What is the purpose of a bass club? Is it to help teach would-be anglers to bass fish? Is it a place for a bunch of anglers to socialize and share the common interest of bass fishing coupled with some friendly competition? Or, is it a place for the local BIG Stick to show off his local prowess, take the underlings’ money and never share with the rest of the club what he/she did to catch the fish?
Since ’78, I’ve been a member of three clubs – The Ambassadeurs of Southern California (1978 to 1986), the Eagle Rock Bassmasters – Idaho Falls, Idaho (1998 to 2001), and the Snake River Valley Bass Club – Blackfoot, Idaho (2001 to 2005). I’ve also been around and dealt with too many clubs to list over these years. I must also state (it should be obvious) that I took a break from club fishing for roughly 12 years.
When I joined the Ambassadeurs, I was 14 years old and pretty awed by the fact I was fishing against a bunch of people more than twice my age. The club rostered more than 50 anglers at any given time when I was in the club, club meetings were mandatory and each tournament was a draw format. In fact, every club I knew of in southern California at the time held their tournaments in a draw format.
The draw was done at the meeting prior the tournament – non-boaters drawn with boaters – and if there were more boaters than non-boaters, the extra boaters were drawn together, the first name out of the hat got to use his boat. Another caveat of the club was no two anglers could fish more than two tournaments together over the course of a year.
After the draw, the two anglers made arrangements for the tournament. Boater and non-boater drove to the lake together, kept a running list of bills accumulated for the day/weekend, the non-boater provided lunches/drinks for the day/weekend (this because the boater had to pay for the boat, oil, and insurance), and the bill for expenses was split down the middle between the two anglers when the tournament was over. This wasn’t just the way my club conducted operations, this was the way every club I knew of (and working at the tackle shop, I knew people in every bass club in southern Cal) conducted business.
There were many good aspects of operating a club in this manner. 1) You got to fish with at least 6 different anglers over the course of a year. This meant that there was a large number of learning opportunities for everyone in the club, 2) Cheating was essentially eliminated by the draw, 3) When all was said and done, each angler had paid exactly 50% of the expenses – there was no, “Here’s $10 for gas.” 4) The non-boaters actually would try and outdo one another on lunches they provided (every boater always wanted to draw Cliff Brockman, man he made a killer lunch).
Another thing about the club was it was treated as a learning experience for everyone. Winners of the prior tournament were required to present their winning pattern at the next meeting and we would even have guests give seminars from time to time.
Also, the clubs that I was associated with back then didn’t fish for money except for maybe a big-fish pot. We fished for AOY and a shot at making the Top-6 tournament at the end of the year. The Top-6 tournament was an end-of-year 2-day event that put the top-6 anglers from each club against each other. You wanted to make this tournament.
What the no-award money scenario brought to the table was this: People actually helped each other on the water. I don’t know how many times guys would flag down other club members to tell them about a bite that was happening and the post-tournament briefs were all about making each member a better angler. You’d be surprised how much information was given out at these briefings. Topo maps were shown, boat position, water depth, retrieve, baits used etc.
The state of the bass club today, though, is dismal. A club is lucky to have 10 boats on the water for any given tournament and many clubs are happy if they get 6 boats. It’s been this way for years and no one can blame it on Bush, Obama or the tough economic times we’re facing today.
So, what is it that’s taken anglers away from bass clubs? I don’t know if it’s one thing or a collection of things but from my experience, it all boils down to the new blood not getting what they came for.
New anglers get brought into or join a club expecting to learn. They expect to be mentored by experienced anglers with the hope of becoming a better angler. What I’ve seen happen the last 20 years or so is the opposite.
Clubs in the last 20 years have predominantly gone from a teaching organization with minimal money involved to high-dollar jackpot tournaments and the new guy gets stuck donating his money with little in return.
Couple this with the fact that most club organizations I’ve come in contact with during this time fish a “partners” format the new guy doesn’t get to fish with the best anglers because they’re already paired with their buddy.
The new guy/gal may stick around for a year but after that they reevaluate their investment and having minimal to show for it, leaves. That angler is turned off towards bass fishing and the club flounders. That is my opinion.
So what do bass clubs need to do in order to prevent their slow death? In my opinion, it boils down to the money. Take the money out of the equation and people are more apt to share information. If you need your weekend bass club winnings to pay your boat payment; 1) maybe you shouldn’t own a boat and/or 2) if you want to show just how big a stick you are, go fish a AAA Pro/Am or draw event where there’s real money involved.
Teach the new guys how to fish and they’ll continue to fish. Take their money and leave them only with empty pockets and your club is bound to implode.
Tags: Bass Clubs
hammer521 says..I’ve seen time and time again that too many of the newcomers are hung up on “spots” and gps locations.
Having joined and old and seasoned veteran club 2 years ago, that is exactly what the veterans are doing among themselves. Our club fishes the same major lakes over and over and the older guys fish time and time again within casting distance of one another thinking they are “pattern fishing” but they are all honey hole fishing unique spots that they have learned to work year after year. They will launch in the worst of conditions at sunrise and all motor miles across the lake to these spots passing countless areas with allmost exactly the same pattern of structure, water and conditions. Why?Only their spots eems to consstiently work and they don’t know themselves. I can visit their “spots” the day after the tournament and do just about as well as they did. Point is the vet think they can go anywhere and find fish, but they are just hole fishing.
Turd, The first level wind was probably a vine on a stick. I was referring to the Ambassador 5000 and a few Diawa Millionaires. Speaking of bass clubs, the founder of the Midstate Bass Club, Wendell Studt is fishing in a better place. I know you have sturgeons in Idaho. Look up the Suwannee River Sturgeon. We witnessed the jumping first hand…..unbelievable.
Earl, Hammer and Darkman, I agree with you all. I’m sorry I can’t leave a longer response now but I will tomorrow. I got in to New Mexico about 2 hours ago and had to do an interview. I’m just logging on.
Earl, Kristen said she was going to show you this. I’m VERY happy you checked it out.
I miss you, Connie and Kristen and hope to see you sometime soon. And yes, I vividly remember that tournament that we fished against Randy and Kevin (for a $25 entry). In fact, if I remember right, we beat them. 
I will always have that and I have to thank you for it.
Hammer, don’t know if you were bass fishing back in the mid- to late-80s but Earl owned Earl’s Sport Stop in Woodland?, Mich. He and Randy (VanDam) are very good friends and used to buy product together so they could get a better price break. I have some Michigan roots and, if I remember right (Earl), I was an honorary member of the Midstate Bass Busters from 1986 to 1989. Another club I belonged to.
I’ll respond to the comments tomorrow night.
battisti
Wow….I do tournaments that are fun…no fun im not there. i attemted to join a few clubs…but it didnt feel right, found out that at time you get a ton of misinformation…because of the money.
i still do my Derbies…i am again looking for a club…i guess im old school…but info is to be shared…im not asking for your “honey hole”…just show me….and vise versa. i have been very lucky and have been taught many things from a ton of good fellas…and I thank them every day
its just a split shot…dude…dont get crazy about it……i learn to do this from a video…my first shot at any info…how to D/S….thanks terry
sorry about my scattrer thoughts…this just sparked some thing and i got way too much too say…
Terry,
You’re right about money being a big part of the problem in clubs today, but I’m convinced it’s not the biggest culprit in the downfall of clubs. Our club will be 37 years old in September and although we fish for money, we’ve kept it to a modest $20 entry fee for as long as I can remember. We do that for two primary reasons, keeping the “big sticks” from coming in and fleecing the average weekend angler (as you mentioned in the blog) and to keep it affordable for the average working man.
It’s true that the dollar is influential in every aspect of our lives, including our bass clubs, but I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not the main culprit in the declining numbers in our clubs.
Serving as president of a large club for the last five years, I’ve seen and heard members get discouraged and disappointed because “nobody wants to share information”. For the most part, they’re right, but it’s because they’re asking the wrong question and expecting the wrong information. I’ve seen time and time again that too many of the newcomers are hung up on “spots” and gps locations. They don’t understand the concept of patterns. We have guys in our club that have fished Lake St. Clair for 25 years. They would be happy to help newbies to learn, but unfortunatley, all they get asked is “where did you catch them”. We could do a lot to improve the moral and membership in our clubs if we did a better job of educating new guys as to what it really takes to go to a body of water and develop a pattern, a repeatable seasonal pattern. The rookie asked for help, but to the veteran, it just sounds like he wants your GPS coordinates. This phenomenon isn’t unique to bass fishing. Technology has taught us that we can all have a 300 yard drive if we can just afford the latest $500 titanium driver, and we can all catch 5 pounders like the guys on TV if we just buy the new KVD graphite blah blah blah. Our clubs aren’t shrinking because of money. We’re failing our new members because we aren’t teaching them that they can’t become great anglers with their checkbooks, or by calling their friends for GPS numbers. They must put time on the water and study seasonal patterns so that they can repeat those patterns on any body of water. If the newbie asks the veteran, “where did you catch them and what bait did you use?” He’s going to get the cold shoulder. If he asks, “hey can you show me what to look for in an area so I can find my own fish? Can you show me how to effectively practice for a tournament? “I’ll buy the gas and lunch”. He’ll make a new friend and get the education of a lifetime. Veteran club members are usually willing to “teach” but not “give” their years of hard work away.
Turd, The first Ringworm I remember was made by Knight Bait Company in the 70’s about the time I sold the first level wind in Michigan, before bass clubs.
I think I have solved the bass club decline…..I want to fish no more than 10 miles from home, I want to fish team always in my boat, it has to be a small lake, no more than 20 boats, also a team entry fee $25.00, 1st place should be $1000 and payback 15 places
I think we should all have sponsors. Sounds familiar to me.
I can remember when you fished against KVD for $25.
While I haven’t been in a club since ‘91 or ‘92 I fish with guys that are in clubs and hear what goes on both good and bad. I’ve heard with the internet and all the info it offers some of the more seasoned guys are a little more weary and sometimes have the mindset of letting others earn their stripes.
One reason for the low numbers possibly is the amount of amateur and team tournaments that are now available(to California anyhow). I do remember part of the allure of joining a club was competing with guys that fished the same waters for little or no money. With all the trails out there now anyone can pair up and split costs with a very low entry fee.
I will say since working out of town up at Clear Lake the last couple of months I’ve been fortunate to be around a few good guys that are part of the Clear Lake Bassmasters Club. While these guys work at a slower pace (both on/off the water LOL) I feel more than greatful to have been able to fish with them. I remember fishing at night with one of the guy’s from the club that doubles as Santa Claus(to the tee!) during the winter months. He explained things about the lake that most guides probably don’t know. Whether it was the history of an old roof that was dropped in a deep hole or the numbers of fish he’s caught and logged over the last 30+ years fishing with him and others has been more than insightful and I feel fortunate to have been on the receiving end.
If anyone is looking for a good club check out the Clear Lake Bassmaster’s. There are a number of good people more than willing to share their knowledge.
Backlash – I agree with you 100%. On the water manners are void in bass fishing. That’s the subject of another one of my State of Bass Fishing blogs for the near future.
Thanks Mike.
As one of the founders of the first bass club in Idaho, I go way back. I fished those draw tournaments in the 1970s, and we all learned a lot.
My biggest complaint with bass clubs today is that they don’t teach on the water manners. Today’s fishermen see TV tournaments with contestants crowded together fishing a cast apart or less. Who wants to fish like that! Our local fisheries biologist confirmed to me that recreational fishermen don’t complain about water skiers anymore, their biggest complaint is about “those tournament hotshots in their big bass boats” crowding them out.
Terry, Well done and spot on…
Cal, I could be wrong and I hope I am, but club fishing has become a very secretive endeavor over the last 20 years. IMO, this has been a big part of the demise of the bass club.
Bass fishing has always been a very secretive sport – even back in the early days. It was just held at the higher echelons of the sport and the club was pretty much treated as a place where you could go learn. Anymore, and I hope someone out there tells me that their club is different, it’s become as secretive as the highest trails in the sport.
Very interesting… having never fished a bass tournament in my life, I had assumed the early scenario you outlined for the club aspect was the standard MO even today, but I guess not. Not only does your “Take their money and leave them only with empty pockets” scenario doom the club, in the long run, it’s going to hurt the fun of bass fishing.
But even without the club/tournament involvement, I get plenty of the “ok, you have to promise not to tell anyone what I’m about to tell you…” type of reports – as if I have anyone to tell! – that just demonstrates how secretive and reclusive the hobby of bass fishing has become.