Elites, sponsors help Tackle the Storm with tornado recovery

Elite Series anglers and sponsors are lining up to help Tackle the Storm Foundation raise funds and gear for tornado victims in Arkansas.

Elite Series anglers and sponsors are lining up to help Tackle the Storm Foundation raise funds and gear for tornado victims in Arkansas. Tackle the Storm provides free fishing gear to kids and families that lost their own tackle in natural disasters.

Skeet Reese started this round of fundraising by promising to donate $15 per pounds of fish caught this week during the Bassmaster Elite at Lake Dardanelle in Arkansas. Skeet is co-founder of Tackle the Storm, along with Don Barone, and is the organization’s first board member.  Here’s a list of other anglers and companies that are stepping up for this cause:

  • John Crews donating $15 per pound of fish caught at Dardanelle
  • Crews also asked all Elite anglers to donate a rod and reel during registration this week
  • Mark Davis donating $15 per pound of fish caught at Dardanelle
  • Billy McCaghren donating $20 per pound of fish caught at Dardanelle
  • Ranger Boats pledging $1,000
  • Wright & McGill pledging $800
  • BassPro Shops donating 100 kid’s rod and reel combos
  • Dick’s Sporting Goods matching Skeet’s $15 per pound of fish caught this week
  • And we’ll list other donations on this page as we hear about them.

Tackle the Storm is working with the Arkansas B.A.S.S. Nation President to plan an event this summer where the fishing gear will be handed out.  “So the Elites and the sponsors will come to Arkansas this week to fish and do business,” said Barone, “and they’ll leave behind enough stuff to get every child who lost their fishing gear to the storm back on the water. That’s a pretty cool legacy.”

For more details, or to make a donation, visit Tackle the Storm on the web or on Facebook.