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PAA Member Powley Makes Fishing His Life’s Work.
“I get up in the morning and I’m proud of what I do.
By Pete Robbins
(Photo courtesy of Crispin Powley)
Buchanan, Tenn. – From where Crispin Powley sits, the view is pretty good.
From his home office high above Kentucky Lake, spitting distance from where he
grew up, he casts a satisfied grin down onto the life that spreads out before
him. A solid marriage, plenty of days to fish and hunt, and a dynamic job with
Strike King all contribute to that happiness.
But if you’d asked him early in his career if a position in the tackle industry
was where hed want to end up, he would have answered in the negative. |
Powley went to college on a rodeo scholarship, but an injury ended that dream
and led to another. “I got hurt and I couldn’t ride bulls anymore,” he recalled.
“So I had to get a real job. My first job, and I absolutely hated it, was with
the water department.” To relieve some of that work-related stress, he started
fishing heavily again, and pretty soon he was “making a lot more money fishing
than working.” In fact, he was so successful in local trails that he was able to
quit the hated 9-to-5 and for a period of over a year he lived exclusively on
his fishing winnings.
“Like every young buck, I wanted to be a pro,” he said. “So I started
approaching sponsors, getting a few bags of worms and wearing their patches.” He
saw the Stratos Owners Trail as his path to the big leagues. “I thought it was
the easiest money out there,” he recalled. “They gave away a boat at every
tournament and there was a $100,000 top prize in their championship.” |
When he qualified for that Championship, he made a pact with himself – if he won
the top prize, he’d take a shot at life as a touring pro. Anything less and he’d
look for more conventional work.
“I wasn’t in debt to anybody, so I told my girlfriend, who is now my wife, to be
prepared,” he said. “If I won I was going to go on the road.”
He came in 2nd, by a margin of only two ounces, and never again seriously
considered becoming a major-league pro. “When I walked away it was like a switch
flipped in me,” he said.
But while his cash prize was substantially less than the $100,000 the first
place finisher took home, Powley’s time on the Stratos trail still led him to
bigger and better opportunities. He ended up working in marketing for Stratos
and Champion Boats. “They wanted a young person who spoke the language in their
target demographics,” he explained. “I didn’t have any previous marketing
experience so it was a great opportunity to learn.”
That position led to his current job at Strike King, where he is the Factory
Dealer Account Manager – in other words, he handles all of the manufacturer’s
sales to independent dealers and smaller shops, but not the big box stores. It’s
a position “created to ensure that Mack’s Guns, Beer and Tackle” gets what they
need and Powley is able to exercise his substantial social skills to maximum
effect. It also allows him to maintain relationships he built when he was an
aspiring pro, with solid people and companies like Odom’s Blue and Gray Marine,
Vicious Fishing and Motorguide. “They’ve always taken care of me really well,”
he said.
One of the great benefits of the job is that it allowed him to leave Nashville
and move back to his home area around Kentucky Lake. “Part of the deal was that
I could live wherever I wanted,” he said. “My dad had passed away and I had a
little brother who I wanted to see grow up. I could do my job anywhere.”
He found a suitable home but when he went to the bank to get the loan the banker
asked him what he did for a living to justify borrowing the requested amount. He
pulled a pink Strike King Grass Frog out of his pocket, threw it on the desk in
front of him and said “I sell these for a living.” The banker looked at him
quizzically but Powley quickly followed up by saying “You’d be amazed at how
many of these you can sell.”
In a few weeks it’ll be four years since he first joined Strike King and they
are still selling crates of hollow-bodied frogs, spinnerbaits, soft plastics and
all things Sexy Shad. Powley believes he’s found a home, not just the one that
grass frogs paid for, but a professional home that he hopes to be with until he
retires. “I feel like I’m part of something great,” he said. “Our products are
better than ever. I get up in the morning and I’m proud of what I do.”
He still fishes some BFLs and local team tournaments when his schedule allows.
Does he harbor any hopes or dreams of a return to the ranks of pro anglers?
“I miss it,” he admitted. “I’m an extremely competitive person. But I wouldn’t
trade my career for the chance to fish more (tournaments). Now I’ve had the
opportunity to see the business side of the sport and I dare say that I know
three-quarters of the guys on the BASS and FLW Tours personally, but I enjoy
getting a paycheck.”
“I have no desire,” he continued. “If I were ever to qualify for the Elite
Series I would tell them to call the next guy on the list. I love what I do and
who I work with. Some of my best friends in the world fish for a living and I
wouldn’t care for their life. I don’t feel sorry for them, but one of those
deals is not as magical as it once looked.”
Despite the fact that Powley no longer dreams of chasing fame coast-to-coast as
a tournament angler, he’s still a strong supporter of the PAA and what it stands
for, for several different reasons:
“First and foremost, I love the sport of fishing,” he said. “Like rodeo, it’s
very pure. You put up your money and talents against the other people but
there’s another variable, whether it be a bull or a bass. The similarities are
incredible.
“I believe the PAA is the future of bass fishing. There are two great trails out
there, but until all of the guys get on the same page, some of them will make a
decent living and some will be left scratching their heads, wondering why they
can’t, so I want to show my support for the organization.” |
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