TRC “Covers” the Field and Breaks Ground at FLW Cup
BRAD OSWALT
TRCcovers Pro-Staffer & Kayak Angler.
TRCcovers owners Tanya & Darin Yowell, with KBF anglers Sam Jones & Alan Reed.
2019 FLW CUP STAGE
Hot Springs Arkansas was the destination of the final FLW event of the year: The FLW Cup on Lake Hamilton. 42 of the top anglers from the tour would compete for a shot at $300,000. In conjunction with this event was the first ever KBF-FLW cup featuring seventy-two of the best kayak anglers in the country. Two of TRC’s own, Alan Reed & Sam Jones both of Indiana, made the trip out to compete in the event and work the expo with Tanya & Darin. The kayak cup would take place on Lake Ouachita over the course of two days. TRC would provide all kayak anglers fishing the event with a free rod cover.
ALAN REED TRCcovers KBF PRO "It was a great experience to be part of the first ever FLW KBF Cup and kayak fishing on the big stage"
Sam jones TRC Kayak Angler "simply amazing! It was truly an honor to compete against the best of the best"
What many of the anglers learned during the expo was just who is TRC, how they got started and where they’re heading. I spoke with Tanya after the event to get her take on the tournament and expo.
Brad- How did TRC get started? What was the motivation? How long have you and your husband been fishing?
Tanya- Darin and I have both been fishing since we were 6 years old. When I move to Texas with him 17 years ago I brought two young boys with me. When they became old enough and interested in fishing we started to accumulate so many rods in the boat that the rods where crazy tangled all the time.
This is when Darin decided he needed something to keep these rods untangled so he could spend more time fishing and less time untangling all our rods. (30+) He priced some rod covers but felt they weren’t very durable for the price. This is when he started trying to make his own. He perfected a more durable rod cover and made it float because he knew that so many times he would leave things on his boat take off and watch them fly off and sink. He also knew that many times when putting his rods back in his rod box he would break off tips so he made the flotation device act as a tip protector. After making these and having them on his boat while fishing he started having so many people asking to trade lures for his rod covers. They would also ask him if he had a website where they could order more. I finally got him on a website and it just kind of grew from there.
B- TRC has worked some big shows this year including the bassmaster classic and now the FLW Cup. What has the response from the anglers been? What about rod manufacturers? What stands out as the most memorable experience from the FLW Cup?
T- The shows have been amazing. You work so hard to make a product you hope is durable and helps anglers. When you see people at the show talk about how great your product is it really hits the heart. All our customers are great especially the rod manufactures. They love us because we save the tips on their rods. Their customers aren’t bringing the rods back several times for broken tips. All of this is so exciting to know but the one experience that stands out to us happened at the FLW Cup. It was meeting a young teenage angler for the 7th time. This young man had been to every show we had been to from the ones we did in OH to NY to TN and now to AR. He made his own lures and helped at many of the companies’ booths he had gotten to know. He even offered to work at our booth. It’s so great to see young anglers coming up in the sport and really working on making their dreams a reality.
B- You recently put your boat up for sale and are jumping full steam into the kayak world. What to you makes kayak fishing so unique and how have folks like Chad Hoover and KBF and your own pro staff members helped guide that choice?
T- We are excited to get out kayaks. We feel the analogy hunters use “hunting with a rifle is fun but using a bow is more challenging” This kind of sums up how we feel. Kayaking creates a different challenge. Meeting Chad Hoover and some of the KBF guys and talking to our own staff about how they feel about the sport. Seeing how advanced the kayak industry has come and just wanting to be a part of it. Talking to our staffers about what kind of kayak they use and why. I think our staffers have defiantly helped us in our choice of kayaks.
B- TRC has pros in MLF, KBF and LBAA, are there any plans to add an FLW or Elite series pro?
T- We are certainly looking at a FLW pro and a Elite Series Pro for the future.
B- How can TRC grow to be more than just rod & reel covers or is the focus on those where you want to be? Do you feel it’s easier to partner with other established brands and products out there or do you guys enjoy the R&D side of things?
T- TRCcovers will always be a company that keeps you covered. There are some new products in the works for 2020. We also like to partner with other known brands as we feel our product is unique and we can share it with a wide variety of markets.
A big thank you to Tanya for taking the time out of her busy schedule to talk with us about the event. We are all very excited to see what’s next for TRC.
Meet The Author
Brad Oswalt
"Brad Oswalt is a kayak angler out of Columbus Indiana. He enjoys traveling to locations all over the US chasing large bass and competing in tournaments along the way. When he's not fishing, he is spending time with his wife and daughter, likely trying to get them to go fishing"