Not Renewing My Club Membership This Year

[Christian M]

This year if renew my membership to my club...I'm gonna go broke! We became B.A.S.S. affiliated after winning the Bass Bowl in NJ last fall. This years tourney schedule includes lakes & rivers in 4 different states, all in addition to the regular season, and open buddies  .

I'm really proud & happy for the guys htat are taking it to the next level. However, unfortunately, its too much traveling, too many permits, and too much missed work for me. Looks like I'm gonna either have to find a new club or fish open tourneys this year. At least last season I left my mark & took home Lunker of the year, which really was ALL TIME LUNKER, but I was docked 1/2lb for being 35 seconds late to the dock on an electric only lake! LOL & SMH, go figure, I guess rules are rules.

[jhoffman]

Main reason the club I joined left bass. They were spending so much money and time traveling that guys were losing their families. The one guy made it to the classic and he was so far in debt to get there it was unreal. When it was all said and done they never even mentioned his name one single time.

 

Do what you want to do and you know when you hit that limit. Reality is, theres only so many guys that can do it for a living. If you can make a run for the top youll know when and until you think you can start cutting checks for travel expenses plus entry fees its just a pipe dream. Everyone thinks they are gonna be in the elites some day, its just not in the cards for everyone.

 

I myself, would be on the ultimate high if the day ever comes that I can fish the elites but to me its about as practical as winning the powerball at this point.

[slonezp]

Look into Anglers Choice. Local tourneys and decent payouts with a chance to win big.

[Sam]

Go to the top of the Forum page and look up Links.

 

From Links find Bass Clubs.

 

Look up the great state of New Jersey.

 

There are 12 selections.

 

Visit their web pages and decide if one is for you.

 

My club fishes Virginia waters. The four farthest bodies of water we fish are Smith Mountain Lake; Buggs Island; Lake Gaston; and the Potomac River.

 

Otherwise, all other waters are within an hour of Richmond, Virginia.

 

Good luck in finding another club.

[Christian M]

Thanks for the advice & tips fellas. Last year was tough because when I joined the club I didn't realize that 90% of the lakes we were going to fish were 2-3 hours southwest of where I live. I saw 5 tourneys on lakes that were within 1 hour or less and kinda jumped in head first. I made it to almost every tourney, even if it meant leaving my house at 2:00 am to arrive at 5:00am. That comes from playing sports all of my life. My parents basically burned the idea into my head that "once you commit, you stick it out, because other people are depending on you". I certainly gained a lot of knowledge, I learned a ton from the other members in the club, and was kinda humbled to see that I had knowledge to share with some pretty well versed anglers. All in all it was a great experience. I placed 6th out of 20 and won Lunker Trophy. 

 

I also got a glimpse into what it takes to make a living catching bass, and that made me respect and admire the guys going for it ten fold. Jhoffman, I definitely see what you're saying. Its all or nothing for the guys that are going for the bigs. It's scary when you think how much effort, money, and other priceless things like family, friends, home, and time can be lost without gaining anything on the other end. But man what it would be like to actually get there.

 

I plan to continue competing on the local level later on, but I have too many other things on my plate right now. Between teaching full time, working as a server part time, and returning to school for my masters in the fall, what money I spend will be toward classes and restoring my boat, and my hours on the water will be spent with family and friends. I think for me its more about sharing the experience with them, and using the time to clear my mind.

[ww2farmer]

One of the reason I have never joined a club.......... I can't afford, nor do I have the freedom from my job, to commit to turning multiple weekends into a 4 day affair, pay for gas, lodging, tournament fees, and other associated expenses. I get my tournament fix by fishing the local open's. There is often one, or more, per weekend on any of the decent local lakes within an hour or so drive in any direction. I can pick and choose my spots, based on how busy I am, or if I can/can't afford it that week. Most all of them are team tournaments, so the costs split up nicely, and I have a group of buddies who are good fisherman, and  often fish the same tournaments. I also find the open circut to be very challanging, yes every club has there top guys, but ususally the field for the opens is very competitive. Not only will a good number of the best local sticks turn out, but even touring (or former touring) pros will show up. Turn outs are generally very good, which on some of the smaller lakes provides a whole new set of challanges.

[aharris]

Personally, I've never been a part of a club but I do think the BFL/FLW route is a more do-able route. I fished a few BFL tourneys as a co-anlger last year and plan on fishing some more this year. Eventually moving up to the boater side. It's awesome how Wheeler went from fishing the BFL's to winning the Forrest Wood cup in that short amount of time.