Fishing as a non-boater

[ckarns]

Thinking about fishing as a non boater in a pro am circut next year. Those of you that fish the pro am's which ones would you recomend. I'm not looking to win a tone of money. Just looking to spend time in the boat with different guys that have different stringths. Looking to learn more. Any help would be great.

Thanks Chad

[caseysmith14]

Just curious, what circuit are you looking at?

[PII Magnum]

thats sound like good way to do it

[DennisEdwards]

I know that the Heartland is very well ran and has many very good pros that fish....I don't know much about the Central Pro AM but it use to be really good at one point.

[Skucius]

I fished the the Kansas Jayhawk ABA Bassmaster Weekend series last year as a non-boater and then the Missouri Division as a non-boater this year because Kansas lost their Bassmaster Weekend Series Circuit. I have fished with many great guys have learned a TON and have met some great people along the way hate to say it but there are a few (sour apples) though.

[H2O_Fowl]

Heartland is good with one exception. As a non-boater you better pay for all tourneys up front because if you pay as you go you will be lucky to get in a boat. Not as many boater as non-boaters is the issue. If you pay up front for all then you are pretty much guaranteed a back seat. Thats probably the case with all pro-am circuits though.

[War Eagle1]

good luck with which one you decide on

[getfished]

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SKUCIUS &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I fished the the Kansas Jayhawk ABA Bassmaster Weekend series last year as a non-boater and then the Missouri Division as a non-boater this year because Kansas lost their Bassmaster Weekend Series Circuit. I have fished with many great guys have learned a TON and have met some great people along the way hate to say it but there are a few (sour apples) though. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Gee I didn't know about that. I have been checking the ABA website every day looking for an 09 Weekend Series schedule for Kansas. It sounds like there's not going to be one huh?

On the non-boater side for the Heartland Pro-Am if you link up with a pro who shows up then you are garanteed to get in. After that I think the guys who put in their deposit first get paired up with a pro.

[hooks2bset]

Back in the day CPAA was the shit.... period. They still have a good drawing on the best anglers in the area but not like they use too. CPAA use to have a $450 entry fee on the pro side and that kept a lot of wannabes out of it.

The Heartland pro entry fee is a little lower which allows alot of guys wanting to dabble around to enter and not have to put alot of money on the line.... kind of like the BFL's and the BASS weekend series.

I guess what I am saying is look at the pro entry fee and alot of times that will tell the quality of anglers you will be drawing or atleast give you an idea of the ratio of pro anglers you want to draw compared to pro anglers you don't want to draw.

I would also look at the lakes you want to learn or maybe you don't care about any certain lakes but just want to learn. I wanted to learn.... no matter what lake it was and I wanted to get the best pro anglers I possibly could so I pretty much looked for the highest entry fee on the pro side I could afford.

Fishing the co angler side of tournaments is, too me, alot like anything...... you get what you pay for or should I say "the pro's pay for"...

[ckarns]

Thanks Mike. I never thought of that. Would realy hate to spend the money to fish all year and end up fishing with guy close to the same caliber as me. They just owne a boat.

[basspro05]

MSTA (mid-states tournament assoc), cant beat the deal they put on, all tourneys are at smithville, its a draw tournament in which a nonboater gets paired with a boater and they fish as a team, entry fees are like 145 on the boater side and around 80 on the nonboater side, normally 50-60 boats in each tourney, If you qualify for the year end championship you are fishing for a boat on the boater and nonboater side. Its a great circuit, http://www.mstaonline.com

Chris Self

[catchatoad]

Heartland is the best deal going if you are looking to learn lakes....

MSTA only fishes chithole, I mean Smithville....

I fished the am side one year and all except for one tourney I caught more keepers than the pro... and that's not saying much MSTA is a shared weight, draw for a partner format.

CPA is a good one too....

Good luck

[OsageJoe]

heartland is run very well.. and yes you need to put your money up front.. AND get a guaranteed pro.

That being said I fished as an amatuer last year, and hated it.. and won't be doing it this year.

[Skeeter 101]

I have fished the co-angler side of the BFL ozarks, the last 2 years,, I have learned alot,,and cashed a couple checks,,,,Just remember they call it fishing, not catching...I have had some great days, and some bad days....

[truflshufl]

Yeah I fished as a co angler in the Okie BFLs this year, my first year doing tournaments and loved it.

[Kakbass]

I Would suggest the BFL through the FLWOutdoors.
A. It leads somewhere
B. Has overall Anglers that are looking to fish a series, there fore are more rounded anglers, since they have to travel to many types of lakes.
http://bfl.flwoutdoors.com/

C. Good Coverage on Internet
D. Better Payouts yet still affordable

[getfished]

What if ya never step footin a Wally wop any more?