By Greg McCain
The crappie fishing world has certainly evolved over the past 20-plus years. For the most part, gone are the days of sculling paddles, cane poles, and minnow buckets, replaced by ever-expanding tournament circuits and specialized gear, technology, and accessories.
Few individuals in the crappie community are more qualified to discuss and to analyze the changes than Kent Driscoll, a member of the Cornfield Fishing Gear pro staff, and also long-time pro staff manager for B’n’M Poles. He also counts Sea Ark, Driftmaster, Crappie Magnet, K-9 Fishing Line, and Silent Stalker as his other major sponsors.
Driscoll is especially versed in the promotions and marketing side of crappie fishing while also performing well on various tournament circuits through the years.
Living just outside Nashville in Nolensville, Tenn., Driscoll makes Percy Priest his home waters although he ventures to many other fisheries both inside and out of Tennessee on a regular basis. Driscoll and his wife of 29 years have a daughter. A demanding day job – Driscoll works for Athens Distributing selling wine and other beverages to major grocery stores – limits his tournament fishing these days, but he remains a regular on the American Crappie Trail and also fishes some local tournaments.
“Driscoll was one of the first people who approached me when I moved the business to Kentucky,” said Cornfield Fishing Gear owner Mark Ridl. “He was knowledgeable and passionate about crappie fishing and seemed to know everybody, just the type of person we wanted promoting Cornfield Fishing Gear.”
GETTING INTO CRAPPIE FISHING
The crappie-fishing story began years ago for Driscoll. Like others now embedded in the crappie culture, Driscoll bass fished competitively. Living in Jackson, Miss., at the time, Driscoll had a neighbor who regularly arrived next door with a live well full of crappie caught from Ross Barnett Reservoir.
“I had bass fished for years,” Driscoll recalled. “I walked over one day to talk with the neighbor, and he eventually invited me to go crappie fishing.”
That one day on Ross Barnett proved addictive for Driscoll. They boated a load of crappie and watched other boats do the same.
“I was hooked,” Driscoll said.
He began to fish tournaments with the ultra-competitive Magnolia Crappie Club, one of the oldest and largest groups around and also one filled with high-level competitors. Driscoll learned the craft well and enjoyed good success early in his career.”
“That path led to meeting Jack Wells, owner of B’n’M Poles, about 2003 or 2004,” Driscoll said. “We became good friends. He knew I was a business-minded guy and had a background in marketing. He asked me to be his pro staff manager, and we’ve been at it ever since.
“I wouldn’t have met some of these great people like Mark Ridl or Jeff Smith at Crappie Magnet or David Baynard at Driftmaster if I hadn’t made that early connection with B’n’M. I’ve gotten to know so many great people in the crappie world at events like ICAST and Grizzly Jigs. It’s been a lot of fun.”
THE CRAPPIE TROLLING CRAZE
Shortly after his connection with B’n’M, the company introduced rods specifically dedicated to trolling, one of the first major waves that changed the course of crappie fishing. In its various iterations, the technique had been used for years. The new long rods took trolling to another level and proved to be a major boost to crappie fishing in general.
The continued emergence of trolling, while significant at the time, proved to be only one layer of the evolution of crappie fishing over the last 20 years. Driscoll has been immersed with other changes over the last 10 years or so that have had an even more dramatic impact on crappie fishing.
“First, it was the use of social media to promote products,” he said. “Here was something new and different that we could use to push our products to the fishing community. It was a quick and easy process to put products in front of new customers.”
COVID AND LIVESCOPE CHANGED THE FOCUS
In more recent years, the introduction of forward-facing sonar in 2018 revolutionized crappie fishing, particularly at the tournament level, and amidst that phenomenon came the COVID epidemic, which generated an unexpected byproduct, a new generation of people enjoying the outdoors.
“COVID drove more and more people to the outdoors and to fishing,” Driscoll said. “It created something of a fishing frenzy. These newcomers were so hungry for information. The companies that were really good at social media and the companies that were really good at YouTube really benefitted from this mad rush. That’s really changed our scene. Overnight, thousands and thousands of people came into the fishing world.”
Driscoll, an avid duck hunter himself, uses a comparison from the hunting world to illustrate just how much the fishing community expanded during the early stages of the COVID outbreak..
“It’s the biggest influx that I’ve seen,” he said. “I kind of relate it to the spinning wing decoy. When that apparatus came out, it doubled the number of duck hunters. COVID did the same thing. People were selling boats and campers like crazy. Everybody was staying home, and we just didn’t know what to do. We went fishing.”
CORNFIELD ARRIVES TO FILL THE GROWING NICHE
Just prior to the latest upward curve in the sport, Mark moved Cornfield Fishing from the fields of Illinois to the shores of Kentucky Lake in Gilbertsville, KY. A year or so later, Garmin introduced ground-breaking Live Scope technology. Cornfield Fishing and the new sonar were a perfect complement to each other. The business exploded. Soon Driscoll was part of the mix promoting the many mounts and other accessories available from Cornfield Fishing.
“Mark is just an outgoing person, hard-working, trustworthy, the kind of guy you want to be around and spend some time with him,” Driscoll said. “He kind of makes you a better person for being around him and being his friend. We developed a good relationship. His passion for crappie fishing is very similar to mine.
“Everybody knows crappie fishing is not a get-rich-quick proposition, and you have to earn the respect of the anglers, not only the tournament anglers but the fishing guides and the general public. He started small but had a big vision that he shared with me. He said he wanted to be one of the pioneers in the accessories and mounting business and really take it to another level.”
One of the things that drew Driscoll into the business was Mark’s requests for and acceptance of constructive criticism.
“He’s a true machinist,” Driscoll said. “He wanted feedback from fishermen. He sent me a couple of products and said, “what do you like? What do you dislike? Have you put in through a tough test? Have you had it in some rough water?’ I was impressed with that.”
Cornfield Fishing pro staff manager Joel Harris said Driscoll’s experience has made him an integral part of promoting products. Joel and Driscoll’s association started with B’n’M and now extends to Cornfield Fishing.
“One of the greatest things about Driscoll is that he has so much knowledge about the industry and the people in the industry,” Joel said. “He’s also an excellent fisherman, and he has so much knowledge about fishing that he’s always willing to share. I think that’s one of the underrated things about Driscoll.
“He has helped me tremendously, and more than once, I’ve called him looking for advice. He’s always willing to help.”
FOCUS ON THE CORE EVERY DAY FISHERMEN
The average fisherman remains a main part of Driscoll’s promotional strategy. With growing focus on tournaments, Driscoll has made sure the groups with which he is associated haven’t lost sight of the overall market.
“Ninety-five percent of the fishermen don’t fish tournaments,” he said. “As a pro staff manager (for B’n’M), I try to keep my eye on the pie. That means the weekend warrior. He wants to take advantage of the limited time he has available, and we want to help him be as efficient as possible with that time.”
So what’s the next big thing in the crappie fishing world? What do the next 20 years have in store? Driscoll knows it’s coming but can’t exactly pinpoint what it is. Regardless, he will likely be in the middle of it, putting his own unique mark on the product and on various crappie brands.