Do You Fish Tournaments?

FlatsNBay · September 24, 2023, 11:46:58 AM

Do you like to fish tournaments? Why or why not? Weather it's a Tuesday nighter, a local club tournament, or maybe even a bigger regional or national tournament, let's hear all about your experiences.

Donald Garner · September 24, 2023, 02:58:34 PM

I used to.

Back in the 80's while stationed at Ft. Polk, Louisiana I was a member of the Military Bass Anglers Association Club. It was interesting being a member as all our tournaments were draw events > Got paired with a different member for each event <. Had the opportunity to learn a lot of different techniques etc. and ride in a lot of different bass boats.

I was a Non-Boater during this time and wow there were a lot of egos' out there. There was no sharing of fishing catching secrets either. We fished all year round at different lakes around Central and West Central Louisiana and East Texas > Lake Sam Rayburn.

I was lucky enough to practice fishing with the same member (Marvin Deckard) he was my 'Mentor' as I kept his boat at my house. We met while stationed at Ft. Knox, Ky. He was a guide on Truman Lake in Missouri after retiring from the Army. We were friends for 20(+) years.

We did get to fish a couple of those Bob Sealy "Big Bass Splash Tournaments" on Sam Rayburn back in the late 80's before he retired. Those were always fun to fish. Lot of people, hourly weigh in's etc. They were just exciting to take part in.

Since becoming an UltimateBass Member I've had the opportunity to fish (be invited to) the ULITMATE BASS CLUB SHOOT OUTS. Having the opportunity to fish with members of TCTC Bass Club and Lockjaw Bass Club I met some great fisherman and family members. Some I've became life long friends with. Lots of great memories and some serious but fun bragging rights and family fun was always on display.

Since retiring from the Army and living here in Central Texas. I've had the opportunity to fish the Fishing for Freedom Tournaments (No Entry Fee Event). This was an annual event held in Oct and sponsored by the local marine dealerships and business of Central Texas. The goal was to take a Active Duty, Retired Service Member fishing. Boaters from across Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Louisiana would show up and we get assigned a Service Member as a partner. When you registered for the event you had to choose to be a Boater or Non-Boater. The Boaters were in control of the boat and you were assigned a partner. All this was done on line through the Mariner Dealership of Texas Boat World and Marine Outlet of Central Texas. The years I fished this event we'd have 200 > 225 boats in the tournament.

The Sponsors would put together a banquet on a Friday night with prizes donated to everyone. Boyd Duckett's Company always donated fishing tackle to the Purple Heart Awardees. Gary Klein was always there to do the presentations to the Purple Heart Awardees. Earl Bentz of Triton Boats would donate a fully rigged bass boat to the winning team. There were always a few of the B.A.S.S. and FLW Touring Pros there at the banquet. Most of the time they would also fish the event. This was always cool because there was ALWAYS A PHOTO OP with the Pros.

Saturday morning we'd have a full blown tournament day on Belton Lake. Weigh In were conduct and prizes provided to the top 10 places. These were always GREAT EVENTS that the community could come too.

Over all I've enjoyed fishing tournaments. Like anything else there are those that take it very serious and other not so much so. It can be an expensive hobby and very time consuming which can cut into your family time if you have a young family.

Oldfart9999 · September 24, 2023, 02:59:40 PM

Not for about 9 years, about the time my joints started rebelling. I started fishing ABA as a nonboater then as a boater. I enjoyed it, I made new friends and at the same time gained new skills and confidence. When the chapter folded I started fishing local tournaments, meeting new folks and gaining more skills. The best part was gain new friends. The camaraderie, at the local level, at least, was the best part of it. I also enjoyed the competition, the best part though, was meeting new people.
Rodney

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apenland01 · September 24, 2023, 03:18:15 PM

I fish a monthly tournament that is held at the lake where I store my boat. In the past couple of years, I've fished the Cashion Rods Solo Tournament, WON Bass US Open and Laughlin Open, along with my monthly LTF tournament. However, starting this year, I'm only fishing the monthly LTF tournament to save money...

If you click this link, I'm the guy on the right on the upper level with an old blue tackle warehouse shirt...

https://www.letstalkfishin.com/

D.W. Verts · September 24, 2023, 04:27:49 PM

I'd run my computer out of ink, Flats.

Dale

Eric-Maine · September 25, 2023, 12:10:33 PM

Fished Maine STQT, New Hampshire STQT, and the TBF Semi Final so far this month. 15 days on the water with a New England PVA coming up Saturday

Working on catching up on my grass and yard work.

I have fished with hundreds of people from all over the country through organized tournaments. I enjoy the competition but enjoy the comraderie more. We had perfect weather on Winnipesaukee and met some new friends. Burned a lot of gas ........lost anyway lol.

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Smallie_Stalker · September 25, 2023, 12:56:00 PM

I fished tournaments seriously from the mid 80's up until about 2007. Local derbies, club tourneys, B.A.S.S. Federation and even fished a couple of Redman's in the 90's. I qualified for state fish-offs a few times during my Federation days but was never able to go due to work or family obligations.

When my wife got really sick in 2010 I had to sell the boat and truck but after that I still fished some buddy tourneys and a few father/son fruit jars thanks to good friends who lent me a boat. The last tourney I fished I believe was about 10 years ago and was a father/son event.

During the pandemic I had a family member pass away and his wish was to have his ashes spread on his favorite lake up in Vermont. Lots of family and friends gathered and we spent a few days fishing for bragging rights. Not an official tourney but it was still fun to have a bit of the competition feeling back. In truth that was more like what I imagine the UB Guntersville rallies are like.

To answer the question of why I fished tourneys it was the competition, but never against the other anglers. It was ALWAYS about the competition with the fish and a test of my skills in seeing if I could figure them out for that day.

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Wizard · September 25, 2023, 07:35:16 PM

My last, a B.A.S.S., was in 2008. When I started fishing derbies at age 16, there was little money, even to the winner. Unless you were a "name" on the tour, it was a weekly struggle. Fishing 2nd and 3rd tier events was often more lucrative than fishing with the elites. Except for a large charity event on Table Rock, I could only break even against the big boys. I loved to fish and did my best in Jackpot derbies. Small tourneys with winner take all of up to 30 guys fishing for 3-4 hours and weigh-in at a pre-determined cove. All were by invitation (to keep out gentlemen like Brauer and Verts). If I could go back to age 16, I probably would fish for fun.

Wizard

FlatsNBay · September 25, 2023, 08:23:57 PM

I've fished a bunch of club tournaments years ago including a couple Redmans.

I don't fish tournaments anymore. I'm just too competitive and too obsessed with bass fishing that it kills me if I don't win. It doesn't matter if it's only a $1 entry fee, I'm going all in to win. I'm still mad at coming in second at a club tournament 5 years ago when I was checking out a new club 😂

I'd rather enjoy fishing without getting myself caught up in competing.

Princeton_Man · September 26, 2023, 04:41:59 AM

I used to fish tournaments, even joined a couple of clubs over the years. I'll still fish benefit/fundraiser events now and then, and still participate in Veterans Fishing Day (it's much like Don's Fishing for Freedom). I think my all time favorite events is the BigBass Tour, although I haven't fished any of them the past few years. Like Steve, I've chosen to be less competitive and enjoy fishing more.

J.W. · September 26, 2023, 06:39:50 AM

Since I boat my son for his junior high tournaments, it'd be tough for me to fish in a club or anything right now. I'm always boating him or letting him pre-fish for his tournaments. If I find a one-off tournament (usually some kind of fundraiser or benefits tournament) that doesn't conflict, I will fish it and let someone take my money. At least I don't feel bad about it if it's for a good cause.

Larry Francis · September 26, 2023, 08:04:47 AM

I did in the 80's and 90;s up to 2004. I fished clubs and money circuits. I kept seeing people cheating and breaking rules and nothing was done. Then a Fishers of men tournament I fished had a DNR sting in place and 5 teams were caught with caged fish and videoed. They all went to jail. But the whole thing just made me stop wanting to fish all together. It was not fun anymore.

Leap forward to 2021 and moved to Florida after retiring in 2016. Bought a boat just to fish for the Florida Bass that everyone knows about and keep me busy between fishing and shooting I should be set. Then the unexpected Broken leg and issues beyond that slowed the competitive shooting way down and to nil for a minute. So, more fishing for me. Now my shooting will always be more limited as the body won't take it so fishing is the main thing.

I have fished one Night big bass gig but sure enough the bass that was weighed was all red and stressed like it had been in a LiveWell for hours. Never fished it anymore. Thanks to FD and others I have recently signed up for a new type of circuit with no money involved. Money corrupts and destroys any sport, look at Golf, Football collage level or any sport. Looking forward to this winter circuit.

bigjim5589 · September 26, 2023, 08:41:27 AM

I don't, but I think that I might enjoy fishing some local tournaments just to be making some new fishing friends. I know there's often catfish tournaments on the lake, but not sure how frequent there may be bass tournaments.

I've only fished two in my life, one was an open, multi-species tournament that a building supply sponsored in Easton MD, that my late fishing buddy signed us up for. It didn't cost anything and we never entered any fish. I think we had been going out to chase some catfish that day, but don't recall for sure.

The other one was an open bass club tournament that I got invited to fish. I think there was only 5 boats, and we got second place. It was fun and I got to meet a few guys I would not have otherwise likely have met. It also turned out one of the guys was someone I already knew, so that was a pleasant surprise.

Overall, that one tournament ended up costing me about $20 beyond what was paid back I think, but that was worth the experience!

BASSCATLILDAVE · September 26, 2023, 01:41:28 PM

I used to fish quite a few years ago. Now maybe 1 or 2 a year as work gets in the way.

marlake · October 16, 2023, 10:41:36 AM

I'm now 77 years young and have been an avid bass fisherman all my life.
Never fished tournaments until , a few years ago, a neighbor talked me into joining the small local club he belonged to. They ran tourneys about every 2 weeks during the season here in New England. There were about 20 boats with two guys per boat each fishing for his own bag. I fished for 3 years and quit. I found I don't have whatever is needed to fish competitively. If I am going to compete, I intend to win and we all know how hard it is to have everything fall into place so you score a win. I did manage to win one tourney but it didn't feel like I was in control of that win. I fished the same way I always did but, for some reason, the fish decided to cooperate on this day.
Many times I would end up with a knot in my gut because it was mid-day and I had zero fish in the live well. My usual style would be to go to the lake, enjoy the scenery, experiment with different techniques I had read about and if the fish wanted to bite, that was a bonus. Tourneys took the relaxation out of fishing for me as an individual.
Now, prior to my brief tourney experience, if I didn't catch fish I would convince myself that, 1) "There are no fish in this lake." or 2) "The fish just aren't biting today."
Well guess what. Somebody always caught 'em. When you weigh-in 4 lbs and the winner has 18 lbs it don't feel good.
I do really enjoy watching televised tournaments at any level I guess because it's not my feeble skills that are under scrutiny.

J.W. · October 16, 2023, 11:23:33 AM

Quote from: marlake on October 16, 2023, 10:41:36 AMWell guess what. Somebody always caught 'em. When you weigh-in 4 lbs and the winner has 18 lbs it don't feel good.

That's 100% right, and I can completely understand not wanting to be a part of that scene, especially if it turns a relaxing pastime into something stressful. On the other hand, I also think that's been one of the most eye-opening aspects I've experienced with tournament fishing, and it's something that makes me want to improve. It definitely takes away the ability for me to give any lame excuses for not catching them, because someone always catches 'em. If someone else caught 'em and I didn't, I want to know what they were doing different. Sometimes I figure it out afterwards, sometimes not, but the challenge is something I enjoy. I think it's also important not to judge your overall success based on how other anglers did, even though we're all guilty of doing it to some degree. It's better to look at it based on what you learned and can maybe use to make better decisions in the next one, because in my opinion, it seems that's what tournament fishing mostly comes down to is the decisions you make.