Fishing As an Amateur in a Pro-Am Event: Part One

by Bill Roberts
(Who is Bill Roberts & what else has he written?)

So you want to fish as an amateur (co-angler) in a big-time bass tournament? The experience can be very rewarding and enjoyable: fishing with the likes of Denny Brauer, Rick Clunn and Larry Nixon; weighing in a large stringer of bass in front of a big crowd; winning a boat or cash prize. However, the experience can also be frustrating and disappointing: not catching fish; not learning anything new; fishing with someone you’ve never heard of before who wouldn’t even finish high in the standings of your own bass club. As a veteran of five BASS pro-ams and a couple of FLW Forrest Wood Open tournaments, here are some suggestions to increase the odds that your experience will be a positive one.

1. Picking the Right Tournament.

There are a number of tournament trails that operate their tournaments on a pro-am format. The two national tournament circuits with the most exposure – the BASS tour and the FLW tour – are familiar to just about every bass fisherman that watches television. However, Operation Bass also operates its Everstart series, the Texas Tournament Trail, and the WalMart BFL’s on a pro-am basis. Likewise, BASS operates its Open tournaments on the pro-am format, and there are other lesser known tournament trails that offer pro-am tournaments. Which one is right for you?

Obviously, everyone has their own circumstances to take into account when considering a pro-am tournament. The BASS and the FLW tours cost several hundred dollars to enter, and involve multiple days of fishing. The BASS and FLW tours also travel around the country, and there may not be an event close to your house which will increase the costs associated with travel, lodging and meals. Furthermore, if you’ve only been bass fishing a couple of times in your life, it makes good sense to start out small, like a one day BFL event, and then consider a larger event after you have gained some experience. You don’t want to put yourself in a situation that could be embarrassing or that could seriously hamper your pro partner’s ability to do well in the tournament.

Virtually all members of the Virginia BASS Federation possess the knowledge and skill to compete effectively in a pro-am tournament. I, therefore, recommend that you only consider entering a BASS or FLW tour event, and skip the other trails. Remember, you want to do what you can to make your experience a positive one. If you pick and Everstart or BASS Open pro-am, the odds are significant that you will draw someone at least one of the days (and possibly more) who is no better than yourself or is possibly not as good a fisherman as you are. The Everstarts and BASS Opens are introductory tours that anyone with the money can enter as "pro" no matter what their skill level. It is an unfulfilling experience to be sitting next to your "pro" partner the first morning of the tournament who turns to you and says "I don’t have anything. You got any suggestions where we can go to catch some fish?" So if you can afford it, pick a BASS Tour or FLW tour event.

The next matter is which event to pick? Competition to enter the BASS and FLW tours on the amateur, or co-angler, side is fierce and you must be prepared to be rejected more than once. Federation members, however, have an advantage on the BASS Tour because BASS has changed its selection process this year such that half of the amateurs in every tournament are Federation members. Most of the members of my bass club that applied for entry into BASS Tour events this year got in, as opposed to previous years when successful entry was a semi-rare occurrence. The FLW Tour is dominated by amateurs who fish all the events, and co-anglers that sign up for all of them receive preferential treatment. If you can afford and have the time to fish all the FLW Tour events next year, then that’s great. However, if you’re only targeting one or two events, I would recommend focusing on the BASS Tour.

One of the biggest mistakes I see amateur anglers make is selecting the right tournament. You want to pick a body of water that has a good fish population, and one that’s going to give the amateur anglers a good opportunity to catch them. If you pick a poor quality fishery, your odds of catching only a couple of fish or none during the tournament are significantly increased. Likewise, if you pick a fishery that’s dominated by dock fishing, for example, your chances of catching fish will be limited. It is, in my opinion, more enjoyable to have caught a lot of fish and finished out of the money than to catch only a couple over several days and get a check. Before you pick an event to enter, check old BASSmaster magazines and see how well the amateurs did in previous events held at that lake or river. I think that you will find the one common element for bodies of water that have produced good amateur catches is that they all have submerged vegetation. Therefore, pick a place like the Potomac River, Toledo Bend, Lake Murray or Lake Champlain that has grass, particularly a lot of open water grass. If the fish are out in the grass at 15 feet, it is difficult for your pro partner to position the boat in a way that doesn’t give you an equal opportunity at the fish.

2. What Should Be My Expectations?

I can say this right up front: Get it out of your head that your going to win the tournament. While winning would be fantastic (Wayne Hayes of Region 7 recently won the amateur division of the BASS Tour Event on Lake Okeechobee) too many things need to go right for that to happen. You need a pro partner on fish every day who gives you a fair opportunity to catch them, you need the right bites, etc. Your main goal should be to finish anywhere in the money. In a BASS Tour event, that’s in the top 75. While that may sound easy, it is not. Finishing in the money is an achievement and will not only help to pay for the cost of the trip but will provide you with a good level of satisfaction. While this should be your goal, by no means consider yourself a failure if you do not achieve it. You are at the mercy of your pro each day who has a very strong interest in catching fish. Sometimes, that means there will be few opportunities for you. If you learn a new technique of a new approach to catching fish, your experience has been a success even if you don’t finish in the money.

Second, if you think that fishing a BASS or FLW tour event as an amateur is your immediate springboard into a pro fishing career, you are sadly mistaken. Even if you should be fortunate enough to win the tournament, that does not prove that you have what it takes to make a living as a pro fisherman. The pros competing on these circuits, at least the well-established ones, are exceptional fishermen who can catch fish on any body of water and under any conditions. I’m reminded of the BASS pro-am that I fished on the Connecticut River in 1994. I had fished the river on several occasions and knew that the fishing was tough, particularly in the month of September. Denny Brauer had never seen the Connecticut River before and had only two days of practice, yet he came to the scales the first day with a 16lb sack. That’s a huge catch on that river!. He continued to catch good strings of fish each day of the tournament and wound up second. Right then, I knew that I didn’t have what it takes to be a pro fisherman. Winning the amateur side of a pro-am is not proof that your ready for the pro circuit. If you want to find out if you have the right stuff, go enter the BASS Opens and Everstarts and try to qualify for the big tours. You can only find out if you can make a living on the pro circuit once your on it. But be honest with yourself and your abilities, and don’t waste a lot of money chasing false dreams. Fishing the amateur side of a BASS or FLW tour event can help you evaluate your abilities relative to at least the pros that you fish with, but that’s the extent of it.

So your goal, other than finishing in the money, should be to learn. Pay attention to how your pro partner approaches the day and how he chooses his water. Ask questions. Most pros are not inclined to have lengthy conversations while out on the water, but a few well placed questions (such as why he’s using a particular bait and how is he working it, or why is he choosing to fish this part of the lake) will certainly be answered. And once you return at the end of the day, most pros will loosen up considerably and not just answer questions about the day, but will respond to more general questions about fishing techniques and finding fish. Learning new things about fishing will not only make you a better angler overall, but just may help you get a high finish at your next bass club or Federation event.

(Editors note: Part II will appear in August, 2003)