Tournament Fishing

[hog_wild]

Hey guys, hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful, I should have called in a sub and went fishing...aw well spring break is next week and it looks like we are going to have great weather most the of the week.

My question is regarding fishing tournaments. I am by no means am a pro, but I have a couple buddies tell me about pro-am tournaments, where amatures are assigned with a pro and fish usually the back of the boat or something along those lines. My buddy told if you are assigned the right pro then you can learn a great deal about how to fish a tournament or specfic lakes. I assume there tournaments like this across the state but are any scheduled in at TRL or surround lakes close to Springfield? Are they really worth the time and money? I have always wanted to fish tournaments, seem like they could be fun. But I dont know if I should find guide first and learn a little bit more before I go that route...any thoughts or ideas?

Not sayin I am clueless when I am on lake but I am not afraid to say there is a bunch I dont know yet.

[Stump bumper]

Check the Central Pro AM tourneys, they are in the season but backseaters are harder to get sometimes then front seaters. They are not cheap though, even though entry fees are cheaper for the Ams, the front seaters expects you to share expenses like fuel. Sometimes it is really hard to fish behind some of these guys but fishing with different people IMO is the best way to learn.

http://central-proam.com/

[hog_wild]

Thanks for the link, I'll have to check it out, I never thought about the gas expenses and such, good stuff...thanks

[DChance]

Any Pro-Am circuit is going to cost a bit. If cost is an issue it may not be the best path. If it is not, then you can learn quite a bit from the boaters, problem is, like mentioned, all "pro" means is they have the money to spend to be a boater.

another option is to try to find someone to hook up with to fish smaller derbies on the lakes you want to fish. I know table rock has quite a few weekly tourneys during the year as does Pomme, LOZ etc. These many times are pretty low cost. Pomme has tourneys like BATS and Pomme Bassin Nights that are about $50-$60 a boat.

[Jeremy Rasnick]

If it were me and I was fishing a pro am circuit and didn't want to travel very far, I'd fish the central pro-am. The Central Pro Am will be held on Table Rock only this year. This will cut down drastically on your travel expenses. Not to mention, you have an oppourtunity to draw some of the best fishermen in the region.

The BFL is also a good circuit to fish. They travel to other lakes across the ozarks as well, and as a co angler you have an opportunity to take home a new ranger if you will an entry fee paid Regional Tournament.

Good Luck

[Billfo]

If you already mentioned this stuff- sorry just skip my reply.

If you havent fished tournments before, you may want to consider joining a local bass club & fish their tournaments to see if you really want to commit to "tournament fishing" without getting into great expense.. If you end up liking it- them move up to more of the pro style tourneys. For me, I stopped at the local level (2 different bass clubs) too many unfavorable experiences- that ruined my desire to continue the organized events. Again, thats just me.

Good luck !

[techo]

Not much to add except....if you do fish the Central Pro-Am I would link with a pro so you are almost guaranteed a seat in the tourneys. Just look for a pro and drop him a note. They are usually willing to help a guy out with a link.