Capt. Chasten Whitfield
Hi everyone, my name is Chasten Whitfield, I am 21 years old and I have been fishing my entire life. I didn’t start fishing professionally until I was about 12 years old, I was bullied in high school for being the only girl in my school who fished. That is when I decided to fish my first tournament. I actually won, and donated the money back to the charity we were fishing for, we raised $4,000 for Face Autism, $9,000 St Jude's, $2,000 Children's Burn Camp of Fl. & $1,000 Sam Croswaith Scholarship Foundation.
I got tired of being the only girl fishing these tournaments so I started traveling around with Florida Sportsman Magazine, going to schools, churches, and girl scouts to teach kids the basics of fishing in addition to life lessons.
Fast forward to high school, I had an all-girls team and we fished the super bowl of tournaments here in town and won first place. We won $750 and donated back $1,000. After that tournament, I landed my first sponsor. I kept fishing tournaments and traveling around to tackle stores, churches, Girl Scouts, Boy Scouts, and the Florida Sportsman Magazine Fishing Seminars. I taught the basics of fishing and how to do what you love no matter what and always do what’s right. I would teach the kids that they have two hands, one to help themselves the other to help someone else.
About a year later I was teaching a fish camp off one of the piers in my town and a little boy rolled up in a wheelchair and I asked him if he’s ever fished before and he said not in a boat because my wheelchair can’t fit. So, I decided to take him fishing but my boat couldn’t fit a wheelchair on it. So, I found a friend who had a boat that could handle the wheelchair and took him out. When he caught his first fish, the reaction on his face had a dramatic effect on me. That’s when I knew I wanted to do this for the rest of my life.
At that point I partnered with Yellowfin Boats to build a customized 24-foot hybrid bay boat to fit a wheelchair in front of the console. I also began selling shirts to help pay for the gas used to take disadvantaged kids fishing.
When I turned 18, Chastenation officially became a legit non-profit, and I obtained my captain's license on my actual 18th birthday. A couple of months later I was offered a tuition scholarship to SCAD, Savannah College of Art and Design where I am majoring in TV & Film and hope, someday, to have a TV show about taking disadvantaged kids fishing to share the joy of their reactions. I was recruited to be on the SCAD bass fishing team, at that time, SCAD was the only girl college bass fishing team in the United States. Sadly, at the end of my freshman year, they cut the program completely. Once again, I didn't let that stop me and with the help of my sponsor Yellowfin, I stepped it up from fishing the college bass series to the MLF series. During the months I am in college, I am fishing the MLF bass tournaments and in the summertime, I am fishing saltwater, taking kids fishing, and a few tournaments here and there.
My mission is to share the sport of fishing with anyone and everyone, especially families. I love helping families escape their "screens" and get their kids back outside in the fresh air. Nowadays there are so many ways to enjoy fishing; fishing in a pond, a ditch, wading, a kayak, a boat, a pier. I am so blessed to be able to do what I love. Thank you for joining my journey!
