How to get involved
Partners, Captains, and Boats
Partners
In order to be a part of the team, you will need to have a few things to get started. The most important item is your partner. Partners must be on the same team (juniors with juniors and high school with high school), and they may be Co-Ed if you would like. Siblings may partner across teams, but must participate on the higher level. Anglers must provide their own tackle/equipment to fish with and we only use artificial baits.
Captains
Captains are generally the owners of the boat that is being used by the partners. However, some borrow boats from family members or close friends with permission. A captain may not be a student who is currently enrolled through high school. A graduated or college student is acceptable, as well as family members, friends, and acquaintances. Remember that these are people you are entrusting your students with! The captain are responsible for navigating the waters by driving the anglers around the lake to find the best spots to fish. They may not fish at any time during a tournament! Their job is to be a driver and assist when necessary, but they may also coach and give advice to anglers.
Boats
According to Bassmaster rules, boats must be a 16 foot or larger fishing style vessel. Meaning, that they must be setup with a properly aerated live well to help preserve the catches. Additionally, a 250 HP motor or less is required. A typical bass boat is recommended, but other types of vessels are accepted if they meet the requirements. All safety equipment must be on board and in good working condition. Additionally, the boats must have at least a $300,000 liability insurance policy. Proof is required.
Lakes
We fish all across the state of Tenneseee from the Carroll County 1000 acre lake in west Tennessee to Douglas Lake in east Tennessee and many in between. We fish rain or shine on Saturday mornings from sunrise to about 3:00pm. Anglers, captains, and parents are responsible for their travel to and from these lakes. In general, we will have about 15 or more tournaments on our schedule starting in September and lasting through May. We do have some dead periods, but usually expect about 2 tournaments on average per month during this time.
Winning
During a Bassmaster tournament, we fish for bass, specifically largemouth, smallmouth, and Kentucky/spotted bass. The goal for the anglers is to catch a limit of 5 bass and then cull until their designated weigh-in time. When it is time to weigh in, anglers will bring their catches to the designated area to determine who has the heaviest weight. Sometimes anglers come in with no catches, others will sometimes return with a limit of 5 bass!
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After the weigh-in concludes, all of the totals are sorted allowing the directors to determine placement. At this point, top teams could win prizes, trophies, plaques, and even scholarship money! At then end of the season, points are tallied up from previous tournaments to determine who wins a points race! This too could lead to more winnings and a chance to go to the national tournament!
Rules
Team rules as well as BASS club rules are imposed. Most are common sense, but we do include specific rules such as grades, sportsmanship, etc. If anglers do not abide by these rules, they could potentially be disqualified from the tournament and/or dismissed from the team. This club has never had any issues with teams breaking the rules, making a scene, or cheating and it will not be tolerated! Further explanation of these will occur during our initial team meetings.
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One of the criteria of our teams is to conduct a mandatory monthly team meeting where we discuss upcoming tournaments, give demonstrations, have guest speakers, and attend to team business. Additionally, anglers who are part of this team are responsible for fulfilling all club requirements; such as completing at least 8 hours of community service.
Apparel
This team strives to look as good as possible on and off the water. With the team fees, anglers will receive personalized team jerseys, a team shirt, and a team hat. Additional items may be purchased for family members and others when orders are placed.
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It is expected that the team members will wear their jerseys to each tournament they attend, even if it is under warmer gear. Additionally, anglers are to provide all necessary clothes for the forecasted weather of the tournament.
Cost
This is subject to change, but this team does have a cost associated with it. Cost has been kept down to $150 per angler, and this help pay for angler apparel as well as BASS Nation club fees and team fees. There may be additional costs such as tournament entry fees, food, lodging, gas, and other expenses during our season. As a team, we seek out sponsors and do fundraising to help offset some of these extra costs when appropriate.
Sponsors
As seen in our photos, we proudly display our sponsors on our jerseys and team banner. We encourage all of our anglers, captains, and parents to patronize these sponsors to thank them for their contributions. And if possible, we give back to our sponsors to show our gratitude for their assistance in making our season the best! We do use a variety of social media outlets where we tag our sponsors in our photos and videos to help bring awareness back to them in addition to showing the sponsors how their donations are helping to support these young anglers.