Looking for some local tournaments that are good

[Slopmonkey]

Hi:  After being out of bass fishing for a while, I bought myself a bass boat this fall and am looking to fish a couple of tournaments.  Whats out there thats good but geared more towards someone who is not that good yet? 

[mikesmiph]

what area are you looking at? Where do you live?

[bosshawg]

NBAA for sure. check them out on www.nbaa.com. any nite during the week from 6-9pm usually. pretty inexpensive at $40 or so. nites can average by divisions from 5 boats up to 30 or 40. good way to get into tournament fishing.

[McCarter]

You might also check out the EBA ( eastside bass anglers ).  more or less a learning club.  They fish tournaments but not for money.  basically, they go out on new lakes and split up and then get together midway through the day and compare notes and then go back out and fish for the rest of the day.  sometimes they even have celebrity fishermen to spend a little time on each boat.  Myself and Dan Kimmel have both been a part of the "Day on the lake with a (insert noun of your choice here)" events.  Very cool club and great bunch of guys all geared towards learning and helping.

McCarter himself

[Waterfoul]

Would love to make some recommendations... but need to know where you live and intend to fish.

[LennyB]

If your in Southeast Michigan (primarily downriver area) you might check out the Downriver Bass Association. They are similar to the Eastside Bass Anglers in that they have fishing events similar to tournaments but no money is involved. They pair boaters with nonboaters by a draw format and meet for lunch half way thru the day to share fishing information. They record their entire catch on paper and discuss the results at their monthly meetings which are held the last Tuesday of each month at the Gander Mountain in Southgate. They usually have guest speakers at the meetings during the winter such as local guides Jon Bondy and Gerry Gostinek. Their web site is www.Downriverbassassociation.com .

[JohnBoy]

I live on the west side of the state near Grand Haven. I have herd some good stuff about the BBT tournaments they seem to draw the most boats in this area, and the Lake Drive is going to be Big too. I have herd some bad things about ROI, and NBAA.
This is just what I have herd through the Grape vine
What do you think?

We should tell everyone about the ones we know about first hand and like my mom always used to say if you dont have something nice to say you shouldnt say anything at all. Especially when its here say. Thats what I think.

[Waterfoul]

You should try to NOT go with that you've "heard."  Not a good way to form an opinion about ANY tournament trail.  It's not fair to the club or the anglers who fish them.  Fish them for yourself... form your own opinion and continue to fish them or not.  But don't let outside opinions influence your decisions.

Lake Drive is going to be a big hit according to everyone who's fished their Southern Division.  Good payouts and well run.  Must pay up front on January 23rd at Al and Bob's in GR.

BBT has been around a LONG time and is well run with decent payouts.  

NBAA has been around a very LONG time.  Payouts are a bit lower than most tournies but their regional and national tournaments pay out very good.  Boats, cash, lots of other stuff.

ROI is still in it's fledgling period.  You probably owe it to yourself to at least give them a try.  Especially since you live right in the middle of all their events.  Payouts are very good.

There's also Shoreline.  Worth a look see also.

If you want some good weeknight events check out West Michigan Bass's COTM (Case Of The Mondays) events every Monday.  They fish lakes from Newago (Brooks) to Grand Rapids (Big Pine Island) and many in between.


So go fish any or all of these events and see how you like them.

[TCook]

Unfortunately everything you just said Waterfoul will be in that "what you heard" category. I think if you are trying to choose what trail to fish for the first time all you have to go by is what other anglers are saying. What better advice can you get but from the guys who have fished those trails in the past?

[McCarter]

truth of the matter is, this state is uber ( did i just use that word publicly? ) saturated with tournament options.  Its a good thing and a bad thing.  Good in that you have a bunch of choices and options to choose what fits your needs and wants best.  Bad in that, it is hard to get big numbers at events, adds unnecessary pressure to the "popular" lakes, makes it more difficult to get bigger sponsor supports, makes the anglers of this state look unorganized, causes mass confusion when trying to put together schedules, and makes it hard to choose what your going to do in a year.....to name a few.

best advice would be to find  a club or trail in your area that fishes lakes you like to fish or want to fish, is in your price range, and has tournaments on the dates that work for you.  try it out for a year and then make a decision if you were pleased with the club or trail or not and either stick with them or dont.  everyone wants something different in a tournament and there are no wrongs or rights.  just find what fits you best

and if all else fails, show up to the east ramp of kent lake on tuesday nights for a little 100% payback KLBA love

McCarter himself

[Dan]

If you're in Grand Haven you might want to look at the Ice Mountain Tear Drop Tournament Trail. It's the oldest trail in Northwest Michigan. It's been around since the late 60s early 70s. It is a 100% payback. It costs $60 which includes a $10 Big Bass pot. Each of the six tournaments pays back all of the $60 entry fees at each event. They sell ads in a yearly flier, and have a Classic fee, to raise the Classic pay out. So, if you figure it all out, it is way more than 100% pay back. The Tear Drop has always been a 100% plus tournament series.
There is a membership fee. (If you sell an ad for the flier they usually wave your membership fee.) There has been a $5,000 Classic jackpot, or very close to it, for years. The top ten boats from the regular season fish the Classic. The Tournament Director gets an automatic entry into the Classic. That's his only perk. There is also one wild card team drawn from those who were not in the top ten, but fished all the tournaments. They average around 25 boats. Not a big money trail, but one that you could get your feet wet in.
This year they will add White Lake to their schedule which is in your back yard. They do go as far north as Grand Traverse Bay. The first three tournaments will be spawn tournaments so there will be lots of fish caught. You can check out about three years worth of articles from the tournaments and take a look at this years flier and look at rules etc. at this web address. http://teardropbass.com/ This year's tentative schedule is at the top of the Daily Blog on the website and also on Lt. Dan's site under "Other Bass Tournaments" or something like that.

[Waterfoul]

Unfortunately everything you just said Waterfoul will be in that "what you heard" category. I think if you are trying to choose what trail to fish for the first time all you have to go by is what other anglers are saying. What better advice can you get but from the guys who have fished those trails in the past?

Well, all I said was fish them or don't fish them because YOU want to... not because of what others say.  I simply gave him some names of clubes near him and BASIC information. 

[fasttrack]

Sportspersons Ministry International (SPI) will have info posted on this Board in the near future - another one to consider. Generally 25-35 boats on a variety of West Michigan waters. Pretty low entry fees and good payout percentage. Just another option...

[Duke]

If you're willing to travel a bit, check out: www.randbbasscircuit.com

It'll be hard to find a better payback than 100%...

[BassMastaJ]

SPI tournaments. Great turnout and good people.

http://www.spi-int.org/basstournament.html

[senkoluvr]

I say fish them all! Every tournament needs donors.

[Skulley]

I don't particularly like "bashing" so I say find the tournaments that are in your area.  Fish each tournament trail in that area a few times so you can make an honest assessment of what you are looking for in a tournament trail  All the choices in this post have something good to offer for each and every angler out there whether you are aspiring to be come a tournament fisherman or not.  After fishing several different trails you can then determine what the pros and cons are of each trail.  Then chose the one with the least amount of cons and the largest amount of pros.  Of course you will probably have to list those as you fish each one.  Good luck in your quest.


BD           

[Waterfoul]

I don't particularly like "bashing" so I say find the tournaments that are in your area.  Fish each tournament trail in that area a few times so you can make an honest assessment of what you are looking for in a tournament trail  All the choices in this post have something good to offer for each and every angler out there whether you are aspiring to be come a tournament fisherman or not.  After fishing several different trails you can then determine what the pros and cons are of each trail.  Then chose the one with the least amount of cons and the largest amount of pros.  Of course you will probably have to list those as you fish each one.  Good luck in your quest.


BD           

Exactly!!  Well put bigdog!

[Skulley]

Yeah..........a little logic goes along way.     


BD         

[Got Fish??]

I SAY, Just go fishing go with a freind. As long as you enjoy your self. You win!