BD would like you to help us welcome Lea Anne Powell and our next Fishing Chick. She shares her diverse talents with us and how she fell in love with fishing.
Where do you live?
I actually live in Atlanta, Georgia.
What is your occupation?
I’m a semi-retired racing driver and driving coach. I do automotive journalism working various automotive tradeshows. (A little behind the scenes of what vehicles will be released.) I also host a YouTube channel called New Money Gang… and manage their social media outlets as well as a few other companies. I also am a “wild card” tournament angler…. I fish tournaments all over the world. Better known as a jack of all trades, but a master of none! Just kidding… but really. Haha
What are your other hobbies?
I love to travel, I love anything outdoors really. Movies, scary movies are LITERALLY the best. I LOVE food.
Who or what got you into fishing?
My cousin took me to a stocked trout pond when I was 7. I caught tons of rainbow trout! I was “HOOKED!” I haven’t looked back since.
What types of fishing have you done and where?
I love both freshwater and saltwater. A few highlight locations would be Martinique, Guatemala, Australia, Thailand, Costa Rica, Fujairah, Egypt, Sharjah, Mexico, and Oman to name a few. There is an extensive list of locations to come.
What is your favorite kind of fishing so far?
I lean more toward freshwater in all honesty. I feel like it’s more of a challenge in regards to breaking down waters from the vegetation to where they might be hiding.
Tell us about some of your proudest moments in fishing.
I fished my first full tournament trail for freshwater in 2020. I ended up finishing my rookie season as a co-angler and finished 56 out of 233 which was SO rad considering I was the only female in our region.
Another highlight would be filming for 4 episodes of Reel Bragging Rights on Sportsman Channel. It was SUCH a great opportunity.
Catch highlights: Catching my PB largemouth in Florida. I was throwing a black and blue swimjig through some pretty heavy grass. I would pull it through then once it got to the edge of the grass then I would just let it fall. It fell, and BAM! She crushed it. I couldn’t believe it.
Another catch was my Queenfish from Oman. I was throwing a sub-surface stickbait through a GIANT bait ball sweeping it through…. One queenie hit it, she missed it then probably 6-feet from the boat, my 60-pounder CRUSHED it and it scared the crap out of me. I landed her after a solid fight. The other kid on the boat had been fly-fishing and decided to borrow my other spinning set up because he kept seeing me catch fish. He got a queen before me, then I hooked into mine. We pulled his in first and it was a nice fish… then we got mine and it was double the size of his… which he legit shed a tear. It was the biggest one of the season in Oman. Hands down, probably one of my most memorable catches.
What are some future goals or plans pertaining to fishing?
I am looking to double my events for 2021. Fishing both the EAST and WEST coast. I am in talks of hosting a show on the Outdoor Channel, fingers crossed on that. Also, catch my new PB in 2021 (current is 7.8). TONS of travel to happen in 2021 for tournaments as well as to mark off my species list!
What part of fishing do you like the most?
The traveling, the excitement. The unknowns. When you teach someone about your love for fishing that is new to the fishing world… and their excitement is AUTHENTIC new and exciting.
Our thanks to Lea Anne for sharing her story with us. You can learn more or follow her on Instagram: @leaannep or check out her website at www.leaannep.com
