Competing for a National Championship as a Young Black Angler

Kendon Townsel, Fish Georgia Program Coordinator, recounts his experience participating in the Bassmaster Kayak Series National Championship as a young Black angler, detailing how his childhood experiences shaped his fishing journey.

March 23, 2026 – The weather is starting to feel comfortable, nature is starting to blossom, and the days are getting longer with the start of the 2026 spring season. As recreation in our waterways begins to ramp up, I want to bring you up to speed on the fishing I did this winter and share the upcoming Fish Georgia Rivers kayak fishing classes and trips.

Back in October, I was working towards a goal to fulfill commitments with sponsors for the 2025 season with the State Championship of the Georgia B.A.S.S. Nation Kayak Series. I qualified to fish this event – fishing one of the river events and not the lake – which was a huge accomplishment. I was laser focused on the championship at Lake Lanier after that.

I finished in sixth place out of the 51 best anglers in the state. I was ecstatic – but there was a cloud over my head. You see, the top 10% of the state championship participants got a ticket to the Bassmasters Kayak Series National Championship in conjunction with the Bassmaster Classic. Unfortunately for me and my sixth place standing, that rule meant the top five winners from Georgia would be invited to participate nationally. That has been a dream of mine since standing on the back of my dad’s boat at the age of ten. I was hyped about being a top contender in the state, but at the same time the weight of missing the cut by one place was eating at me.

Fast forward three weeks before the national championship, I get a call from the tournament director. One of the top five Georgia winners had to drop-out of the big event, so I was now invited to Chattanooga to fish the event. Flooded with emotion, I immediately said yes and started to have flashbacks of fishing with my late father so many weekends of every year as a kid. I was reminded of the day I decided to start this journey and document it for the next person that looks like me, assuring them there’s a space for them in competitive fishing.

The National Championship was set on the Tennessee River with Lake Chickamauga and Nickajack Lake. I was especially happy the event was close to me, and a place I fished and experienced during the 2025 Paddle Georgia trip. I had a few hours to practice the day before the tournament started, giving me a little confidence boost. At the dinner with the 146 participants, I met anglers I’ve seen travel the country with big followings on social media. There were people from all four corners of the US and even Canada and Mexico.

Day one of the tournament, I was able to find a solid limit to be in contention, which was my short term goal after not finding the big fish that I needed. Day two, there was a bad cold front that came through early in the morning which brought strong wind, rain, and cold temperatures. Sticking through to the finish, I found some fish after launch at three ramps between both lakes available to fish.

Although I finished ninety-second out of 146, I was so proud of being able to fish this competition and be a guiding light to younger generations to fish at this level! There were only two other African American fishermen in this event, at this stage. All these guys are pillars to the fishing community. This was an opportunity to be an example for younger people that look like us. I had an awesome time networking and fishing, and pledged to share this knowledge and experience in classes and training going forward for Fish Georgia Rivers.

As a side note, I recently became a Board Member for the Georgia Chapter of the Native Fish Coalition. The NFC has been very supportive of Fish Georgia Rivers and will be a great addition to the curriculum for our fishing classes. Our classes will teach techniques for safe and successful kayak fishing and educate participants about Georgia’s native fish. With the help of the NFC, our classes will promote protection of these waters for future generations to experience.

I can’t wait to see you all on the water this year! Let’s continue to have a great time!

Kendon Townsel is an avid fisherman from Decatur, GA, with over 25 years of experience. Dedicated to bringing new-comers to the water and fishing, he joined Georgia Rivers to lead the Fish Georgia program and work with anglers across the state.