Competitive Fishing

[TOXIC]

Early on, I was banned from the tournaments on my home waters because I was a guide and all of the Tournament Directors thought a guide in the mix would hurt participation.  They ultimately reversed themselves but I got tired of the grumbling and side eyes at weigh in.  It made me feel guilty as well so I made the decision that guiding was guaranteed money and made me much more than the tournaments ever did.  The tourney guys hired me as well for prefishing before events.  After that, I resigned myself to just charity tournaments like Wounded Warriors and a few others that were “give back” style.  I also guided for Woo Daves in an annual event he has had for years benefiting a local halfway house for developmentally challenged adults.  He brought together all of his sponsors and the Hendricks NASCAR team for a tournament on the James River.  He had a huge BBQ for the community afterwards.  With guiding, sponsor commitments and my employment that took me all over the US, tournaments were just not in the realm of possibility requiring more time and attention than I could muster. 

[Deleted account]

I've only fished a few local and one co-angler tournament for bass, just for kicks, in the salt, it's all business and about the $, and we do very well, and have from the start, it helps that I've been commercial fishing since I was 14, none of the pre conceived notions and romanticizing the process, just a day at the office.

[Junk Fisherman]

I did not do well when I first started club tournaments in my mid 20s.  I was such a novice since I had only gotten into fishing a couple years before.  My dad was an excellent bowhunter but as a fisherman he was a spinnerbait/Rapala Countdown guy.  If they didn't hit either of those baits, he was in trouble.  So I never had anyone to teach me so I was just left with reading magazines and watching a few shows here and there. 

 

In terms of tournaments, I was greatly affected by dock talk and often tied on lures for the first time the night before a tournament if I heard a couple fishermen had done well with the presentation the day before.  I didn't have confidence baits, I fixated on color, took poor performances badly, and just made way too many mistakes.   I used to have knot issues and broke off on a lot of fish.  I missed out on my club's championship team by a few points my first year and I easily would have made it if I could have tied a dammn knot.  I look back sometimes and realize just how much of a better fishermen I am nowadays and my tournament results reflect that.  I really wish I could go back and teach my 25-year old self a few things that took me way to long to learn.  

[Zcoker]

Competitive bass fishing can add a lot of spice to the sport yet it can also take away a lot of flavor from the sport. I won my first bass tournament just playing around, hardly a thought about it, never really checked the leaderboard until the final hour. And out of over a hundred anglers I was quite surprised to find myself in the number one slot. From then on I became hooked, chasing fish into the top three. Things became more serious and I sooner realized that just going out to fish was a thing of the past. I really couldn’t fathom going bass fishing without spending a ton of money, a ton of time, and a ton of work, all to be in some sort of tournament. I had no interest in doing it "for nothing” or for fun. Seemed to me the so called flavor was lost for good! So I stepped aside to let things cool down a bit. My wallet certainty feels a lot better lol 

[Fastbee]

Early on I had lots of success.  Three of my uncles fished alot and usually found time to take me. I started as a co-angler in a small club (two of the three uncles fished in this club) when I was 13. I won some money here and there and usually caught fish. I qualified for the Tennessee Federation state tournament at 15. I got a leaky 17' Bass Tracker when I turned 18 and quit fishing the club tournaments and moved into the local boat ramp wildcats. I can't tell you how much money I won out of that boat. I fished almost every day and at least 3 tournaments a week for a couple of years. When I finished up with college I got a "real" boat and planned to start fishing bigger local/regional events. Due to my job I wasn't able to fish nearly as much and my fishing winnings suffered. I've never regained the success I had then. As I was more able to afford better equipment I've upgraded boats, rods, reels and tackle over the years but have gotten worse at fishing. This year was the worst I've had in 20 years, I haven't cashed a single check and this weekend is the 2 day championship for the local trail I fish. My partner and I have been fishing together for 30 years ( he's like my little brother) and we've decided we have to get back to our old style and stop trying to catch fish like everyone on YouTube and Bass masters. We still enjoy the time together and the competition but without success it hasn't been nearly as fun... 

[SWVABass]

I started as a co-angler in my late 20s. I always wanted to tournament fish so I joined a local club. We had a horrible lake and usually 2-12” smallmouth would draw you a check. I never caught a fish in the first three events. But I fished with some of the older guys, they took time to teach me and my results got better. I won the year end championship out of the back of the boat and got big fish too. As time went by I got better and in a group of 30 one year I won three tournaments and ended up 3rd in AOY.

 

That tough fishing paid off for me somewhat. I moved cross country, started fishing BFLs this year. I missed the first event but have managed to catch fish in all the other tournaments and qualified on points to go to regionals. Hoping I can continue the success this year.

 

For fun fishing now I usually spend two-four weeks a year inshore fishing in southern fl. And forget what a bass is ?

[geo g]

I spent my entire adult life competing in complétive sports as a player, and then a coach for 45 years.  Fishing is my form of relaxation mentally and physically,  the last thing I ever want to do is compete on the water.  I now fish 300 days a year since retiring  and as soon as I cast that line I am totally relleved of any pressure life has handed me.  There could not be a better past time for a guy like me.  I love this sport!

[Mike L]

My first experience in tournament fishing was as a co angler in a local club in 2010. 
Some of the things I learned that first season I never knew and practice most today. 
After a few years I joined another whose schedule made it possible to fish them both every month. 
 

A year later I wanted even more.
I started with the TBF, BFL and BASS Nations. 
During the next 8 years I won a BFL Florida State Championship, qualified for 3 Regional Championship’s and qualified for 9 consecutive Florida BASS Nations Championships, again all as a co angler. 
 

I’m my late 60’s, I competed in Opens and been invited to enter in the last 3 Toyota Series. I slowed down a lot because of 2 spinal fusions but still wasn’t ready to quit. 
 

Fir the past few years I decided to Marshal a few Elites tournaments which ended up being the greatest learning experiences I ever had in bass fishing. 
 

 

 

 

Mike

[nbbassin]

Fished team tournaments in 2000 and 2001.  I was 19 and we did pretty good. My boat motor blew up and between paying for school and life there wasn't any money to spare. I would fish one tomorrow if someone ask, but not really going lay out the cash on my own. I was thinking of taking a vacation being a co angler in BFL, more of learning experience then competition for me.  

 

[jhoffman]

Beyond my firsts which were not exciting I got into it deep. I was fishing nation, traveling all over and not doing well. My big eye opener was on Chautauqua when I ran into a guy at the ramp after a hard day of practice. I could at best get away with 1-2 days max practice. The guy had been there for 2 WEEKS and my light bulb lit. The dedication to time is insane what it takes to stay competitive against guys like that.

Sold my Skeeter, shouldve never sold my aluminum. Looking for my next one that will prob be the boat I own till I die, it will be another aluminum, this time with a jet. You can have the marry-go-round at the lakes.

I do like to fish lunkers, if I hit a couple of those a year Im good. I have no interest in standing in the wide open 100 degree sun for 8 hours.

[Scott804]

I seem to be in the minority (atleast on this forum), but tournament fishing and bass fishing are nearly synonymous to me. I am incredibly competitive and although a majority of my fishing ends up being practicing or mock tournament days (when it isn't ACTUAL tournament day) I have kind of systemized it in a way that I make sure to skip the constant grinding at skills throughout the year and just have fun days doing one of three things,

1. Fishing for a different species, or atleast for bass in a different way compared to my own, smashing creek smallies all day is a good detox from looking for those 5 bigguns.

2. Experimenting, just throwing things I don't throw, testing things, doing odd things with lures to see if they could be productive in an unconventional way, like waking a big bladed jig or something along those lines. I do a little bit of this in practice too, but I find the real interesting stuff on the whole days I spend on it. Very rewarding and fun.

3. Just fishing, without any urgency in the world. This is a big one. I throw what I want to catch them on, I fish what I want, as slow and lazy as I want. Really helps break up the go-go-go nature of trying to make a thousand more casts than the next guy in the tournament. 

 

I have gotten burn out a few times, but it is usually when I get caught up not fishing like myself. I fish free and loose, I do not need 100 marked spots before the tournament starts. Part of it feels like it comes all down to confidence, but anyone who has showed up confident to the ramp knows that sure as heck ain't the truth!  

[crypt]

fished my first tourney was when I was 16. it was the Brevard County annual tourney on the St. Johns at Lake Poinsett.that was 44 years ago. just fished latest tourney at the same location 2 weeks ago and got 6th place. have been in clubs all over the county.been tournament director for 2 clubs.  still fish about 10-12 a year. just love the whole thing about it.just not ready to get it out of my system. 

[Susky River Rat]

I won the first fishing tournament I ever entered. I was destined for greatness at the age of 5. My dad was at work my mom was with me at this little kids only tournament. I remember running that bass up by hand up the bank to the “weigh in” about 15 minutes before it was over. I ended up to be the only kid to catch a fish. I won a 4ft spin cast set up. 
 

I have talked about doing tournaments but, I have come to one realization. I don’t want to be told when where and how long I have. I don’t want to have to follow any regulations other than the legal ones I need to abide by and whatever ones my wife gives me.  I just want to fish. 
 

I’ll just say I went out on top

[gim]

On 12/16/2022 at 4:08 PM, jhoffman said:

I could at best get away with 1-2 days max practice. The guy had been there for 2 WEEKS and my light bulb lit. The dedication to time is insane

The time devotion to it is borderline ridiculous.  You better have a very flexible job or basically be retired to pre-fish as much as necessary prior to each event.

[jhoffman]

2 hours ago, gimruis said:

The time devotion to it is borderline ridiculous.  You better have a very flexible job or basically be retired to pre-fish as much as necessary prior to each event.

 

Here here! I found a lot of guys in nation had their own business they could do whatever they want! They're definitely not every day guys showing up at the ramp that you're fishing against.

[fishinbub]

I grew up bass fishing but was an avid fly fishermen in HS and fished competitively for trout in college with so-so results. Unlike bass fishing where you can go out there with a $50 Academy combo and still catch a 25lb bag, in fly fishing it's incredibly difficult to compete without having the best gear available. Every fish counts and you're catching fish on size 18 hooks, sometimes 20"+ in length. Dropping $700+ on a single rod/reel/line combo was just too dang rich for me. Once I moved back to my hometown (which is almost 2 hours from good trout water as opposed to my dorm room which was 15 min from trophy trout) I took an interest in bass again.

One Friday I saw a FB post for a jonboat club that was fishing a 200 acre lake near home the next day. I'd fished the lake 4-5 times out of a cheap kayak and figured that was as good of a place as any to give tournament fishing a shot. I grabbed an 8' pondraider from our family farm pond, loaded it in the back of my grandpa's pickup truck, took the battery out of my Jeep, and found an old cooler in the basement for a livewell.

 

There were 12-14 boats that day and I was the only one fishing by myself. I didn't catch a fish before noon and was not particularly excited about coming back to weigh-in in a tiny plastic boat with no fish, so I picked up a spinning rod with a little finesse worm and just started beating the banks trying my best to scratch out 5 fish. I had 3 fish with about an hour left but my battery was almost dead, so I went back and fished near the ramp, where I caught #4, which was my biggest fish at 1.75lbs. The bite really sucked that day and I finished second with almost 5 pounds and that 1.75 was big fish. I got lucky that the tournament was in December, or else I would've come back to the ramp with 4 dead fish in that cooler.

 

Since I didn't have a partner to split the $$$ with, I had enough to buy an old junker 16' bassboat with no motor that a guy just wanted out of his yard. I fished a handful of jonboat tournaments out of that boat with mixed results and a lot of humble pie before I had to sell it to fix my car (the day I learned being an adult sucks). I started fishing out of the back of a buddy's boat in the same club I fished that first tournament with.

 

Since then I've bought and sold a half dozen boats, won a bunch of tournaments including a club classic, set a lake record, started fishing kayak tournaments, and this year we won the club points championship.

I enjoy bass tournaments because it's a lot more accessible than the fly fishing comps were. I've got nice custom gear now, but I've also won a lot of tournaments on rods and reels I got on clearance for less than $20. You can't do that in the fly fishing competitions.

[Logan S]

I enjoy tournament fishing, it's my favorite part of bass fishing.  Obviously the competitive aspect is a big draw - But I also really enjoy all the little nuanced parts of it where you look for things to get you 1 or 2 extra bites or catch a bass half a pound bigger than average or trying to figure out how to catch a lunker to anchor a solid limit.  I'm always working on something or another and I like that.  I can be on a place I've fished literally hundreds of times but still be looking at and trying new things...Keeps things interesting all the time (whether I'm actually participating in a tournament that day not).  

 

That feeling of excitement and anticipation before launch on a tournament morning is unmatched....Especially the bigger ones with 100 to 200+ boats and the national anthem playing and all that.  The extra excitement of catching a big fish and/or weighing in a big bag on tournament day is also something you can't match outside of the tournament realm.  

 

The other part I really like is the people you meet and fish against.  You naturally make friends and develop rivalries with some of the guys you fish against.  My close friends these days are predominantly guys I've been fishing against in local tournament trails for the past 10 to 15+ years.  There's bad apples out the for sure, but they are the exception and not the rule.  

 

As for my start...I started as a co-angler at 15, realized I needed to be on the front deck so scraped up enough for a bare bones 17' Tracker at 16 and started fishing as a boater that season.  That was over 20 years, a few more boats, and few hundred tournaments ago .  

[WIGuide]

I got my start in tournament fishing back in 2012. One of my buddies who fished as a co-angler in a club a few years prior convinced me to get in the club and he'd be my co. He ended up burning out that season leaving me to fen for myself. I was hooked from the first tournament though, despite lacking a lot of experience. Starting as a boater it was definitely more of a trial by fire type deal. If I could go back, I think I would have been better to fish a few years as a co-angler to learn the in's and out's a little better. After that first year, my dad volunteered to be my co-angler and has been ever since. Over the years, we've managed to become a lot more consistent and learn our lessons. This last season was probably our best overall, cashing checks in 4 of the 6 events. If it wasn't for the last tournament of the year where I really dropped the ball, we had a chance of finishing 1st in points for the year. Outside the club, I usually try to fish a few open tournaments a year, the Bass Nation State Tournament, as well as our Bass Battles series, where after our tournament season, my dad and I take both our boats and fish against one another in a 1 vs. 1 tournament format. I love competition and fishing, so for me it's a great match and I don't see myself stopping anytime soon.