Over the past few years, I have been kicking around an idea that I would like some feedback on. When I first started in tournament fishing, I was nervous to join a bass club or fish open tournaments just because of the unknown. I wasn't confident in my abilities and only had a 16 foot tin boat to fish out of. The idea of competing against seasoned anglers in expensive bass rigs just didn't seem appealing, but my want to compete was even stronger so I decided to give it go.
Over the past three years, I have fished two different tournament trails, and both have been good experiences. However, I still truly believe that there are anglers out there who want to tournament fish, but are nervous to do so. It might be that they are new to the sport, don't have the "right boat", or they don't want to pay the high entry fee. It could also be that they used to fish tournaments, but grew tired of the same group of people on the same lakes. No matter the reason, I strongly believe there are people out there who want to tournament fish, but just don't. That is why I want to investigate my idea further and see if I can get a group together that just want to have fun competing against each other.
Here are some of the highlights I am thinking this "bass club" would be.
- Team format bass club. It's a lot more fun to fish with a buddy or a family member than it is to get paired up based on whether you are a "boater" or "co-angler". However, if you prefer to fish alone, that is fine too.
- Low entry fee tournament. $30 per event. $25 entry, and $5 for big bass. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place, plus big bass winner get paid in cash at the ramp. 100% payback. No team fees or memberships.
- Number of tournaments, length of tournaments, dates of tournaments, and the lakes fished is voted on by club members. You will not find a preset schedule here.
- Any boat is fine. If it is seaworthy, has a functioning livewell (permanent or make shift), and meets Federal and State requirements, you can fish out of it. Livewell must be able to keep fish in good condition as 100% release rate is a goal for each tournament.
- This bass club is designed for anglers to have fun, share information, learn from each other, and compete in tournaments without breaking the bank.
- A bass club designed for the beginning and novice angler.
If this style of bass club sounds appealing to you, and you live in southeastern Michigan, please contact me. If I can get at least 10 teams to express interest in this, I will pursue this further. It's my hope to have enough interest where we can all agree on a meeting time in January to plan our season.
I do realize that there are an abundance of bass clubs and open team tournaments out there, and many of them run great events with a good group of guys. If you already fish one of those trails and are happy with it, then keep doing that. All I am trying to do is make sure that there is an option available for anyone who wants to fish competitively. I don't want anyone to miss out on the fun of tournament bass fishing just because of their experience level, boat type, or financial situation.
Sounds good. Many of us "seasoned" tournament anglers started out the way you describe... small local tournaments with low costs. Heck, I started fishing tournaments out of a 14' Glastron trihull with a 50 Merc and a 35 pound trolling motor on the back of the boat. We litterally fished around the lake backwards with that boat, and we won as much as we lost in the small clubs we fished. The boat doesn't catch the fish!! That's not to say I don't LOVE my Triton but you have to start somewhere.
Good luck to you, I hope you can find people to fish your club. Make yourself a flyer and post them at local bait and tackle stores.
TimH we need to talk soon I have a club/group set up like that right now in Southwestern Michigan. I might be able to help you out with details and ideas to make it go easier on you.
Tim,
Sounds like a great idea. You might want to position it as something like a "less competitive" trail. Sayings its for novices may detract some from participating.
I also golf and see a lot of guys playing from the blue tees that should be playing from the red tees if you know what I mean.
I might be interested, depends on location and work schedule.
Could possibly be interested depending on lakes and dates.im more west of GR
We run a $40, 100% cash payback trail in SW Michigan and always draw 10-15 boats. I would imagine you could draw 30+ with the number of people in SE Michigan. Boats range from a 12 foot row boat with cooler to a 22 foot ranger with a 250 HP Mercury. It's a great time for everyone. We do an optional membership fee for people that want to fish a "classic" and pay all of that plus the $40 entry back that day. I'm also doing a $25 one-on-one trail in SW Michigan, lots of interest so far. 100% cash payback is key. Shows it's clearly just for fun. 0 profit.
Thanks for all the great feedback guys. Kal-Kevin, I appreciate the offer for some pointers and guidance. I will certainly be in contact with you soon. Keep the feedback coming, as well as letting me know if anyone is interested in fishing it.
Hay TimH and any one interested my club is having a meeting the 6th of December at Michelle's on Gull Road, in Kalamazoo, your welcome to stop in and check us out. Meeting starts at 9:00 am and we end up talking fishing for while after the meeting.