Your First Tournament

[29JMP29]

I'm a 16 year old trying to get into tournament fishing, which is hard because I am the only one serious about bass fishing at my school. I am wondering, when did you all fish your first tournament? I read some where that Jeff Kriet fished and won his first 25 boat tournament when he was 14. Thought this would be a cool idea for a topic

[OkeechobeeAngler]

I was 14 I think. Joined the Taylor Creek Bass Club in Okeechobee, Fl. Came out 2nd that year and got to fish the B.A.S.S. Southern Invitational out of Clewiston, Fl. Didn't place that good in that one

 

[John Hensley]

I think your right ,its a very good topic at your age .

If I were you I would fish all the tournaments you can.

I am almost 50 and still have only fish one very small tournament. 

Why you might ask. I work very weird hours its call shift work 3 days on and 3 day off and which between

days and nights ,12 hours a day.     it just plain sucks

I got to pay the bills and keep up on 4 acres of mowing and yard work plus everything else

also its my location to fisheries because I have to travel an hour to get to a 900 acre lake  

so good luck to ya and read magazines and keep up to date on patterns and seasons . 

water color, temps and all the good stuff that makes us smile

Not to say I travel to Fla to tarpon fish at Marathon Island , and up the Newaygo Mi for Steelhead  

and 4 to 5 times a year to KY Lake and Lake Barkley every year .

I think of the different types I really like the Steelhead fishing the BEST ......

Tarpon are big and fun but not eatable like the trout

[jhoffman]

I was in HS. Theres tournaments you can fish that dont require a boat. They can be hard to find though. The first one I fished that was warm water species had a payout for every type of fish you could find in warm water. Everything from turtles to carp and inbetween. That tournament I weighed in what wouldve been the biggest rock bass with a $200 check but was beat out on the last day by one ounce. I didnt catch any bass that were even close but I still fished the event.

 

Look for river events and youll likely not need anyone else.

[Teal]

I was 22 years old. It was a small club tourney (about 20 boats) a friend of mine had joined the club. I fished out of my own boat ( a 17ft Alumacraft with a 40hp Mariner Tiller) as a guest. Paid my 25 bucks. Fished all day, caught 3 fish and only one was a keeper. Weighed in 2.7lbs. That really discouraged me. But a few of the older guys told me that its wasnt so bad, because it was early august, very hot and i had only been bass fiishing for a year. Another friend on mine fish as a guest that day also and actually weighed in 12 lbs and finished 3rd. Both the guy that invited us and the guy that finished third are really close friends and fishing buddys. Since then we fish all we can, we try to take separate boats and fish in a tournament fashion. It has made us better fishermen and we all can hold our own inna tourney now.. it just takes time, time on the water, time by your self, and time with other or better anglers.

[quanjig]

I remember my first tx, buddy tx on the res. Jon boat club, I was just as nervous as I get today about them!! I think that's what keeps me fishing them. All the energy and expectations, I love it!! Partner and I won, big fish as well, split $800!

[Felix77]

I was 37 when I fished my first tournament.  It was a pike partner tournament and we won.  I ended up with 2nd lunker as well.

 

I was hooked ever since.

[gripnrip]

Oh lord.  I don't even want to remember the first one!  It was a Sunday back in 2005.  The month of June or July.  I just remember it being hot.  What made it so miserable wasn't only the 95 degree day with no wind.  It was the day after my 10 year high school reunion.  Bad, BaD, BAD day! lol

[jhoffman]

Oh lord.  I don't even want to remember the first one!  It was a Sunday back in 2005.  The month of June or July.  I just remember it being hot.  What made it so miserable wasn't only the 95 degree day with no wind.  It was the day after my 10 year high school reunion.  Bad, BaD, BAD day! lol

 

I probably wouldve pulled the boat over along a downed tree and just sat in the water and fished. That sounds miserable, the heat is bad enough on those days and then no wind makes for reallllllly tough conditions. Add a hangover, I might have checked out early lol.

[Shoop05]

I fished my 1st tournament when I was 13. It was a buddy tournament in an electric motor only circuit. My partner was 14. It was cold, rainy/and snowing. I think water temperature was around 40. Real tough. We caught 3 as a team and I had 2 of them. We were a little discouraged coming back to the ramp without a limit. However, it was tough for everyone. We finished 3rd, just an ounce behind 2nd and less than a pound out of 1st. It was pretty cool, we got a little more than our entry fee back.

 

Ive been fishing different tournaments ever since. I would've started earlier, but no one was really keen on a 10 or 11 year old fishing solo in a bass tournament. I happened to know most of the guys who fished the electric circuit trail, and had been running a boat with my dad and gpa for a long time. My dad pulled the boat to the lake, he went with his partner, and I went with mine. ( He actually won that day with his partner). It was a fun time though!

[SDoolittle]

I was 26 years old. It was an open tournament on Milford Lake, KS with about 30 boats. The wind was howling, and the water was cold and muddy. The tournament probably should have been cancelled due to the conditions. I was getting rocked in my old aluminum boat, so I tucked myself into a semi-protected cove and stayed there all day. Only two fish were brought to the scales that day, but one them was mine, and I took second place. I've fished in countless tournaments since then. I've won a few, cashed a check in many more, but that first tournament remains one of my favorite fishing memories.

[ww2farmer]

I fished my first tournament about 20 years ago out of a rented 14' v-hull aluminum boat with a small 9.9 HP tiller, it was just a little local opening day lunker tournament, I fished it for a couple years in a row, never did well, and didn't tournament fish again till 2007. Since then I have fished about 50 (that I can remember), they have all been opens/2 man team tournaments, and we have won 3, and cashed in about 15 more. This year it remains to be seen how many I will fish. My buddy runs a couple evening tournaments on the local lake and I will do those, as well as the aluminum boat tournaments I run. But one of the open trials I fished is now defunct (York bass club) and I don't really care too much for the other trails. They are either too high priced, don't come to my lake, or I just don't like the guys running them.

[ATX]

Fishing Big Bass tournament on Sam Rayburn with my dad. I was 9 and the wind was terrible, it was freezing cold and there were two big bass boats sunk at the ramp! We fished as close to the weigh in as possible and dad caught a money fish. It was a great day I'll never forget.

My first tourney as an adult was again on Big Sam and it was the most beautiful sunrise I've ever seen. A man said a prayer over the loud speaker before we headed out and it was moving to say the least. I did not draw a check but I left with a love for the sport and a few new friends.