by James Coulter
What started as a humble school project turned into a major tournament that draws in more than 50 boats and raises more than $5,000 for cancer research and awareness.
Casting Lures for Cures celebrated its fifth annual event last Saturday, drawing in 58 boats to Camp Mack, A Guy Harvey Lodge, Marina, and RV Resort in Lake Wales for the opportunity to land the biggest catch in Lake Tahoe and Okeechobee.
First place went to LaMarr Farrow and his team, which landed a total catch weighing a whopping 24.47 pounds. Farrow proved to be a man of few words, as he simply considered the honor “great” and the opportunity to fish for a good cause a good reason to fish.
More than $5,000 was raised during the tournament, where participating fishing teams and casual attendees could enjoy great food and buy raffle tickets for chances to win grand prizes. Proceeds went to the National Pediatric Cancer Foundation, a non-profit organization that, according to its website, “is dedicated to funding research to eliminate childhood cancer.”
Clayton Keene II, the founder and event organizer for Lures for Cures, chose to support that organization because 99 percent of what they make goes directly toward the families its supports with the remaining one percent going toward medical expenses.
“It is a great organization,” Keene said. “We want to make it big for them.”
Keene started the tournament as part of a school humanities project more than five years ago. Now, five years later, now that he is a high school sophomore, his tournament has grown much bigger. Keene hopes it will continue to grow larger in the coming years.
“I love bass fishing, and I love being able to help people, [to] help give back to people,” he said. “That is what I love about this tournament, we are giving back to an organization that cares about people and cares about the community as a whole.”
To learn more about Casting Lures for Cures, visit their website at: https://www.castingluresforcures.com
