Published: June 25, 2009 11:43 pm      

4-H Fishing Tourney a Big Success

The Bass Angler’s Sportsman’s Society founder, Ray Scott, came up with a plan to spread the positive message about the benefits and enjoyments of bass fishing with the help of local bass clubs. Many years ago a core part of Scott’s dream was to establish a bass club system that would provide anglers the opportunity to learn more about fishing while participating with other anglers in the outdoors and on the water.

While there would be some friendly competition in club tournaments, new anglers would get the chance to learn new techniques first hand from real time experiences with fellow anglers. Watching videos and talking to anglers will only get you so far, but getting the chance to participate in club functions gave novices the chance to upgrade their fishing education very fast.

Because I was a lifelong angler, I joined the Collinsville Bass Club some 27 years ago and learned many things from accomplished anglers during that time. During my time with the bass club I learned new techniques such as how to properly fish a frog from Ray Joyner. Ray had been a member of the club for some time and I got to fish with the accomplished angler on many occasions.



Unselfish Move



Perhaps my most memorable outing occurred during our final tourney of the year at Demopolis Lake on the Tombigbee River. Our club points championship came down to the last tournament and two anglers, I and one other. Being the sportsman that he was, Ray gave me the front of the boat and every opportunity to succeed on that day. As it turned out I did beat the other angler and won angler of the year honors, partly through Ray’s generosity and help. And that’s what the Collinsville Bass Club was all about for me.

I’m proud to say that though I am no longer a member of the Collinsville Bass Club, they are still helping others and they recently made it possible for a few young 4-H kids to go fishing and experience the thrill of fishing with expert anglers.

On a recent outing the Lauderdale County 4-H, along with the Collinsville Bass Club, held their inaugural 4-H Fishing Tournament for youth ages 8-18. While a few of the youngsters had been out on the water before, most had not had the opportunity to fish with accomplished anglers. By all accounts the tournament was a resounding success.

According to Tracy Robertson, the Lauderdale County 4-H Youth/Livestock Agent, the idea of this tournament was to give youth an opportunity to fish with anglers that travel the state competing in tournaments almost every weekend. “With the help of the Collinsville Bass Club, the youth received the experience that these anglers had to offer and learned about the finesse of fishing,” said Robertson. “All of the kids had a great time and most caught fish during their three hours on the water.”



The Big One



Young Blake Douzar had the big catch of the day. Blake caught two lunker Striped Bass and took top honors for the tournament.

The Lauderdale County 4-H and Tracy Robertson would like to thank Collinsville Bass Club along with many members of the community including Captain D’s, Rock House Trading Post, Southern Sportsmen, Brainstorm Advertising and Bandit Fishing Lures, Wal-Mart, and Lee’s Bait & Tackle for their support in this worthwhile program.

If you would like to find out more information about this program or any of the other programs 4-H has to offer, please contact Tracy Robertson at the Lauderdale County Extension Office at 601-482-9764 or visit us on the web at www.msucares.com and click on county offices.