Not long ago myself and a couple of fishing buddies were looking at the available tournaments, and we were not happy with the choices. Small local clubs are a lot of fun, but the payouts are too small. The entry fees are low, but in a small tournament you can have a great finish or even win but still not make enough to cover what you spent on gas practicing for and fishing the tournament.

The larger organizations offer more choices. You can fish at different levels based on your skills and how much you can afford to risk, but they have one big drawback. The large organizations are for-profit corporations, and they don’t care about bass fishing or anglers. They only care about making money.

It was then that the idea for what would become the Bass Fishing Guild began. A tournament organization by fishermen for fishermen just seemed to make sense, and now here we are.

We’re beginning by offering the 150 Series Team Tournaments. This is the tournament series that we looked for but couldn’t find. These are team tournaments with payouts normally found only in pro-am events, but without the aggravation of a pro-am format. You don’t have to worry about what type of boater or non-boater your going draw. You have more time to prepare for the tournament rather than having to attend pre-tournament meetings for the pairings and so on. You’ll have someone to split expenses with as well, and that helps keep down costs.

This is also the organization that we looked for but couldn’t find. We care about fishing and fellow anglers. In the future we will eventually offer other tournament options. But first, it’s important that we create an organization and business model built around our members rather than our sponsors. This is the only organizational structure that can assure future decisions will be made based on what is in the best interest of our sport and its participants rather than profits.

Best Regards,
Thomas Luker
Bass Fishing Guild Co-Founder