The roots of a new nonprofit, Fish It Forward, are in Jason Adams longtime love of fishing. Adams, who was born in Texarkana, learned to fish on trips with his great grandfather, but both his parents were competitive bass anglers.
"It kind of runs in the family," he said.
Adams has considered going pro, but he has a good job that pays the bills and still gives him time to fish.
"I'll fish anywhere. I'll fish in a ditch walking the banks."
Lately, he's discovered he likes to fish from a kayak, but he couldn't find enough kayak tournaments in the area so he decided to develop his own tournaments and they needed a nonprofit to benefit. So, Fish it Forward was born.
Adams said he knows the people behind Pedal It Forward, another regional nonprofit that collects donated bicycles, fixes them up and donates them. He modeled Fish It Forward after it.
Most of the work is done in his garage, so far. He collects used reels from his friends who fish. Hook, Line and Sinker has been helping too.
"We put together a night and everyone comes over and works on it," he said. He has his own sons involved with the work.
'Working with your hands is another piece of it. We want to show the kids how to take care of their own gear."
So far, they've been passing out the refurbished reels to local Boy Scouts and church groups. They are looking for other ways to reach needy kids, but they aren't set up to take the kids fishing. They can only pass out the equipment and hope for the best.
A series of kayak fishing tournaments has been set up in Bella Vista this summer to benefit Fish It Forward. Details about the tournament series can be found on the group's Facebook page.
Sports on 02/06/2019