Beginning Tournament Fishing Questions

[nofearengineer]

After getting overtaken by a bunch of USA Bassin boats at Patoka the other morning (who totally blew by me to all of my spots before I got to them...I should have started earlier or gotten a bigger motor ), I got to wondering about how fun it might be fishing tournaments.

Obviously, for me, it wouldn't be about money or glory, as boating one fish a day isn't going to earn me easy millions.

Last year I contacted my local bass fishing club "Evansville Bass Masters", and it turned out they didn't even fish around Evansville. For their own reasons, right or wrong...they pretty much fish only in Kentucky. I was really disappointed, as they seemed at least of a level of organization I that might be attainable by someone of my skill level. Anything more would be like trying to play one on one basketball with Lebron James. Pointless.

Anyway, at the risk of opening up a can of worms, does anyone have any advice on which organizations are better for a rank amateur to join; i.e. FLW, Bassmasters, USA Bassin, others?. I really don't have an opinion at this point, as I know next to nothing about the pro levels other than what I see on ESPN.

I get the impression that Bassmasters is the "Big Time", while FLW is more for the amateur? Correct me if I'm wrong.

It would be fun to be involved in a bit of competition, and the appeal of a rare big bass prize, and mostly a chance to learn from other people. I am assuming most of this learning would be by careful observation, and not freely given...I hear most tournament fishermen are pretty secretive. I also don't want to finance some ringer's boat with my entry fees if it's going to be that one-sided from a skill level standpoint.

I'm just sort of at that point where it sounds like fun, but I'm not sure if I would stand a chance of even making a respectable showing. I'm sure I get more a return on my time investment just learning from this site and its members.

[rrw4258]

Nofear, I would recommend joining a bass club regardless of which organization they are affilated with. But as a first timer to tournament I would reccommend joing as a non-boater. Alot can be learned out of the back of the boat.

Our club, Erie Bay Bassers, is affilated with FLW, and through FLW we can move to regional tournaments, and then on to SQT or State Qualifying Tournaments. Top finishers from the SQT get to fish on the State Team.

In our club there are several older fellows who have been at the game for a long time, an it takes a lot to unseat them. But from what I have learned from the back of the boat, I am in the top of the ranks this year in AOY. There are also people who are complete noobs to bass fishing and dont even have a decent setup.

Ryan

[cassidyta]

I am sure that this will come off as my west coast bias, but it really is me not knowing.

I know you said that your local club didn't fish in your area. Not to sound dumb, but are their other clubs maybe a town away?
I would definitely say that club fishing is the best way to get into tournaments. I think that they help you develop a tourney mindset that is essential for events. I think what I like most about club fishing is the fact that all of th eguys actually like one another. It is not the super competative nature as a FLW event. (I can't speak to the others since FLW is all I have participated in)

If that is not an option, then I would find out if there are any smaller tournaments in your area. We have several tournaments that are sponsored by businesses out here rather than the big named circuits.

[everettvet]

Nofear,
I would recommend joining a local bass club. It can be a lot of fun and you can learn a lot. I fished my first bass tournament as a co-angler in a bfl on Kentucky Lake. I was talked into it. I was paired with a guy from the Evansville area and I finished in 63rd place. I was so happy just to weigh in. Tournament fishing has improved my fishing a lot. Our local club that I belong to, CAST, is taking off. We are up to 30 members and it took 20 pounds to win our last tournament. We have some really good fisherman and it can be very humbling. I just try and think that I am having fun, even on the bad days, and try to appreciate what God has given us.

You will find that there are some great people who tournament fish and some not so nice people. Don't let the latter ruin tournament fishing for you. This past weekend, a friend and I fished a tournament together and started off on a spot that our competitor had showed us and told us to fish. We had two boats sitting within a cast of each other for 2 hours and we all had a good time. By the way, each boat caught 3 nice keepers from the spot. As each fish was caught, I noticed that the other boat was pulling for the competition. It was great to see. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to beat them but I also enjoy seeing them be productive and I was very disappointed for them when a monster fish broke off at the boat.

Give it a try. If you want to come to Paducah, you can fish a CAST tournament with me. You don't have to be a member to fish. I make no promises about catching fish but we will have a good time on the water.

Danny

[nofearengineer]

Thanks, Danny! I hope you have a big boat LOL. But seriously, I may take you up on that offer. It would be nice to take part in one with no big commitment.

Bryce

*EDIT*

Wow....I saw what you drive in another post. a 21' Triton with a 225....holy gawd....Woody about gave me a heart attack with his 150. You might kill me.

[cassidyta]

Originally Posted by nofearengineer

I may take you up on that offer. It would be nice to take part in one with no big commitment.

Bryce

That's beautiful If I get married again, I am adding that line to my vows and quoting you!

[everettvet]

Bryce,

I have a 21 foot trition. I think we will be just fine. Check out the CAST website at www.castministries.net. I probably won't fish the next one, unless my son's baseball team loses early in their tournament. I couldn't miss a championship game that would make their team 17-0, not even to fish. We have some coming up in the fall and have talked about adding one more.

Where does the club you spoke of fish their tournaments? I am not sure what you consider a "big" commitment, but a bfl cost $100 bucks to fish as a co-angler. That is assuming you belong to flw already. The downside is that you never know what kind of partner you will get.

Danny

[Kevin]

Hi Bryce,

I'll point out that the bigger events like BASS Fed Nation and BFL often have weaker competition than the more local, smaller events (ie. Angler's Choice, etc). BASS and BFL events often payout to more spots, and a lot of guys fish for points (which is much different). On the other hand, the smaller and more local events can often have the lake/river DIEHARDS that are the best. You'll have that one guy or two guys that consistently catch monster sacks. They don't compete too often on the bigger trails (they're 'one lake ponies'), but they show up every weekend for those local T's. If you want to win, sometimes your best chance is in the bigger 200-boat field rather than the smaller 50 boat local tournament that draws that lake's mega sticks. The bigger T's are often full of out-of-staters. Just food for thought.

[everettvet]

Kevin,
You are exactly right on that. There was a guy who fished in a club that I started out fishing with and he won a lot, but never did well in the big events. However, the guys who kicked our butts in the last CAST event also won the 175 boat event (a free tournament with $5000 for first place) on Kentucky lake this past weekend with 28 pounds 3 ounces. We told them Saturday that they would have a 3 fish limit in our CAST tournaments from now on. It seems only fair!

[MIbasser]

Nofear, as others have said find a local club - either BASS or FLW. I am in a small club, no money, and just fun. I do belong to BASS and fish the Michigan Classic Series and fish for money in that one. You could also look into the NBAA, they usually have a lot of TX's around.

[geezer1]

nofear...Lots of great advice given in the above posts. Tournament fishing can be a real blast!

[Rebbasser]

Originally Posted by geezer1

nofear...Lots of great advice given in the above posts. Tournament fishing can be a real blast!

It sure can. I usually fish one tourney a year, and don't compete in it: It is a Wounded Warriors tournament where the only people that compete are the wounded warriors. I don't know who enjoys it more-those of us who pull our boats down, or the soildiers, but it is a blast!

[nofearengineer]

Thanks for all of the advice, guys. It's good to always be working on something. Onwards and upwards, I say. Life is just a never-ending string of projects for me. I think I will definitely join something for next Spring, which means getting to know the club a bit this Fall.

And Danny...the club I was talking about, Evansville Bassmasters, fishes KY Lake, Barkley, Breshears, Rend, Crab Orchard, and the Ohio at Smithland, Uniontown, and Paducah.

I was a little wary of all the river boating anyway. When I have more driving experience, I'll think about it, but for now, I'll stick to water that isn't moving.

[WTL]

Originally Posted by Rebbasser

It sure can. I usually fish one tourney a year, and don't compete in it: It is a Wounded Warriors tournament where the only people that compete are the wounded warriors. I don't know who enjoys it more-those of us who pull our boats down, or the soildiers, but it is a blast!

I have heard about that, I think a report on fox the other day highlighted taking out Iraq and Afghanistan vets flyfishing in virginia. No matter what the species, thats great.

And to offer a topical comment so I dont hijack the thread, Bryce, why you botherin? You know you cant fish. Perhaps you should see if any local municipal ponds have a kids cat fishing tourney and you can try a disguise.... j/k

[skeeter1804]

If you have any interest in tournament fishing I recommend trying one. I fish tournaments because it gives me more of a reason to go out and fish and try to get better. Sometimes when I thought the fishing was real tough every other boat weighed a limit and vice versa. But don't expect much other than having a good time the first few because you may have your butt handed to you. I agree with the others , a club is a good choice to fish tournaments and make new friends.

[nofearengineer]

Originally Posted by WTL

And to offer a topical comment so I dont hijack the thread, Bryce, why you botherin? You know you cant fish. Perhaps you should see if any local municipal ponds have a kids cat fishing tourney and you can try a disguise.... j/k

You don't scare me. I've got chunks of guys tougher than you in my stool.

[WTL]

Originally Posted by nofearengineer

You don't scare me. I've got chunks of guys tougher than you in my stool.

Whats sad is I bet you googled that insult.

And I bet you do have other guys up your *** all the time, right?

[CMorg]

WTL your pretty funny , assuming your joking. And you bess be joking , cause I think Bryce can take ya !

[carolina-rig-01]

Like a lot of guys have already said. A local club is probably your best bet for fishing a tournament on a lower compitition level as well as a lower level money wise. I have fished in a few different clubs and each of them offer a lot of chances for learning techniques, bodies of water, and a lot of other things that would take years for you to figure out on your own. Also I agree that fishing from the back of the boat is probably your best chance to learn a lot of this stuff.

[Rebbasser]

Originally Posted by nofearengineer

You don't scare me. I've got chunks of guys tougher than you in my stool.

I laughed

[MississippiBoy]

NoFear, have you checked out the tournaments on BBC? I don't know anything about them, how big they are, etc....just thought I'd throw that out there...

[dave0943]

Originally Posted by everettvet

Nofear,
I would recommend joining a local bass club. It can be a lot of fun and you can learn a lot. I fished my first bass tournament as a co-angler in a bfl on Kentucky Lake. I was talked into it. I was paired with a guy from the Evansville area and I finished in 63rd place. I was so happy just to weigh in. Tournament fishing has improved my fishing a lot. Our local club that I belong to, CAST, is taking off. We are up to 30 members and it took 20 pounds to win our last tournament. We have some really good fisherman and it can be very humbling. I just try and think that I am having fun, even on the bad days, and try to appreciate what God has given us.

You will find that there are some great people who tournament fish and some not so nice people. Don't let the latter ruin tournament fishing for you. This past weekend, a friend and I fished a tournament together and started off on a spot that our competitor had showed us and told us to fish. We had two boats sitting within a cast of each other for 2 hours and we all had a good time. By the way, each boat caught 3 nice keepers from the spot. As each fish was caught, I noticed that the other boat was pulling for the competition. It was great to see. Don't get me wrong, I wanted to beat them but I also enjoy seeing them be productive and I was very disappointed for them when a monster fish broke off at the boat.

Give it a try. If you want to come to Paducah, you can fish a CAST tournament with me. You don't have to be a member to fish. I make no promises about catching fish but we will have a good time on the water.

Danny

Danny,
I almost made it to Paducah, Kentucky Lake, some years ago. I kept hearing how good the fishing was. I was from Illinois at the time. I since then moved up to Northern MI, great fishing here. Hope fishing has remained good in Paducah. Sorry to change the thread subject.
There are quite a few local tournaments in our area. I've only been able to fish a few with my work schedule. I do envy the guys that fish them regular. Maybe when I retire. I'm a homebuilder and with the economy have been tempted to do just that!
Dave