# How to make a club grow ?



## Fishingchickenman (Nov 13, 2011)

I am in a small club and we are talking about how to make it grow.  The club is in the Athens area.  I would appreciate any suggestions.


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## brother hilljack (Nov 14, 2011)

It is very hard to grow a new club, especially in the bass market. I run catfish tournaments and don't have near the competition that you all have. There is only one thing that is guaranteed to get people to attend..................MONEY................

I am taking a much different approach and going with an aggressive marketing campaign (still quite expensive). Will be contacting more than 100 "local" bait shops and trying to get them to support or at least post my tournaments in their place of business. Will start this at the first of the year.

Here are my expectations: less than 50% will actually post it and I would feel lucky to get 5 new teams!! Understand that I am sending more than 1000 tournament flyers out to these places and I only expect 5 valid attendees! 

Brother it is tough to start new!


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## Fishingchickenman (Nov 14, 2011)

The club is about 7 years old.  We just can't keep people!


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## brother hilljack (Nov 14, 2011)

Are your people moving up to higher level events? If so, maybe they are bored and need a bigger challenge. Like I said, I know its tough. Our 2nd year was our best, our 3rd our worst, and I am praying that 2012 is at least in the middle somewhere, but I think it will be a better  year for fishing


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## waw3692 (Nov 14, 2011)

Our Club has been around since 1985. We've went from 30 to 11 members today. There are just too many Weekend Tournaments and Bass Trails that compete in our area. You can fish a good sized local tournament with a good payout for a few dollars more than a Club Tournament. Also the Economy stinks. Good luck with your Club, we are always looking for new members.


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## Fishingchickenman (Nov 14, 2011)

People show up in Jan then by April they lose interest.  I think we should get more money up front then it would make the take home bigger then people may have more of an interest.


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## Fishingchickenman (Nov 14, 2011)

Were do the butts bass busters fish mostly?

CT


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## shoalbass (Nov 14, 2011)

Fishingchickenman said:


> Were do the butts bass busters fish mostly?
> 
> CT



My guess San Francisco


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## waw3692 (Nov 15, 2011)

We fish all the lakes in GA and a few in AL. Our home lake is Jackson. 
http://www.eteamz.com/buttsbassbusters/


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## frosty20 (Nov 15, 2011)

I live in Loganville and may be interested in a club near Athens


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## Fishingchickenman (Nov 15, 2011)

Frosty send me your email address  and I will send you the 
contact info


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## Fishingchickenman (Nov 15, 2011)

Here is are web site

http://www.eteamz.com/madisoncountyrodbenders/


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## Chris S. (Nov 16, 2011)

waw3692 said:


> We fish all the lakes in GA and a few in AL. Our home lake is Jackson.
> http://www.eteamz.com/buttsbassbusters/


   I would like to say that this club is a great place to start if you are new or experienced in fishing big lakes for boaters and nonboaters,it is also a very competitive group as well as a helpful club to others seeking to learn tx. fishing and bass fishing in general.

This is the first Big Lake club I have membered and as a group they have been very welcoming since I joined the first of this year.There are several veteran anglers in the club that have been fishing the well known trails for years and even decades.

I highly encourage those not alligned with a local club to come to a meeting and get acquainted with the anglers and the way it is operated....Butts Bass Busters from just what I have learned and experienced is  a civic minded organization and holds tourneys and functions every year in support of Fishing culture,community and youth as well as Open tourneys and Benefit functions.

 The club is striving to increase participation and members and those interested would be welcome to attend and  ultimately join.I know I was.


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## Bugpac (Nov 16, 2011)

My idea of a club, is a by weekly or monthly get together for 25.00 per boat or person, and have fun fishing. the 35.00 member fee for a points championship and you miss one tourney sux. Now if some clubs would fish 10 events, with 2 throw aways, that may make it more interesting for some of us that work a lot of weekends, and a points championship. Just my 2 cents. I havent did any clubs last yr or this yr, due to the fact I cant commit, and i,m basically giving my entry fee to someone who can.


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## Buzzerbaits (Nov 17, 2011)

Keep it simple. Also be very open with all the money that you take in and I would suggest opening up a savings accnt at a local bank where all parties could check out the money the club has on there books!   Also that way when it comes time to pay out at the end you have the money to give back.  Good luck on your trail.. FISH ON !!


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## riprap (Nov 17, 2011)

I have given up. I started a classic in ours this year, it kept a couple of teams hanging around to fish the classic. You had to fish 9 of 12 to qualitfy and top 3 finishers in points fished classic for free. When you get over 10 boats, it's hard to keep everyone happy. If you have a club where everyone works during the week it's pretty competitive. When you get a couple of teams that prefish during the week, you almost know who is going to win 2 of the 3 paying places each tourney. Keep the entry fees low and enjoy yourself. Just pretend it costs $40 or $50 bucks to fish the lake and wont leave mad at yourself for losing.

Our club is 100% payback and club dues go to top 3 in points. If we need scales or repair we pass the offering plate around at the meetings we have once a month. Everyone can air out the dirty laundry at the meeting, We have a rule, no weapons at the meetings.


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## oldcsm (Nov 18, 2011)

Be careful what you ask for......I've fished with many clubs over the years. In my view, bigger is not necessarily better. The best clubs I've been a part of were small and comprised of friends that trusted each other with simple straight forward rules. Bigger clubs often suffer from constant bickering and polarization within the membership.  If you have a small club of dedicated members that support the club regularly then you have something good. My current club is only about 12 members. We're not a federation club so teams fishing together are permitted. We have teams consisting of husband/wife, father/son, friends. We all trust each other, the rules are minimal and the dues are affordable. We meet before the tournament season and vote for the lake schedule while attempting the minimize travel by fishing the "home" lake regularly. The focus of our club is camaraderie and friendly competition. We all look forward to getting together once a month and doing what we all love.


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## waw3692 (Nov 25, 2011)

The Club Scene is not for everybody. Our Club is Federated with the Georgia B.A.S.S. Federation Nation. We promote Conservation and Youth Events. We fish 12 tx a year, best 11 count. Dues are only $100 per year(@$8 month). We also teach, share and learn from each other. We fish a points system that earns 6 anglers a berth in the GBFN State Classic each year. This is an additional road to the Bassmasters Classic. If you are into fishing for a quick buck then this may not be the best avenue for you. We do have fun though. Just got back from Seminole. We also bring guest and Family members to fish.


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## 1996stratos (Nov 25, 2011)

*Club fishing.*

For me fishing in a club is more about fun fellowship and learning than trying to win a lot of money or make it to the forrest wood cup or bassmaster classic. Clubs pay lots of fees each year just to be affiliated with these organizations. This is one thing that drives up the cost of fishing in a club. Then lots of the clubs sponsor a top six team which only benefits six of the anglers in the club which adds to cost. Some clubs dont pay anything at the tournaments. The club I am in is trying to grow also. It is hard to attract new members.


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## Awehunt (Dec 8, 2011)

The most important part about growing a club is the people that are in it. I am the President of Cherokee County Bass Club and have been for the past 6 years. I club started out slow, but has grown fast due to great people in the club and a good environment. I now have a max number of teams that I allow in the club, because once you get over 30 boats it feels more like a pot tournament than a club, in my opinion. So, this will be the  second season in a row that we will go into the new year with a waiting list of people wanting to join. Also, like some others have mentioned, keep it simple. It's supposed to be fun. If you have to hand a rules sheet that 5 pages long people are automatically put off. I don't personally like paying out a lot of money, because then you get people in it for the wrong reasons. We generally pay between 350-500 to win a tournament and the last two years our classic paid $1,800 to win. If you can get them coming, it will make it more fun and more worthwhile in the end. 

Good luck!


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## ErikD (Dec 10, 2011)

PM me clube info.


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## senkofan1 (Dec 13, 2011)

It sounds like some clubs are just down. We went from 22 teams to 10 teams this past year. A club in the area did fold so i think we are picking up some of their members. I do agree that money is the key. I think my clubs best years were when they had 15 boats that was easier to managed and if you have a calcutta you can still get additional payouts as well.


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