Opening Cast – May 2022

CrappieNOW is very excited to introduce a new contributor to our ezine pages this month. We always strive to find new talent. At only 15-years-old, Lindsey Lucas, however, redefines the phrase “new talent.” What this young lady may lack in life experience is far outweighed by enthusiasm. She will be providing us a monthly column called “The Reel Deal” in our Kids Corner.

We hope the tips and experiences shared by Lindsey will prove inspirational for other young men and women. In a pastime enjoyed largely by Gen X’ers and Baby Boomers, few can argue we need more outdoor-inspired folks in Lindsey’s Gen Z crowd.

“I’m really excited,” said Lindsey. “Especially about having the opportunity to learn and grow.”

She is not shy about sharing her accomplishments to date in writing assignments as a high school freshman and in awards she’s garnered in competitions.

“Writing has always come easy to me,” she said. “My biggest challenge now is balancing time for writing and for school work. That’s tough.”

Speaking from my own experience, few people simple decide to “become a writer.” You either ARE a writer, or you are not. Chronicling your life experiences is simply something you are driven to do. It is almost like a drug except you are addicted to words instead of chemicals.

Lindsey lives in Rolla, Missouri but is quick to point out that she grew up about 20 minutes away, “in Edgar Springs, population 237.” Her family raises chickens, ducks, goats and beagles, for running rabbits, of course.

She enjoys hunting and is quite proud of a rare bearded hen – with a 9-inch beard – she took this season, her very last season as a juvenile hunter.

But Lindsey also fondly remembers one of her first experiences catching crappie.

“We had a pond down behind the house,” she said. “I was maybe seven or eight years old and Dad would always take us down there. I remember my first crappie and how it pulled and tugged on my little Tinker Bell pole. I didn’t even know what it was. I just knew it was a fish.”

Nowadays you will often find Lindsey alongside her Dad, Kody, spider rigging for crappie – often for fun but also in serious competition.

“Fun fishing is not nearly as stressful as tournament fishing,” she shared. “You’re not so worried about how big the fish may be, but you still want to catch them.”

And catch them she does. We hope you will read her words in her Premier Reel Deal column. More importantly we hope you’ll share her columns with other young men and women. Perhaps hearing about the things you love, from someone in their own demographic, might strike a chord and will ultimately pay dividends for us all.

She understands her goals of becoming an outdoors influencer won’t necessarily come easy.

“My father always tells me, ‘Dreams don’t work unless you do,” she said.

Whether hunting, fishing or writing about it, we know this young lady is ready to “do the work.”

Richard Simms, Editor

“The outdoors is not a place, it’s a state of mind.”