About Us

A Marine Corp buddy from Chicago area turned me onto Crappie fishing. I wanted to learn more and thought the best way was to join a club. The nearest club was Springfield. However they required members to attend meetings on a week night. It’s a 3 hour round trip drive for a 1 hour meeting. Not worth it.

Next best option was to start the HOI Crappie Club and see where it went from there. I advertised at Presley’s Outdoors in Bartonville. Several folks were interested and we decided to start meetings and tournaments. Presley’s was gracious enough to make space for our monthly meetings. Things started to grow and I needed help. The Whitecotton’s (Brent and Dan) stepped up and we formed an actual club with elected officials. Then this wonderful husband and wife team joined and expressed interest in helping. Being a former Scout Master you never turn down volunteers. Before you know it Chad and Kristen are President and Secretary.

Up until this time membership was free. We averaged 8-15 boats per tournament. There was interest in charging a membership fee. I was reluctant, however the team wanted to try it out. So we started charging an annual membership fee, our numbers grew, payouts grew, donations grew, and we started expanding to other lakes.

Then the pandemic hit, other clubs came and went and when the dust settled. HOI was hosting Crappie Tournaments and tripled our annual attendance. Now we average 20-30 boats per tournament. It’s a wonderful thing.

The best part is the camaraderie, teaching moments after the tournament, and seeing what worked and knowing what didn’t. For me, the satisfaction comes from seeing all the happy faces an listening to all the chatter about fishing. I’ve meet and fished with some great people. I’m blessed to have such a great group of volunteer leaders. I can’t thank them enough for making HOI what it is today.

Thank you,
Tim Hanauer