EJ Interviews Crispin Powley, Strike King’s Sales Manager

Here is my Interview with Crispin Powley, Strike King Sales Manager, and fishing super star.  

 

“I got to know you as the Sales Manager for Strike King Lure Company, seeing you at trade shows, etc..    But you have had your share of tournament fishing success as well.  Want to tell us about that?” 

Yeah EJ, most people these days meet me in the capacity that I serve for Strike King. I’ve been there for the last 11 years and it’s an awesome company to work for. Prior to that, I spent a lot of time fishing tournaments and guiding. At one point in my life, most of my income was related to my fishing earnings. I fished tournaments all around the south and southeast, especially events that were on the TN River.

 

“About Strike King, what is it like to be in such a big position at the biggest freshwater bait company in the world?” 

Working for Strike King is basically my dream job. It’s kind of funny in fact because growing up a bunch of my buddies called me “Strike King Powley” because I fished pretty much every day and I wore a Strike King about as much. My time at Strike King has been great. I’ve been blessed to incorporate my passion for fishing and fishing lures into a career. We have THE BEST team in the industry from inside our offices to our pro staff. Everyone is like family and shares a common goal to make the best baits on the market at the best price that we can make them for. I can’t imagine working anywhere else.

 

People want to know (like me) what is your number one “Go To” lure that Strike King makes? 

Growing up a KY Lake angler, I’m most at home offshore on a river ledge. As hard as it is to narrow it down to one bait, I’m going with the 6XD. It’s the PERFECT deep diving crankbait. It casts like a dream. It runs great. It dives deep and fast, Most of all, it flat gets bit. It’s just one of those special baits that bass bite everywhere. I have a ton of confidence in it.

 

“I am sure you can’t tell us, but anything new coming down the pipe?” 

Well, let me just say that we’re really excited about ICAST 2017. We put an enormous emphasis on new products and we spend a lot of time working with our pros to design and fine tune each one. I’m not going to let the cat out of the bag, but I will say that we have a couple things for the coming ICAST that will be huge!  

“I was there the day you did your first kayak fishing trip and was surprised at how well you did right away.     I assume athletics were in your background?” 

Thanks, EJ. I noticed that you’re not too shabby in one yourself. I actually felt a lot more comfortable in a kayak than I expected right off the bat. Yeah, I played pretty much every sport growing up. I wasn’t spectacular at any of them, probably because I spent too much time fishing and hunting. But, I wasn’t terrible either. I’d like to think that I am pretty agile. The cool thing is that you don’t have to be a triathlete to enjoy kayaking. It’s much easier than most people assume and it’s fun and great exercise.

 

“This is off topic, but one can’t help but wonder about your arm that looks like it was bitten by a shark.   For everyone who wanted to ask, but was embarrassed to, can you enlighten us on how you got that scar?”  

Ha, Ha. Well, as far as my little bot Fisher knows, it was a shark bite. I don’t want him to know the truth and get any ideas. However, the truth is that I was on a safari in Tanzania and saved a small child from a man-eating lion…… Well, that’s not exactly the truth either. I actually got stepped on by a bull. I had a period in life where I rode bulls. I was decent at it, but as my arm indicates, staying healthy wasn’t my strong suit. That injury was really nasty and was the conclusion of my world championship dreams. If Fisher asks, back me up on the shark story.
“You have been talking about doing kayak fishing tournaments in the coming year and did one on your home lake last year.     Do you see kayak fishing tournaments in your future?”   What is attracting you to them?” 

I fished my first Kayak event in 2016 and had a great time. It was actually on Lake Guntersville and I didn’t do very well. It was considerably different than my previous experiences from my 21’ Skeeter and 250 horsepower Yamaha. I learned a lot that day as well as many days since then. I have a plan in place to fish several more kayak bass tournaments in 2017. It’s such a cool way to be competitive without the big time expense of conventional bass tournaments. I would never pick one over the other, but I’m currently jacked about the fun I’m having fishing and competing from my kayak. I’ve pretty much decked out my Big Rig with everything my Skeeter has except for a motor and livewell.

Here is a short video my son, Dane, edited when we fished near Kentucky Lake together.  

Tell me about your Orion Cooler.     Have you put it to the test yet?   Any good stories about it?  Do people notice it?  What do they like about it?  

There’s no way I can describe how great my Orion Cooler is. I have a 35 qt. and it is about the perfect size for everything. It keeps ice forever. It’s built like a tank (and right here in good ole’ TN might I add) and it looks super cool. People are always wanting to look at it and are asking me about the differences between it and other coolers. I’ve yet to find anything that I would change about it.

Thanks for taking the time to talk with me, Crispin!     I am fired up to do some more kayak fishing with you!!

You too, EJ.