Our Rally Story

Started by Bud Kennedy, January 05, 2015, 08:15:20 AM

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Bud Kennedy

Over four years ago, a group of anglers participated together in a now defunct website.  The website was mostly frequented by folks living around Lake Norman.  As we communicated over time, the conversation started to turn towards the thought of having a rally of some sort.

It did not take long for the group to decide that this would be a fun deal.  We just wanted to enjoy the company and spend some time fishing, eating and perhaps drinking a few adult beverages.  I seemed like something that I too wanted to do and our group immediately started to put the rally together.

Rally I was held at Lake Norman and we had eight teams participate.  The night before the tournament we had a cookout at the hotel and everyone seemed to just enjoy talking about fishing.  After our first event was over we immediately started to plan Rally II. 

Rally II was held at Lake Norman and similar to the year before we had a cook out at the hotel on Friday.  The special part was that Hall of Fame Bass Fisherman Guy Eaker attended.  It turns out a lot of the Lake Norman guys knew guy and he spent quality time at the cookout and at the weigh in the following day.  Another special treat was that Carson Orellana who had just won the Co Angler section at the B.A.S.S. Southern Open.  This is also notable because Carson's fellow club member Hank Cherry won the pro side of this same event.  Carson and Guy spent a lot of time together at the cookout and I am sure some words of wisdom were passed to the up and coming young angler.  The second Rally has now been completed with 18 boats participating

Rally III continued along the same format.  Cookout on Friday and fishing on Saturday.  Similar to last year we had a special guest at the cook out when Hank Cherry attended.  As part of the local fishing scene Hank is also well known by many of the rally participants and all seemed to enjoy his company.  The rally continued to grow a bit with 22 boats participating in Rally III.

Before we were able to start the planning process for Rally IV our website stopped operating.  We were a group without a place to hang out and talk fishing.  Due to some prior hard feelings we needed some place for a fresh start so we could continue to be a group.  We contacted Mike Cork and we were welcomed into the fold at Ultimate Bass.  Mike set up a club site for us and we began the process to direct the guys to Ultimate Bass.  During this time we asked if we could use the Ultimate Bass name to continue our rally efforts.  Mike quickly agreed and we began the process for Rally IV.  Since this was a new start for us we thought it would be a good time to make some changes.  We opted to have our event lunch catered and change the format for a one-day activity.  Fishing in the morning followed by the lunch, prizes and give away drawings.  We moved to another facility where we had a pavilion for the lunch and good personal facilities. We were amazed by what happened next.  Before we knew it our rally had reached 50 boats and we were able to serve about 100 for lunch.  A great turn out for sure.  Some of our new friends from Ultimate Bass attended and folks from all over the region attended.  This was thanks to support from two local tackle shops where we could post flyers and the shops even collected our entries for us.  One tackle shop even provided donuts and coffee for the anglers attending the rally.  We had lots of prizes donated by local vendors and we had prizes donated by some of the Ultimate Bass sponsors.

Rally V is now in the planning phases.  We are holding it at the same venue as last year and will host a BBQ lunch after the weight in and give away some prizes from our vendors and sponsors as well as pay out the tournament winners.  We strive for 100% pay out at all of our events and have absolutely no plans to change this practice.  We do this for the fun of fishing and not to make any money.  At our current growth rate we anticipate between 80 and 100 boats may participate in the October 24, 2015 rally.  We sure hope more members from the website can find a way to participate in our event.

On a side note, the group just finished a wildcat event held on New Years day.  This event attracted 41 boats and paid a whopping $650 for first place.  All indications are that the next rally should be a rip- roaring affair.  We will be making periodic posts in the Rally forum or the Carolina Bass Buddies club section as we go through the year.  We still have a few details to work out but for the most part we are promising our standard event style.  We try to keep it as simple as possible with the real focus on fun, friends, fishing and food. 

We will strive to recruit more sponsor participation in the next rally and to encourage support from local vendors who someday might just become site sponsors at Ultimate Bass.  We just may get a little media attention as well since we are growing so fast.  We did get a mention in the Charlotte Observer about the last rally and who knows what 2015 will bring.  If fuel prices remain low maybe more will be able to participate.  We sure hope so.  Just keep you eye on Ultimate Bass for our updates as we move through the planning process and the registration process.  As always we are certainly interested in your feedback and suggestions on how we can better represent Ultimate Bass in our rally efforts.

Mike Cork

You guys are doing a great thing as proven in your fast growth ~c~ ~c~ Thanks for sharing the story. I'm looking forward to the next event :-*

Fishing is more than just a hobby

Dobyns Rods - Monster Fishing Tackle
Cork's Reel Service

Rangerman

Getting bigger and better without increase in cost lo something the government should learn lo Betties Ford booked for this Year Oct. 24, 2015 and NC Wildlife Permit  Requested. Just carrying on the plan. We have also set the 2016 NYD Polar Bear and LKN for none other than Jan. 1, 2016 ;D Plan the events 100% pay back plus and not talking about em and pocketing the money like some other guys Eh lo lo