I joined the 6th Bassmaster Chapter ever created, Long Island Bassmasters, in 1973. There were no Videos showing techniques, No Bass Fishin shows, Only Fishing Facts, Bassmasters and The American Bass Fisherman Magazines. And most of the guys that wrote in one, wrote in all three. The Club was the only place to get information and have someone SHOW you what to do. I was told by Clubmembers that if I was serious I had to read "Spoonpluggin" by Buck Perry and "Night Crawler Secrets". Both of these books gave you the foundations of structure fishing and fish movements. Between the guys in the club FREELY sharing information because I was willing to do the work and understanding and practicing what I learned in those two books I became a real Bass Fisherman. Its up to you where you go with the information that is handed to you, but joining a club can forward your ability in quantum steps.

Nicely stated Frank... You need to choose the right club though... not every club shares info readily. LIB has always been open to sharing knowledge.

Speaking fo which there is a LIB meeting tonight and I just was informed that one of our members (SomethingSmells) is going to come down to check things out. Any chance of you stopping in?

BC

I'm hurtin pretty bad from those teeth, a crowd would about finish me. Lunker Dave was askin the same thing.

Aw, come on then you can insult me in person..LOL But I understand if your hurting. I'll see you some other time. Hope you feel better.

Hey Frank, take a pill for those teeth that are bothering you... it will be great, come on...

Thanks Brendan it was great. Winning some stuff didn't hurt either.Alot of the guys where pretty cool. I love the storys. That had me dying. I look forward to the next meeting. Thanks to everyone that I got to meet.

Thats great you got to meet all the boys. It is a great club. You will learn alot. There are alot of talented fisherman in Long Island Bassmasters. Tell everyone I said hi. Guess you were lucky in the 50/50. Did you get lucky enough to get a lucky craft?

Yes I did, And some ZOOM lizards and Tru-Tungsten® T-Rigs. Not bad for a new guy. But the guys where great.

Hi Jimmy,

Glad that you liked the club setting... like a said there's some politics you have to get used to, but for the most part, it's all about fishing, conservation and youth... Great bunch of guys. You'll fit right in.

When you get some free time, give me a call so we can discuss the things that you will need to have for fishing tournaments. Here are just a few:

- Livewell (You can use a large cooler and a bilge pump)

- Culling Rings/ropes (these are numbered tags that are used to help you identify the various bass you have in your livewell, so you can cull smaller bass for larger bass once you have caught a limit)

- Coast Guard Safety Kit: The club requirements are in the tournament packet you received at the meeting

- A Scale for weighing your bass (I'd recommend some type of digital scale so you can get weight down to 100ths of a pound)

- Pad/Paper and Pen (Keep a little note book or something in a Ziploc bag so that you can write down the Tag# and corresponding weight of each bass you have in your livewell)

- A net! They are permitted, so why take the chance of losing a good fish at the side of the boat if you don't have to...

- "catch and release" fish treatment (this is an additive that helps keep your bass healthy in your livewell and it is required. Bass Pro Shops sells this stuff)

We can discuss this in more detail on the phone...

BC

5 aspirins, 4 sheets of Toilet paper, 3 cloth towels, 2 tubes of sunscreen, and a pee bucket under your seat!