When Denni White was approached by a student a while back about looking for more opportunities for the future, White didn’t hesitate.
White, an instructor at the Poplar Bluff Technical Career Center, is the moderator for the Poplar Bluff Conservation and Bass Fishing Club.
“Our goal was to basically have enough money for them to have nice jerseys and get to the tournaments,” he said.
But even in with not very long under their belt as a club and a varying number of members, White said it’s been a learning curve for most involved as he himself only fished recreationally in the past but that hasn’t stopped them from
competing.
White said his role with the club is to organize meetings, get everything prepared for tournaments and help the students in any way they needed.
For the fishing aspect, White said he looked to Jason Gibbs.
Gibbs, a former professional angler, said his role is with the club is to help with pre-fishing and also to get a gameplan going for Poplar Bluff students and those that come to the area.
Gibbs’ son is on the team and he admitted, like White, there was a learning curve.
“Last year was our first year and we definitely got our feet wet,” he said.
Gibbs said he took a break from fishing when his son was born but after Covid, they would go to Kentucky Lake to fish and that’s when his son caught the bait.
“He went over and caught a four pounder,” Gibbs said of his son. “It’s been a life changer. It’s all that we do now.”
With conservation in the name of the club, Gibbs said it’s important to teach the students the correct way to catch-and-release so all involved can leave the area just as they found it.
“We teach the kids a lot about conserving the bass to keep them alive,” Gibbs said.
Everything from adding ice to their wells to finding shade when needed is something that’s being taught to the students.
As the club stands now, White said they have around eight members and that includes one student from Dexter High School.
With White teaching at the Technical Career Center, and the center hosting students from Dexter, White has the ability to coach the Bearcat student. An opportunity the student wouldn’t have if White didn’t teach at the center.
For White, he admitted he took the role of club moderator so students realized they had other opportunities, just not the trajectory of attending college after high school graduation.
Students participating in bass fishing can not only earn scholarship money to college, including scholarships for bass fishing, but some tournaments also provide funds for students to get supplies for trade schools or certain professions after high school.
White said his focus since starting the club has been to get it in the best position for someone that knows about what running a club entails to come in and take over but he wants them to have a firm foundation.
He added the Poplar Bluff community is more than willing the chip in.
“The communities there,” he said. “They’re read. They’re willing to embrace it.”
When White and Gibbs were asked what the point of the club was, they both responded with opportunity. An opportunity to not only help with teamwork as the students are on a boat with another student and a volunteer but an opportunity to open doors that many of the students didn’t know were available.
Gibbs admitted he wouldn’t be where he was today if this was an opportunity he had when he was young. He also said his son didn’t mention college as a possibility until he learned about scholarships for fishing.
“The ultimate goal is just to give them the college opportunities” White said. “Let them know that stuff is out there if they want to go after it.”