The Victoria Advocate - http://thevictoriaadvocate.com/
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Bay City High School senior Kyle Tomek realized the dream of his young lifetime when he was selected to be a guest on the taping of the ESPN2 show "Bass Tech" earlier this month.
On Jan. 16, Kyle and his dad, Gregg, flew to Little Rock, Ark., to appear on the one-hour show, which is similar to "American Chopper" and "Extreme Makeover Home Edition."
In each episode, the host reads from the mailbag a letter of an idea sent in by a viewer for the project of the week. The Bass Rats, a group of bass fishing experts, will then work on the project from start to finish over the course of the episode.
"A 13-year-old boy came up with the ideal of customizing a kayak that would allow you to go into shallow water and stand on it to fish," said Tomek. "The kid couldn't be on the show, so my name was given to the producers of the show after seeing my fishing articles in Gulf Coast Connection Magazine."
Tomek said that he was selected because he was a high school student and aspiring writer and fisherman.
"The TV crew on the show knew that I would be going off to college next year and that I would need a small boat that could easily be transported and doesn't require a lot of storage room so they come up with different ways to customize a kayak," said Tomek.
"The neatest part about being on the TV show was being with the Bass Rats and seeing how they put the show together. While I was there I got to see how they edited the Redfish Cup series and the Bass Master series. I also got to meet Jerry McKinnis, who has the longest-running outdoor fishing show on TV."
Tomek said the Bass Rats helped him customize a kayak with trolling motors, pontoons, fishing pole holders and a GPS (global positioning satellite) depth finder.
Tomek plans to attend Texas A&M University at Corpus Christi when he graduates and plans to use his kayak to fish while working on his journalism degree. His dream is to one day have his own outdoor fishing show.
He said that he should get his customized kayak in about a week. And on Feb. 24-26, the kayak will be showcased at the Bass Masters Classic on Lake Tohopekaliga in Kissimmee, Fla., at the "Bass Tech" booth.
"I will have Chad Bullard and some of my friends over Saturday to view the show, and my dad will be cooking breakfast," said Tomek.
The episode on "Bass Tech" with Tomek will be aired Saturday morning, Jan 28, at 8:30 and 10:30 on ESPN2, Channel 32.
Ross Cunningham is a reporter for the Matagorda County Advocate. Contact him at 979-244-1330 or rcunningham@vicad.com, or comment on this story at http://www.victoriaadvocate.com/
