The Tidewater Kayak Anglers Association held it's 11th Annual Kayak Fishing for Charity Tournament on Sept. 25-26th at the Quality Suites, Lake Wright, Norfolk, VA. The Tournament is a benefit for Heroes On The Water and Project Healing Waters. It's a very well attended event with it's heart in the right place. This was my third year participating in the TKAA Tournament and I don't plan on missing any in the future. It's a great time with a great community, and then, normally, you get to fish in one of the best fisheries in the country. Mother Nature altered those plans a little this past weekend.

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The forecast for Saturday was 100% rain with 30-40mph gusts. The TKAA made an organizational decision to cancel the fishing portion of the event. It was a wise choice. Could folks have found sheltered areas to fish? Yes. Would some kayak anglers be more prepared and capable of handling adverse weather conditions than others? Of course. Would 99% of the anglers present opt to not go fishing if this was a non-tournament day? Yes. But none of this matters. There are many decisions one can make as an individual, but when individuals make up a board of directors for an organization, they must act in the best interest of that organization and the participates in their events. It narrows the options by creating an either or scenario. The TKAA made the right call. They did it unanimously. They did it with heavy hearts. But those hearts would have been much heavier had they said, "fish on" and then lost an angler to the angry Poseidon.

But the show must go on. Starting shortly after lunch on Saturday, various casting contests commenced for the Fly Fishing, Ladies and Youth Divisions. There was a fair bit of heckling as well while Corey Routh, Hobie Pro, judged and MC'ed the Fly Casting Contest.

Youth Casting Contest:

1st place - Alexander Amieka

2nd place - Jake Mattauch

3rd place - Gehrig Girard

Fly Division Casting Contest:

1st pace - Bob Deml

2nd place - John Barnett

3rd place - James Covais

4th place - Stephen Buss

Ladies Division Casting Contest:

1st place - Kelly Beck

2nd Place - Amy Angelopoulos

3rd place - Diane Dixon

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Shortly after the casting contests everyone enjoyed an early dinner at the Quality Suites. It's always a pleasure sharing a meal with this community.

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Rob Choi was catching even though the fishing was canceled. Truth Reels are the real deal, made in VA. Justin from Truth was on hand representing and flashing them shiny, Made in the USA, reels.

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The game plan for the rest of Saturday was Raffle Prize bonanza. Everything was going to be raffled, including some of the biggest prizes. At one point, in the men's room, I overheard a bunch of dudes talking, "I've got a better chance of winning that Hobie Pro Angler 14 now that we aren't fishing."

Before the raffle madness, Tony Jones, a traveling Hampton Roads based magician, walked the crowd and wow'ed folks with his skills.

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Everyone then filled up the conference room at the Quality Suites for a Q&A session with some of the great Pro Staff guys on hand. But first Kendall Wallingford, Marine Vet and HOW member, stepped up and gave a poignant speech about the mission of HOW and the way it helped him after coming home from deployment. He segued that into presenting a Lifetime Achievement Award from TKAA to Heroes On The Water Chapter Coordinator, Tom Vandeheiden, for all his selfless work with the Tidewater region's veterans. I'll admit it, I teared up a little. It was a special moment.

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With that presentation done, the TKAA Tournament moved on to this distinguished panel of ruffians; L to R: Drew Camp - Jackson Kayak Pro, Jeff Little- Wilderness Systems Pro, Thom Mattuch - TKAA Moderator, Kayak Kevin- Ocean Kayak Pro, Lee Williams- Ocean Kayak Pro, William Ragulsky- Hurricane Kayaks Pro, and Rob Choi- Ocean Kayaks Pro.

We have some of the best in the business paddling these Mid Atlantic waters.

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There were more than a few jokes.

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After the fantastic Q&A session, the raffles started. The TKAA Raffles are rather legendary in scope and longevity. The long run of late raffling was alleviated by two great mass calls by Tournament Director Wayne Bradby. One was for every kid angler to walk the prize table and grab something. It was a perfect way to engage that youth crowd and ensure they walked away with a positive memory of this tournament. The second was the call for all prior and active armed service members to step up and grab a gift from the table as well. It was a solid way to say thank you. It wasn't surprising in this neck of the woods to see half the room stand up and get in line. :)

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Multiple Kayaks were up for grabs, including a Hurricane Kayak Skimmer 140, a Wilderness Systems ATAK and a Hobie Pro Angler 14. YakAttack always goes big at the TKAA and they did again with some Rigging the Dream packages and a bunch of BlackPaks, etc. The Appomattox River Company Gift Card for $500 was also raffled.

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photo courtesy of Frank Jennings.

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The day ended with a couple of lucky souls walking away with some fresh kayaks, including the fine gent on the left who walked away with a Hobie Pro Angler 14. Pretty good deal.

There were so many great raffle prizes, donated by so many awesome sponsors, it's almost impossible to mention them all, but the folks in attendance definitely remember all of them, as do I. Thank You.

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So, the TKAA Tournament went down without any fishing. For me, and everyone else, it was still a great opportunity to hang with the tribe and donate to a good cause. The kayak angling community in the Tidewater area is a good one and they have a lot of respect for the men and women who have served our country. Events like the TKAA Kayak Fish for Charity Tournament give us all a chance to show that respect and give with our hearts to help those who assist our veterans.

Rumor has it a record level of money was raised for Heroes On The Water and Project Healing Waters. That is what it's all about.

And we all lived to PaddleVa another day. As I stare out the window at grey skies and the rain falling down, I sure hope that day comes soon. I got an itch needs scratching.

* I'll post the other photos I have on our Facebook page tomorrow.

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