BY DAN HILDEBRAN
Telegraph Staff Writer
KEYSTONE HEIGHTS—Clay County commissioners amended their contract with a national promoter of kayak bass fishing, deleting the promoter’s role in producing a fishing tournament in Clay County and requiring him only to promote the sport within the county.
When announcing the tournament last November at Whitey’s Fish Camp in Fleming Island, County Commissioner Mike Cella said tourism impacts the county more than most people realize.
“In 2019, the last pre-pandemic year, visitors spent $218.7 million here in Clay County,” he said. “They paid $46.8 million in federal, state, and local taxes. They supported nearly 3,500 jobs.”
Cella added that if all the 3,500 Clay jobs supported by tourism were within one organization, that business would be one of the top five largest employers in the county.
The county’s contract for the tournament was with Chad Hoover, whom Cella said invented the sport of kayak bass fishing.
“Chad founded Kayak Bass Fishing back in 2009, and since that time, KBF has set the pace for the kayak fishing industry and has brought thousands of anglers into the sport,” Cella said, “hosting competitors from Mexico, Canada, and every place in between, all across every American state.”
During the news conference announcing the tournament, Hoover said Clay County was perfect for the type of tournament he organizes.
“You’re not sitting in an hour-and-a-half of traffic to get to the fishing spot,” he said. “You’re not fighting with 500 people at the boat ramp.”
Hoover added that the northerly flowing St. Johns River turns from brackish to salty around the Buckman Bridge, near the Duval-Clay County line.
“So, it’s that perfect sweet spot to do a little bit of fresh, a little bit of salt or as we call fresh water: sweet water. So, it’s a little bit salty; it’s a little bit sweet.”
After the county changed its contract with Hoover eliminating the tournament and reducing his fee from $170,000 to $50,000, County Commission Chair Betsy Condon said that after reviewing the county’s fishing assets, Hoover advised that the county’s infrastructure was not sufficient to handle the tournament he had envisioned.
Cella, who also chairs the county’s Tourist Development Council, said he was disappointed. However, he added that he would rather cancel the tournament at this point than have an unsuccessful event.
