Bass Club For Dummy

[buzzed bait]

Guys, I live in North Atlanta area known as Sandy Springs.  I do all of my fishing out my kayak, but would also like to get out and fish out of a boat from time to time while meeting new people and building my fishing skills.  That said, I'm thinking a good option is to find a bass club that would allow a non-boater to get his feet wet.  However, I have tons of questions, I will try to keep it to the more important ones.

 

1. Do you have to fish every tournament on the schedule?  If not, is it frowned upon if you do not?

2. Is there some expectation from a boater for me to at least be at a certain skill level?

3. What is the best format that I should look for? (I assume one where boaters vs boaters and co-angler vs co-angler)

4. What type of gear would I potentially need for this type of fishing that I may not already have (exclude lures, reels, rods, I have enough of those)    

5. Are these typically highly-competitive-not-so-friendly type atmospheres or is it possible to find a truly friendly club?  My concern is that frankly I'm not highly competitive I'm just looking to get out more, I don't really care about a ton of rules either (i mean i can and will follow rules, just not a ton of useless ones)

 

Perhaps I may be too picky, this may not be the right avenue, not sure I'm just looking for some input regarding bass clubs and tournaments for an absolute newb to the idea.

Thanks!

[J Francho]

1.  Not usually.

2.  Depends, though most clubs are for learning.

3.  Team, where each boat turns in the best creel.

4.  Life Jacket, snacks, cold/wet weather gear.

5.  That depends on the membership.  Go to a meeting, ask the members. You'll find out quickly whether it's for you or not.

[Ratherbfishing]

I would think that being non-competitive may or may not make a difference.  It largely depends, I believe, on the boater you draw-especially if the tourney is a team format-where combined weights are tallied.  Some boaters (not the kind I want to be with) could get pretty irate when they hear "oh well" when you lose a nice fish or if you take an extra long break to make a sandwich or just rest.  I think, though, that most clubs are pretty good and it's just certain members who might take things to the extreme-like everything/everyone else in life.  Like J Francho says, go and ask questions.  You'll see if a club is a good fit for you.  Disclaimer:  I don't fish tourneys because I want every day out to be a good day and for me, personally, being placed in a ranking order at the end of the day would probably spoil that.  I hate dock talk.

[J Francho]

As a non boater, I am there to catch fish and help upgrade the bag.  As a boater, if my non boater can upgrade the bag, I'm thrilled.  Losing fish happens to everyone, regardless of whether you own a boat or not.