Bill Crawford – Kayak Fishing – Thibodaux Rotary Club
May 21, 2013
By: Kevin Gros
On May 15th the Club was visited by Bill Crawford to talk about one of his passions, kayak fishing.
Bill is a Louisiana native and grew up fishing the Pontchartrain basin. In recent years he has fished professionally placing in numerous kayak association fishing tournaments and was recently runner up for the association angler of the year contest. Additionally, Bill guides kayak fishing trips in our area. He is Pastor of First Presbyterian Church in Thibodaux and the President of the Board of Trustees of the Bayou Community Academy, and resides here with his wife and three children.
The purpose of Bill’s visit today is two-fold; the first, to introduce us to the sport of kayak fishing, which is one of the fastest growing sports in America and secondly talk about the spiritual adventure of being in nature with God.
A spiritual adventure is an activity that gets us out into nature to see what God 
is up to. It nurtures our inner fire and challenges our creativity and thirst for knowledge. Bill reminded us of how important it is to reserve time in our busy lives to recharge our batteries, and talked at length of the emotional, physical and spiritual health benefits of kayak fishing. As many people depend on us we need to be at our best. A hobby like fishing helps us get there.
Fishing is a huge sport in our country with an estimated 16% of our population participating. The number is surely much higher here. Increasing numbers of Americans are Kayak fishing. Here in Louisiana an association of anglers formed the Bayou Coast Kayak Fishing Club to foster the growth of the sport and increase the positive impacts of kayak fishing in our area.
The club’s signature event, Paddlepalooza, in Leeville attracted almost three hundred anglers from nine states, and has made an important economic contribution to our area. Presently the club sponsors eight events in Louisiana, with other associations beginning to sponsor similar events. The sport is an opportunity for our state to capitalize on a growing industry and with at least one event per month throughout the year the economic impact is significant.
Why should we consider kayak fishing? It’s fun. Fellowship. Inexpensive. Exercise. Emotional health. Spiritual health.
If anyone would like to contact Bill for more information or to arrange a guided trip, please email him at revredfish@gmail.com or his website www.revredfish.com.
More information about the sport may be found at the website of The Bayou Cost Kayak Fishing Club, www.bckfc.com.
Thanks Bill for an introduction to the sport of kayak fishing and for reminding us of the importance of having a spiritual adventure. Many of us will surely be giving it a try soon!
