AVINGER, Texas — Crappie anglers from across the country will be at Lake O' the Pines this weekend for a tournament that honors Brian Sowers, a man known as the voice of crappie fishing.
Sowers suddenly passed away a year ago at his home in Missouri. His legacy lives on through the Brian Sowers Legacy Crappie Tournament.
The pictures don’t even start to tell this story. That’s because Sowers, the man in the middle of these pictures, was larger than life when it came to crappie fishing.
“There's legacy there, and we want to make sure that he's remembered. That's the first and foremost objective with this tournament," said Texas Crappie Pro Tommy Ezell said.
Sowers was the emcee for crappie master events for almost two decades. His longtime radio show promoted crappie fishing, but pro angler Clay Gann remembers Sowers as a positive guy at the weigh-in after a rough day.
“And when we got on the stage, even when you had those bad days. Brian really encouraged you kind of give you the confidence you could come back, make you feel welcome," Clay Gann said
Sowers' work went beyond the emcee stage. He was part of the Renewable Fuels Association and the Missouri Corn Growers and offered incentives for anglers thinking about conservation.
“So, like when you go and get gas now, you see it'll say 10% ethanol. Well, that's renewable fuel. And so, if you had that gas in your boat, you won an extra $500 that's something that Brian brokered for the crappie community," Gann said.
After her death, crappie anglers from across the country wanted to remember Sowers. That’s why Clay Gann’s wife, Cassandra, and Sheila Patterson volunteered to help organize a tournament at Lake O' the Pines that honors his legacy.
“Brian changed our lives. So, when Clay got on that stage and Brian believed in him, that's when Clay went national. You know, he just fished state trails until then. So, Brian truly changed our lives. He changed the direction of my life because of that," Cassandra Gann said.
Sowers' impact on lives extended to junior anglers. He promoted the outdoors and used crappie fishing as encouragement.
“He was an advocate of giving them, taking that Xbox away and giving them a tackle box," Ezell said.
A tackle box over an Xbox -- that phrase is behind the Tackle Box Scholarship Fund at the Jefferson ISD. So far, it’s raised more than $32,000. Sowers believed junior anglers were the future -- a thought echoed by many pros.
"We want to show them that sharing, being part of the community, networking with others. There's a lot of things that come with crappie fishing that teach you how to be a young man as well, or a young woman," Ezell said.
It’s why Tyler schoolteacher and YouTube creator Caleb Hensley is competing.
“I'm a schoolteacher myself, so I love anything to do with kids and to support kids to get out in nature, get out and fish," Hensley said.
And Lake O' the Pines with its bluffs overlooking the water seems the most ideal place for a tournament that honors a legend like Sowers and his legacy. Tournament organizer and sponsor Sheila Patterson said Lake O' the Pines is the soul of the community.
The community is already planning for next year’s Brian Sowers Legacy Crappie Tournament and all it appears it will be even bigger.
“So when it came to reaching out to fishing professionals or bait or tackle companies, anybody that had to do with that, they said, 'Oh yes, absolutely. He really meant so much to us,'" Cassandra Gann said.
The tournament starts with the scholarship dinner Friday night. A free kid fishing event, a free fish fry and then the $75,000 crappie tournament on Saturday.
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