Rick Smith/Columnist
He graduated from Santa Fe High School in Alma, MO, home of the Chiefs, the summer of 1981, a member of the National Honor Society and “one of the smartest kids in school.” He played football, basketball and sat in the first chair of the saxophone section. He went on to attend the University of Missouri – Columbia, studying business.
His name was Brian Keith Sowers, and he was a fisherman extraordinaire, in a league of his own. Nary a need to exaggerate the size of his catch.
But we are in the South where tall fishing tales abound. And every fisherman has a tale or two to tell.
Take for instance, James Price of Locust Grove, Ark. Price accidentally dropped his dentures into Bull Shoals Lake. He wrote them off as a loss. But 10 days later, he got his dentures back when he caught a 20-pound catfish that had swallowed them. Now that’s a tale you can sink your pearly whites into.
With his expressive and authoritative, yet friendly radio voice, Sowers shared fishing and hunting information on his Sunday night program “In the Outdoors” on radio station KMMO. He had a passion for the Kansas City Chiefs, anything chocolate, and outdoor activities, especially crappie fishing.
“Crappie” can be a confusing term. In northern Louisiana, “white perch” is the name often used; in southern Louisiana, sac-a-lait, a nod to Cajun French. In both places, they are so esteemed for their mild, sweet flesh that the Louisiana legislature has declared them the official state freshwater fish.
Sowers added his voice to the Crappie Masters and National Crappie League fishing circuits. He reported crappie fishing results across the United States, growing his relationship with fishing professionals.
When it came to the rising generation, Sowers was passionate about getting the youth involved in nature. He encouraged parents to embrace the openness of the great outdoors, identifying it as a place to create extraordinary, best-ever memories. “Give your kids a tackle box, not an X-box” became his mantra, a catch phrase well known throughout the fishing community.
On October 4th and 5th, the First Annual National Crappie Tournament is coming to Lake O’ the Pines in Jefferson. The tournament is honoring the legacy of Brian Sowers with the Brian Sowers Legacy Crappie Tournament and Tackle Box Scholarship Dinner at the Jeffersonian Institute, catered by the 1852 on Austin.
During the two days, there will be raffles, live and silent auctions, door prizes, a free fishing event for the kiddos at Hurricane Creek Park on Lake O’ the Pines, Shriner clowns, angler’s fishing contests, a free fish fry at the W.F. Lockett Stadium in Jefferson, and so much more. All proceeds will benefit students of Jefferson ISD.
No doubt about it, there’s something fishy going on in Jefferson, and we couldn’t be more excited. You will not want to miss out on all the fun.
Need more information? Find all the details on the Tournament Registration page at www.briansowerslegacy.com. Or email Cassandra Gann at LegacyTournamentEvents@gmail.com. Or phone (903) 574-1769.
Rick Smith is a Jeffersonian and can be reached at theriquemeister@gmail.com.