Anyone have some advice on what circuit would be best to fish along with the BFL's? I am looking to fill some of the gaps in between BFL tourneys. Are there any that dont conflict with BFL? Any advice from the veteran tourney fisherman would be great!
Thanks
G M Baade
Circuits on West Side of state...
CATT - www.cattbass.com
and
NBAA - www.nbaa-bass.com
Both circuits have divisions all over the state on weeknights and weekends. So check their websites, NBAA updates their website more often than CATT.
There are a few more on the east side, I'll let east side guys tell you so I dont' misinform you.
Ckev
check out ABA they have districts on both sides of the state.
Or try Midwest-sportsman.com
At this point in time it would have to be NBAA hands down. They have way more weekend and weeknight tourneys and divisions all over the state. This year they have also added a bunch of ONE-on-ONE tourneys where you fish by yourself from you own boat and a great entry fee price. I think that alone may hurt some of the draw trails. I am only going to fish NBAA this year because of there selection of tourneys and divisions. Not to mention they actually update their website and post results pretty quickly.
Are you on the East side or West side? The East division of the FOM fits very well with the BFL. I will be fishing both.
The FOM East:
6/2 Saginaw Bay
6/30 Belleville
7/14 Cass
8/11 St Clair
9/8 Det River
I did not fish the FOM last year, but I hear good things about it and look forward to this season!
Seth
Quote from: dhuff on January 21, 2007, 06:40:25 PM
Not to mention they actually update their website and post results pretty quickly.
Nice.
8)
McCarter himself :-\'
???Anyone going to put together any NBAA one on one tournaments in the Genesse/Oakland County area?
I am middle of the state near Lansing.
Check out top bass if your not looking to fish the whole season. NBAA has a lot of divisions but you need a membership and they only pay roughly 60-70% at the ramp but they make up for it at the championships. Heres a link for you.
http://www.greatlakesbass.com/forum/index.php?topic=1790.0
-Matt
I heard from the guys at NBAA during the fishing show that there will be a one on one division in the Oakland genessee county area. So just have to stay tuned on that.
I like the Top Bass schedule but theres one problem. Me and the wife are in the process of buying a house, so a boat isnt in the plans for at least another year. Unless you recommend taking a jon out on Saginaw Bay! :D Are there any other draw tourneys?
Quote from: MBell on January 22, 2007, 02:45:03 PM
Check out top bass if your not looking to fish the whole season. NBAA has a lot of divisions but you need a membership and they only pay roughly 60-70% at the ramp but they make up for it at the championships. Heres a link for you.
NBAA does only pay out 70% cash at the ramp but they totally make it up in prizes and at the classics. No one can compare with there classics. Dont get me wrong, I fish a number of other circuits including the BFL, FOM, BAU, and Lake Drive Marine trail and all of them have great tournaments and fisherman and I will continue to fish all of these trails and recommend them all to anyone that askes, but if your looking for a great chance to win three boats in three days(one to be won by the weekend classic champions, one to be drawn for the overtime classic, and one to be won by the final championship winners.)NBAA is the choice for you. They have circuits all over Michigan so one should fit your schedule. NBAA also has a find a partner link on there website for those that dont have a boat or a regular partner. Check them out. www.nbaabass.com
If you want to fish two tournaments all year and qualiy to fish for a boat or big cash your choice, Bass Anglers United is for you. This Tournament cuircuit is a great tournament circuit for those who have little or limited time to fish. They have circuits on Lk St Clair, Two on Muskegon, One south in Indiana/Randall and one up north by traverse city. www.bassanglersunited.com
Fishers of Men is also a great tournament cuircuit. The only draw back to these,I beleive, is that you have to go to the friday night meeting. Not that it differs from the BFL but they dont draw as many boats and this is very costly if you have to spend the night or drive and hour or so to go to the meeting. Although the meetings are full of fun and companionship. www.fomntt.com
Best thing to do is check the websites, ask a few more questions and go fishing..
Quote from: SethV on January 22, 2007, 07:33:41 AM
Are you on the East side or West side? The East division of the FOM fits very well with the BFL. I will be fishing both.
The FOM East:
6/2 Saginaw Bay
6/30 Belleville
7/14 Cass
8/11 St Clair
9/8 Det River
I did not fish the FOM last year, but I hear good things about it and look forward to this season!
Seth
You shold try and talk to the director, they have the Saginaw bay launch as Veterans park. This launch has a 30-40 minute idle to the lake, a big waste of time. The bigger tournaments use this launch because they are paid or can't get a permit for a better ramp due to large field size. There are a few launches on the river that are closer to the mouth.
-Matt
Matt-
Yeah, I was not thrilled to see vets park as the ramp. Any reccomendations as to other ramps to use in the river? A launch in the river is nice in case the wind is crazy, but it would be good to be closer to the mouth if possible.
Seth
There is a DNR launch right at the mouth. Nice 6 lane launch, but you must idle out directly to the channel.
The one smbassman mentioned is the best on the Saginaw River. There is also Hoyles in Linwood, it is private and $10 to launch. The best one for fishing is bayshore marina 1 mile north of bayport on wildfowl bay. It has easy acess to the charitys and you have wildfowl bay and the canals of sand point when the wind picks up. I fished tourneys out of here in 14 foot rowboat with no problems. AuGres is also good but a far drive.
-Matt
I asked Jim Sprague from the NBAA about the "One on One" tournaments for Oakland County. Division 36 is not going to be run by Ron Aiello this year as he will be running the "One on One" in Oakland/Genesse County. Depending on how the schedule looks, I am planning to fish that myself.
BD ;D
Yeah that's what he told me as well. The guys that took over div 36 are some really good guys and will do very well running it. I hope Ron gets his schedule up there soon.
Speaking of Jim-Has anyone used any of Jim's lures from K&E Tackle? It was formerly owned by his parents but they sold it to him a year or two ago. (he is my second cousin)
-Kid
Quote from: MIBassKid on January 24, 2007, 05:31:13 PM
Speaking of Jim- (he is my second cousin)
-Kid
Im sorry :D :D
Jim is a great guy and I have seen first hand what his lures can do. This 5.5 largemouth was caught (by Jack) on a purple and white stripe K&E worm, how those little hooks stayed in the fishes mouth I'll never know, the rest were caught on a jerkbait but thats another discussion. His jig heads are pretty good to.
Yes sir! I've caught a couple five pounders on his worms. I fish them a ton on a little private lake over by his factory in Hastings. I usually either fish the purple and white stripe Bass Stopper that you were talking about, but they also make a Curly tail that is purple and black. It's worked when nothing else has. I've started rigging these the same way that K&E rigs them with the leader and all. I use Shaw Grigsby's ribbon tail in the purple and black color. Just wondering if anyone else has ever had success on them.
-Kid
As far as gbaade's original issue, without a boat and a regular team tournament partner, it pretty much leaves the BFL and ABA as choices to fish.
I do seem to recall someone else earlier mentioning another new draw opportunity, but the specifics escape me.
I fished an ABA last spring on St. Clair. Had a fun day and my partner got 3rd place. I enjoyed it. It is a draw format, but you don't have to have a boat. Anthony (ABA) always needs more nonboaters.
Thank's Dan!
I am working with the FOM director on a different ramp site. We have several calls in to a couple of different towns and ramps from Pinconning up to Tawas City. This is a great division and I did fish it last year. For its first year it did pretty good. Very competitive yet great sportsmanship from all of the anglers. I would recommend them and or the NBAA tournaments which are excellent as well.
The Friday night meetings are a good time. You get dinner, a short message, prizes and draw your boat blast off positions. The FOM counts the Friday night dinner as 50 points, so if you don't make it it hurts your points but you can still do well in the tournaments with good weigh ins.
Like others have said, check out the web sites and call a few directors but all have something good to offer.
As far as Jim and his worms, they are awesome. Between Bass Stoppers and Senkos I love them as my go to baits. Just remember patience is the name of the game with these lures.
Fishers of Men is very successful nationally. Like every other circuit, they appeal very well to some and not as much to others. I do know the Michigan bunch are made up of some pretty nice, fun and decent anglers.