Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue’s recent $19 million budget proposal aimed at establishing Georgia as a national fishing destination drew plenty of attention across the Southeast. Though at least temporarily thwarted by tax-refund-minded Georgia legislators—media sources in the Peach State tell BTN they still predict some money for the program will be included in the 2008 budget—“Go Fish Georgia” represents a potentially bold market grab at a larger piece of the top money-generating sport in the world.

Next door, Tennessee’s own fishing assets are quite stellar, with almost 30 major reservoirs. Tennessee also lays claim to the world record largest smallmouth bass, and it ranks third nationally in hosting professional bass tournaments, events that generate millions of dollars for local economies while padding government coffers.

Despite such positives, many industry experts in Tennessee argue the state agency responsible for managing the state’s fishing industry would do well to take a more business-minded approach to growing the sector. Especially in light of Perdue’s new bait.

For many years, the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency’s (TWRA) posture has been to focus on providing and protecting state resources, then simply counting on the end user to “show up.” Considering the industry’s historically sleepy nature and Tennessee’s reliable natural appeal, it’s a methodology that has served the Volunteer State well for decades. But clearly, times have changed. States including Georgia, Alabama and Texas are steadily making in-roads into Tennessee’s high rank as a fishing destination, using more aggressive marketing and/or greater facilities construction, including launch sites capable of handling fleets of boats simultaneously.

TWRA’s efforts to market Tennessee as an outdoors destination, by contrast, are in their infancy. To its credit, the agency has recently pursued and landed grants to test new marketing strategies aimed at attracting non-resident anglers. Using those dollars, TWRA is currently airing commercials on the wildly popular national television program Bill Dance Outdoors spotlighting premier fishing destinations across Tennessee.

But a broader approach is needed. State tourism dollars have risen dramatically under Gov. Phil Bredesen, himself an avid outdoorsman. Measurable results have steadily emboldened Bredesen to risk ever more state dollars marketing Tennessee’s appeal, with the state’s musical heritage most often used to set the hook. More recently, the state has also ramped up efforts to attract retirees to Tennessee, savvy recruitment of a “green” industry with significant multiplier effects. Any Tennessee-based fishing guide can testify that tourists drawn to Tennessee on fishing excursions often speak openly of their dream to one day make Tennessee a retirement destination.

Given all that synergy, the state should place more emphasis on touting Tennessee’s fishing credentials to the world. Immediate benefactors would be residents in Tennessee’s most rural areas—like those around Reelfoot Lake—places where economic survival is already based in large part on outdoors tourism. In a day and time where much is said about the need for rural economic development, outdoors tourism is a key economic driver in waiting.

The bottom line? Fishing is big business, and as a state we never want to be in a position where we speak of the industry as “the one that got away.”