Club Philosophy
With the exception of the Year End Classic Tournament, (None this year) the EBA is not a competitive club. Our goal is to foster learning, growth, and friendships among anglers who have a love for our sport.
Event Guidelines
In the regular season events, members are encouraged to freely exchange angling information to assist everyone in becoming better anglers. This includes any information an angler is willing to share. However, since some of our club members compete in the same tournament trails, an angler may not wish to give out specific GPS coordinates. Our goal though is to help each other become better tournament anglers, so whenever possible, we encourage EBA members to share info freely. We operate under a "gentlemen's agreement" that any information shared with the club will stay in the club.
As members, we also agree not to use information about location that an angler shared to "steal his spots" in a tournament situation. In other words, we respect each other's spots in tournaments.
We understand though that to become better anglers we need to be honest and trustworthy with any information that is shared. This benefits all EBA members and will increase every angler's overall productivity on the water and especially in tournaments. So, if at any time a member is deemed to have abused this trust by stealing spots in a tournament when the member who shared the information is also in the tournament, or if any member shares information with people outside the club when no permission was given to do so, that member may be asked to leave the club by a vote of the members.
Above all, we want to become better anglers, have fun, and build friendships. Other than the year end Classic Tournament, we are not about competing with each other. We are all about helping one another grow to be better fishermen and along the way, maybe even better people.
Eligibility
All members in good standing and family members are welcome to fish our events. There is no age limit as long as parents are responsible for their own children. Wives are welcome to fish anytime.
Technology
Since various technologies can be used to help us become better anglers, we don't forbid the use of underwater cameras, Biosonix, or any non-fish harming technology to advance our understanding of the sport. In fact, for safety's sake we encourage the use of GPS, Sonar, and ship to shore radios.
In our events we encourage every boater to have a VHF Marine radio so that we can communicate throughout the day and help each other succeed in catching fish. These are different from the popular handheld family radios that are very limited in range. Most of our boaters have VHF radios which have a much greater range and are effective when fishing the Great Lakes.
Hand held versions of ship to shore radios can be purchased very inexpensively, so we encourage every boater in our club to have one. However, if a boater can't afford one and is willing to use a cell phone to communicate on the water, that's fine too.
Safety and Liability
By becoming a member, every angler agrees not to hold the club liable for any damage to their boat, tackle, or person. Each member is responsible to follow typical safe boating and fishing guidelines. In our events, all anglers and riders in boats are required to wear a life vest any time the gas motor is in use.
Boaters are responsible for the enforcement of the life vest rule with their riders. Parents are responsible for the safety and enforcement of these rules with their children and family members.
Conservation
Since we're a conservation-minded club, we practice catch and release fishing. Prior to a tournament the club may wish to bring fish in for a weigh-in, but whether or not fish are release boatside or brought to the ramp for a weigh in, members are asked to keep the fish alive and treat them with respect so that they can be released unharmed. For weigh-ins, the fish must be kept in an airated livewell so that they can be released immediately following the weigh-in.
When anglers catch species other than bass that they wish to take home to eat, they may do so at their own discretion.
That's it!
Yep, that's all the rules we have. Since we're not competing on a regular basis against each other, we want to keep it as friendly as possible. The goal is to have fun and learn as much as we can from each other. So unlike other clubs and tournament organizations, we don't have many rules because we don't need them.
Sounds good to me.
My hats off to whomever worked on putting them together.
How many of your members have nextel any idea.
Not I.
I have Verizon.
I also don't have a radio on my boat.
I too dont have Nextel, nor a radio on board. But that was one thing I planned on installing this year. Nice job on the rules.
I have Verizon, a GFRS radio, and handheld marine depending on what everyone else is doing.
Jack
I do not have nextel... verizon.
Also, wasn't sure if anything needed to be input into our guidelines as we may have enough folks now interested in TBF I hear?
De Graeve
Verizon and both types of radios like Jack. Last year I picked up a handheld VHF for around $40... if I remember correctly. They were on sale at BPS. We also use cell phones or whatever. Sometimes we just go "old school" and yell over to another boat since we often hang near each other if someone is on the fish.
Those were the guidelines I put together for last year. Feel free to make any suggestions for additions or changes if anyone thinks any are necessary.
Not sure we need any wording for TBF since the whole club won't be in it. However, those of us who are going to go TBF need to contact Jack asap. Make sure you join FLW first so we get our roster together. The cuttoff for the $30 deal is in March. I was told by the TBF president that they are extending the deal for TBF dues into March (forget the exact date). So I think it's $30 for both national and state dues.
Just in case it isn't clear... you don't have to be a TBF member to be in the club. This is just for the few who want to be in the TBF so they can fish the state championship in July. It won't affect in any way how the club works. Once we get our TBF roster though, we'll probably put this board in the TBF clubs section just above here. That would be the only change. We'll still always be a fun ONLY club. Having a few guys that are in TBF won't ever change that. Glad to see so many participating with us this year. I'm stoked!
I have Cingular, VHF radio, and handhelds.