Who knew fishing (the kind with a rod and reel) is now a high-tech sport? Kyle Smith, from Ballad Health’s IT department, uses his tech expertise to take his favorite outdoor sport to new levels and reel in sponsors, trophies, cash prizes and, recently, recognition as Angler of the Year.
“I grew up fishing for anything that would bite,” said Kyle Smith, IT senior director of applications for Ballad Health. Now a seriously competitive angler, he fishes only for bass in competitions that have taken him to lakes around the United States, earned him some hefty prize money and attracted a handful of sponsors.
Recently, Kyle’s success in five tournaments with the local Volunteer Division, which is part of a national organization, Major League Fishing’s Phoenix Bass Fishing League, propelled him to recognition as the league’s 2021 Angler of the Year. To earn this title, Kyle won first place (and a $13,000 prize) in the league’s South Holston Lake tournament and placed high in the year’s other four tournaments. That title qualifies him for a larger upcoming regional tournament in South Carolina that offers a big prize payout.
In a different fishing league, Kyle also qualified for the four-day Bassmaster Team Championship in Eufaula, Alabama. The winner of that competition qualifies for the Bassmaster Classic, the “granddaddy” of all fishing tournaments, he says.
In addition to prize money and trophies, Kyle’s fishing prowess has earned him sponsors. His most loyal supporter, Dobyn’s Rods in Texas, gives him high-quality fishing rods. Other sponsors are Watson’s Marine in Bluff City, outboard motor company Mercury Marine and V&M Bait Company in Louisiana. Lowrance Electronics provides fish finders for him.
Fish finders (formerly called depth finders) are the technological tie to his technology job at Ballad Health.
“I’m an IT person by trade, but fishing is a very tech-driven sport,” Kyle said. “A fish finder is a totally integrated computer that sits on your boat. Most competition fishermen have at least two. It’s forward-facing sonar, so you can actually see the fish and cast to them while you’re trolling. Front-facing sonar has changed the game for fishing from a tech perspective.”
In addition to the tech equipment, Kyle says the skills he uses daily in his IT job support his fishing success.
“It’s like what I do at work: problem solving, analytic dissection of a problem. With my analytical mind, while I’m fishing I’m always thinking about anything that might affect how to catch five big bass. ‘What’s the water temperature? Where is the wind is coming from? What’s the barometric pressure? What’s the moon phase?’”
Kyle says his competitive spirit and love of the outdoors contributes to his drive to win tournaments and his love of fishing.
“I played baseball in college and enjoyed the competition, so fishing tournaments were a natural evolution for me to have a way to compete, network and do something I love,” he said.
“What I love most about fishing is the beauty of a sunrise every morning on the water. Seeing God’s creation. We have some of the best sunrises here in East Tennessee. Being on the water is a mental release from my high-stress IT job. I like getting better at something I enjoy doing, so competing in tournaments helps me do that.”
Another way Kyle is upping his competitive edge is by creating his own bait.
“In my spare time I started making my own bait, and people wanted to buy it,” he says. “So, a team partner and I designed our own and started pouring them. Then V&M Bait Company, one of my sponsors, asked to buy the rights to it, so now I get royalties from the sale of those baits.
“Recently, an angler won a large Bassmaster tournament in Alabama using the bait I designed. An article about it included a picture of the winner displaying the top bait that enabled him to win, and he was holding our bait!”
As an avid outdoorsman – Kyle also loves deer and duck hunting – he hopes to raise his young boys, aged 5 and 3, to enjoy God’s creation as much as he does. He looks forward to the day they are old enough to create fishing and hunting memories with him. Fortunately, Kyle’s wife is a great supporter of his tournament travel and also loves to fish.
According to Kyle, these days all tournaments are “catch and release” to extend fishing opportunities to other fishermen and children. He’s excited that young people are now helping to grow the fishing industry by leaps and bounds.
Locally, King University sponsors a bass fishing team and offers scholarships. East Tennessee State University, Kyle’s alma mater, just formed a fishing team, and he hopes the school eventually will offer scholarships as well.
“Seventeen or 18 major colleges now sponsor a varsity bass fishing team. And almost all large high schools around here are supporting teams,” he says.
As a Carter County resident, Kyle shares his expertise with the Elizabethton High School fishing team to encourage the young fishermen.
“I enjoy working with the school’s fishing team and have helped connect them to the rod company that sponsors me,” he said. “It’s my way of giving back and encouraging the next generation to carry on a love for the outdoors.”
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