For a Good Cause: Combs gearing up for Slam and kids derby

Keith Combs is encouraging anglers across Texas and beyond to save the dates of Sept. 15-16. The request comes in the name of a really good cause.

The Huntington bass pro is gearing up for the 2nd Annual C.A.S.T. for Kids Foundation fishing derby for special needs children and disadvantaged adults. The Sept. 16 derby will be held in unison with Combs’ Sam Rayburn Slam team bass tournament out of Umphrey Pavilion.

Combs is a veteran on the Bassmaster Elite Series tour who is passionate about the sport. He founded the ‘Rayburn Slam in 2016. The two-man team that weighs the heaviest five-bass limit wins $5,000.

That’s a pretty good pay day, but the youngsters will go home bigger winners.

Combs incorporated the kid’s fishing event into his single bass tournament format last year. It is one of the dozens of C.A.S.T. events held around the country each year. About 80 events were held nationwide in 2022, 29 of them in Texas.

C.A.S.T. is short for “Catch a Special Thrill.” The main emphasis behind the derbies is to enrich the lives of special needs children and disadvantaged adults, support their families and strengthen communities through the sport of fishing, according to Jay Yelas, the foundation’s executive director since 2015.

“We empower families and communities to celebrate children with special needs, making these children feel valued and loved so they can overcome limitations and be successful,” Yelas said.

Each C.A.S.T. fishing event is run with the help of dedicated volunteers who guide the fishermen along the bank. Some are given the opportunity to take boat rides.

All participants are declared winners whether they bring a fish across the stage or not. Each angler goes home with all sorts of goodies like a T-shirt, plaque, tackle pack and rod/reel combo.

The upcoming kid’s derby will be preceded by a C.A.S.T. banquet/ fundraiser/auction beginning at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 15 at the Pitser Garrison Convention Center in Lufkin.

Combs’ wife, Jennifer, plays a big role in coordinating the event. She says the list of high quality items on the auction block this year is a long one. Among them are guided saltwater fishing trips for tarpon and reds, trophy deer hunts, an African safari, 15 guns, custom knives and guided fishing trips with Elite Series pros Dakota Ebare, Frank Talley, Ray Hanselman and Combs.

Hunter Baughman will be a special guest and speaker. Baughman, 36, is pro angler and motivational speaker from Judsonia, Arkansas. His compelling life story is as inspiring as they come.

Baughman contracted bacterial meningitis when he was nine-months old and nearly died. He spent three months in the hospital and endured 10 surgeries. The illness resulted in the loss of both legs below the knees, his left hand and partial loss of the fingers on his right hand.

Baughman says being “limb-challenged” has raised some hurdles in life, but he has never let the disability get him down. If anything, living with the condition has thrown fuel on a fire that feeds competitive spirit that spills over into just about everything he does.

After four events Baughman is ranked No. 28 out of 75 anglers in the 2023 National Professional Fishing League Angler of the Year race. He won the pro division in a MLF Toyota Series event at Lake Truman in 2022.

Tickets to the banquet/ fundraiser cost $75.

Sponsor tables for 10 people cost $500. All proceeds from the auction go to the C.A.S.T foundation for the purpose of hosting more fishing tournaments and programs.

The 2022 event raised $103,000 before expenses — an all-time record for first-time CAST fundraisers, Combs said. For more information, 936219-8144.