Club members beware!

[Savage]

Wow did I have my eyes opened this weekend at a club tournament.? Just to set the story, I joined a new club this year with the hopes of moving up a bit in skill set, I felt my "old" club was getting stagnant and there was talk of only fishing 3 events.? Anyway, when I got to the new club I realized things were a bit different here.? Plenty of really competitive fishermen, and plenty of just plain nice guys, but there was tension in the air at meetings unlike anything I've been involved with to date.? Realizing I may have made a mistake, I rejoined my old club, but stayed on with the new one to try and learn from these guys who I consider to be good sticks.

So my first tournament with the "new" club was this last weekend, up at Burt and Mullet.? Having no real idea what to expect, I was nervous as I pulled in to check in at the State Park on Burt Lake.? To my surprise, there was only ONE rig in the lot.? After confirming with the lone angler that I was in fact in the right place, I sat and waited.? One more rig showed, with two more guys.? Now we had 4, out of about 20 guys, give or take.? Long story short, 4 is all that showed up.? I was shocked to say the very least.? After talking it over, we decided to fish anyway.? I headed to Mullet, had a great day, and never saw another bass boat for 8 hours.? Mullet Lake all to myself on a tournament Saturday, are you kidding?? I won on day one, and when it came time to divvy up the cash, we all decided that everyone should just keep their money.? This is why:? Money was the reason that nobody showed up for this tournament.? ? See, this club has an entry fee, and then prize money is paid out.? The focus of everything this club does is cash.? These guys didn't feel it was worth the drive up to the one of the state's premier fisheries (a two hour drive, big deal) unless they could win a couple hundred bucks in the process.? For real, only 4 guys showed because most of the rest of them are in it for the money, not just for the pure enjoyment.? Unbelievable. ? We then decided to stick it out and see if anyone else showed for day two, because there was a Top Bass tournament on Saturday that lots of the club guys entered, and maybe that was why they didn't show.

Next morning, one new guy shows and one from yesterday had bolted.? I'm in a state of disbelief at this point, because I'm used to being with a group that fish just for the love of the fishing, and the good times associated with a tournament weekend on the road.? I felt sick, and for the first time in my life, didn't want to go fishing.? I had looked forward to these two tournaments and worked hard to prepare for them, now it seemed like it was for nothing.? Long story short again, I did end up fishing and I won again.? I did have fun though, and we all kept our money again.? I got to know a few new guys really well, and I would go fishing with them any time.? At the same time though, I learned a huge lesson.

My "old" club does not fish for money.? We fish strictly for trophies, and we have a $5 per man big bass pot if a guy wants in.? To some guys this may seem like a waste, but I have a great time every time out, with a great group of guys.? We share info and help each other.? We share tips and ideas, and work as a team.? I have made lifelong friends doing this, and I will certainly never make the mistake of leaving them again.? Here is what I have learned through all this:? money will destroy a club.

With this in mind, I have this to say, then I'll quit rambling and shut my yap.

To my "old" club:? (you know who you are) I'm sorry I left you guys, I will never make that mistake again, and I had to learn the hard way because I'm young and dumb.? I had no idea how good I had it there.? I'm so glad to be back I can't believe it!

To my new club: ? (you know who you are) This should be a wake up call to you guys, this kind of thing cannot continue if you want to have a club at all.? I'll risk ticking you off and alienating myself to make you see that.? If Top Bass is a priority, why schedule a club event during a Top Bass event?? Didn't we switch our format around to accommodate the guys who wanted to fish opens and bigger circuits?? If you are not going to make it to a tournament and you have the club scales, or the trophies, maybe you should give them to someone who is going to actually go to the tournament!? Heck, call me next time and I'll tote the stuff around.? We have a great core of guys here who love to fish, wake up an remember that fact!

To everyone else:? Consider it carefully if your club is contemplating having entry fees and prize money.? To me, having a great time and keeping friends and not being ticked off all the time is worth more than a few bucks.? Club level fishing is about learning, having a good time, and relaxing.? If you want the money, head for your nearest circuit.? Just don't expect any friendly advice or help!

This post may offend some people, and if it does feel free to PM me so we can talk.? I hope we can turn things around a bit, because the way it is now really stinks.

[blakstr1]

pheww...when i saw club members beware i thought bigfoot was loose in gladwin county...again..

but really.........remember.........to us (you know who we are) you never left 

[blackbass]

our biggest problem at slbc is that the majority of the guys that go to the meetings in the winter and vote on the dates and lakes, don't
fish the tournaments.. i fished them all in 2005, and was angler of the
year winning 3 of the 6 tournaments.  we had 26 club members
and averaged about 16 at the tournaments.  and in 2005
we had voted to fish closer to home.  sanford,  hougton lake, and
one trip up north to charlevoix.. this year it was the same argument,
and the guys that are there in the winter outvoted the rest of us and
voted for everything to be up north.  well they got what they
asked for.   
I blew up my motor last week anyways, but i would have fished the
top bass if given the choice.  this is just my experiance over the last 4 years of being a member. 
I can think of only 1 tournament our president has been to in the last couple years, and that was on sanford.   We definitely need to
reorganize, there is already a lot of talk about having 12 tuesday night
tournaments on the tittabawasee chain instead of having the current
situation.  I have a great paying job, but going up north for 4 days
wsa running about $600 / weekend.  how many of those trips can you afford?

[blakstr1]

i'm not involved with SLBC but in reading the last post from blackbass, i can't help but wonder why some guys go to the winter meetings and not fish in the summer, while others skip the winter meetings but fish the tournaments, that sounds like one of the major problems right there.  we demand year round participation (one sunday morning a month in the winter) from our members of Team Bass.  That way everyone has a hand in the decisions or at least can vote on particluar issues.  The sporatic attendence of those members shouldn't qualify them as members in good standing of the club (again IMO).  SLBC has been around quite a while but the feeling is its on the verge of bursting....REORGANIZE NOW before its too late....(again IMO.)

[Revtro]

Savage, I feel your pain.  It is for that EXACT reason that I quit an old club I was in, then formed, and re-formed a club that will not, under any circumstances, fish for money as long as I have a say in it.  Guys come and go because some are in it for the wrong reason, but by sticking to our goal of having a non-competitive club, we've attracted some really great guys and are having a wonderful year learning from one another. 

There are so many trails out there to fish for money, that I figure a club should be for 2 things:  Fun and learning.  IMO.  Heck, even in the NBAA last night where we had several guys from out club fishing in the same event, there was a certain amount of information sharing after the event was finished.  Yes I agree...money can (not always) create a negative atmosphere.  So I much prefer a club that isn't competitive.  I can totally relate to what you're saying!

[Savage]

I agree that it's an expensive sport, but ALL sports are expensive.  Ever play club hockey?  Ice time, gear, gas to travel, hotels....  that's all cash man. 

I camped up there for 4 nights, at $22 per night.  That's pretty cheap, and the family came along and head a great time.  Yes, gas for the boat is plenty of $$$, but it cost the same to run the boat up to the dam on Sanford as it does to cross Mullet.....

If a guy ever figured out just how much cash he spent PER BASS CAUGHT, it would be scary.  Like in the realm of $40 per bass caught for some, more for others!

[bshaner]

Are we talking  $$$ / Keeper or   $$$ / bass?   

[blackbass]

Yeah, we are in serious trouble this year.  and if we don't get things
straightened out, i doubt we will be around much longer. 
I have argued this point in the meetings, and was told the
definition of in good standings was making half the club functions,
so if they come to the winter meetings, they are in good standing
without fishing at all.  and that isn't helping us at all.   

[blakstr1]

maybe push to up the yearly dues, that might weed out the guys that just want to hear themselves talk in the winter and not wet a line....

[Savage]

I think another major problem is that some of the officers get their dues paid by the club, so they want to be officers but not do the duties and put in the work to show up.  Like I said, money is the big factor here.

If you haven't guessed it by now, I'm done with this club at the end of the year.  I'll be happy to stick with Team Bass, and my mission now is to make as many more of the "new" club's tournaments that I can, and try to make some new friends.  Maybe one or two of them will wise up and join Team Bass to see how good things can be.....   heck they can ride to the meetings with me! 

[ronhuntfish]

Wow, some club officers have there dues paid?
That sounds like problem #1 right there.
With so many money circuits out there, I don't see any reason to make money part of the club scene. 

If guys are just trying to be eligible for the state fish-off, isn't that what paper clubs are for?

P.S. Savage, I guess we'll let you stay now

[fishon1219]

My bass club went through the same thing back in the late 80's early 90's. A few guys thought they were "PROS" and came to the meetings and started the push to up the entry fees for tournaments to the point were we couldnt get any new members and the "PROS" all left because they couldnt make the money they wanted to. The past 2 seasons my club has made a huge turn around. We activily get between 26-30 members to fish every event and we have a $25 entry fee for the tourny's. We also have a $5 side pot divided between big fish and the winner of the event. If you win and get big fish for the day it works out to about a $300 pay day. All of the guys in the club are very helpfull and we all enjoy each others competiton. We have a rule that you need to pay for the tournament before the day of the tournament. That way we know in advance who will be there and nobody gets left at the dock because of lack of boats. Just something to think about for a new club starting out, or to revamp rules of an old club. 

[blackbass]

our entry fee right now is $15.  with a $10 option pot.
but we haven't had much luck getting new members. 
club due are $55, i think.  out of 6 t's, i won three, 3rd in one and 4th in one, and 7th in the last, and grand total of $480 for the
year. 
we were all very helpful at the tournaments, and still all talk after
the opens, and NBAA thursday night, etc. 
That is another odd thing about slbc that i see, out of all the
younger guys that were fising the last couple years, only two of us
went to the state fish off.  they don't want anything to do with it.
i was at st clair last year and had a great time.   and i'm planning
on going to the bay.  we had to beg people to get 8 to go to the
fish off last year.  way down the list, into people that only fished a
couple club tournaments.  we aren't getting any non-boaters either.

I haven't heard from the marina yet, but i'm pretty sure my $/bass is
going to go significantly up.

How much can I expect to pay for a remanufactured 1999 merc 225 efi powerhead?

[Savage]

Ouch, you can expect to pay way too much.  Ronhustfish can answer that question for you, I believe.  He did almost the same thing.

I like the idea of paying ahead of time, that really would help.