament the success it has become.   With over 140 registered entrants and over 50 sponsors, this event has become the premier fall kayak fishing tournament on the East Coast. I would encourage all of you to visit the websites of these sponsors and support them in whatever way you can.  

I’d like to recognize our lead sponsor, Hobie, who have always been strong supporters of our efforts and provided the slam division kayak as well as our captain’s bags.   Other companies (a record seven) who provided kayaks for division winners include Wilderness Systems/Appomattox River Company, NuCanoe/Tar River Paddle Sports (new sponsor), Legacy Paddle Sports/Wild River Outfitters, Malibu Kayak, and Ocean Kayak.

Another new sponsor this year was Freedom Hawk Kayaks. Dave Cameron, the company president came down with four kayaks and presented two of them to Project Healing Waters at the captain’s meeting on Friday night. The other two were purchased by Ruthless Fishing, Tar River Paddle Sports in Rocky Mount, NC, and an anonymous TKAA member and will be donated to Project Healing Waters as well.

There were a lot of people behind the scenes that worked to make the tournament a success. These tournaments don’t run by themselves and as we continue to grow and get larger, we’ll need more people to keep things running smoothly. Jason Martell designed our tournament website (and made countless updates) and did it all free of charge. Brett Swindell of Chesapeake Bay Fish Prints provided the cool artwork for the tournament t-shirts. Jay Kocan get the website up and updated, as well as provided help with scoring. Finally, there were many folks who helped out on site (and I know I’m going to forget somebody, so apology in adavance) but a big thanks to Jim and Tina Shank, Jesse Moore, Josie White, Jason Saledas, Darrell Hollifield, and Michael Uremovich. Thanks to all and I look forward to an even bigger and better tournament next year.