Tournaments

[Gary Cooke]

After reading the experience of Greg's tournament it made me think about fishing a tournament. My boat is a walleye boat(targa 18). I have a family of 6 so it worked out better than a bass boat. My questions are; 1)can I enter a bass tournament with a walleye boat? 2)would you recommend possibly a crappie tournament to start out considering my boat(we don't have alot of walleye in Kansas). 3)would it be better if I fished a bass tournament as a non-boater? Tournament fishing has always sounded like it would be a great time. Thanks for your advice!

 

[Jon Puhalski]

Usually, the only stipulation for a boat to meet tournament standards are that it has to be able to safely accomodate two fishermen, their gear, and a limit of fish in a aererated livewell. So, your boat should have no problem! You may get some strange looks but who cares.



If you are interested in tournament fishing though, let me suggest you search for a BASS Federated club in your area and try to get in with them. This should offer you the opportunity to test tournys on a small scale, but also be able to let you in on a larger Federation tourney when you feel your ready. Not to mention that if you get in with the right club, the amount of fishing knoweledge you can pick up in a short time are fascinating.

 

[Rob LaMoy]

Gary,

Dito on what Jon said. Find a state federation club to join. You can start as a non boater if you like. But there is no feeling like waiting in the early dawn for your launch number to come up, with the outboard sputtering behind you, with the anticipation of what the day could hold in store for you! The feeling of setting the hook on that first fish of the day, and the feeling you have when a pattern REALLY comes together and your livewell is full. When you come to the scales with a bag you KNOW will cash a check! It's awesome. Don't worry so much about your boat. I have cashed checks from multi-species tin rigs in the past, being the youngest angler with the smallest boat. It all boils down to you. But remember to have fun! Try it, I can bet you'll get "hooked" like the rest of us! Come join our rally in June, we will have a tourny format.

Rob

 

[Pierre Voisine]

Rob and Jon Are right...and remember we are all winners as we are waiting for our numbers to be called!!

 

[Tim King]

Gary,

If you are intersted I know that Hillsdale usually has Wed. night jackpots and it would be a way to get a "taste" of a tournament to see if you would like to try a full bore tournament. The way they work is you show up pay your entry and they usually last for about three hours. It is a partners format so you can fish with a buddy. It has been a while since I have been over there, but they used to take out of the Jayhawk ramp. I'm sure with a little checking you could find out some info on them and it really isn't that far from Olathe. If you would ever be interested in coming out west a little further maybe we could hook up and I could take you out Crappie fishing or Bassin'.



Tim

 

[Gary Cooke]

Thanks everyone for your insight & suggestions. It sounds like something I should go with. I also appreciate the advise on the clubs. Tim, thanks for the tip about Hillsdale lake. It's only about 30 minutes from my home. I'll look into the Wednesday night tourney. Thanks again!

 

[Bill Smith6]

When I first joined our bass club, my boat was a 17'Sprectrum

(aluminum). Loaded for battle,a scary 23 MPH! I won our first tourney of the year and went on to win angler of the

year,weight slip angler of the year, and a trophy for biggest largemouth of the year! Da big boyz hate it when

tin takes da win!!! YOU'LL HAVE A BLAST! Jump in with both

feet and do'nt look back. Remember Gary, YOU catch the fish,

not the boat! Best of luck, Bill