I would really like to give the federation a go! But if Russ says the opens are better then maybe I'll have to backseat a few. And learn as much as I can. I thought if I fished the federation I'd learn a little. But You can't argue with some one who been there done that. But if the paper club starts and I have the opertunity I'll still fish it though

Thanks

The idea is not high on my list of important things to consider.

Smitty

Steve,

Not saying by any means that I am interested. After being a part of many state teams in the past and fishing in the qualifier series(BASS) I was not impressed and haven't been back since. I don't recommend it for this club either and know that many members would be disappointed if they became a paper club in order to fish these events. Yes It does have a tendancy to fragment the club into a clique and WBC does not need that at all.

If a guy wants to fish in a BASS tourney I suggest to fish in the Open circuit just as I did this past month. He or she will get a lot more out of it than fishing in any federation event.

Thanks for the response. I had just heard that WBC was looking into it and was curious as to the response of the club.
Russ

To my mind, one of the things that has preserved and encouraged the growth of WBC has been that we have not been full B.A.S.S. Federation members. We are Associate Members.

What I have seen happen to clubs that are Federation Clubs, is that the guys that don't make the State Team, fragment off, usually after a lot of sour grapes, and start a new club. Each club is entitled to a certain number of members on their State Team, so their chances are better in a smaller club, especially if there's only 3 or 4 members. Basically, they can't produce the fish when they need to.  It's detrimental to the club they quit, and since they will form a core clique in the new club, do it's almost certain doom for the new club.

I don't see how this can possibly be good for WBC. Furthermore, any discussion of the "paper club" during a club meeting, even unofficially, amounts to forming a clique. That's definitely not a good thing for any club.

You are entitled to belong to more than one Bass Club. If you haven't been to other Bass Club's meetings, I think you should see what they're like.

C&R, Steve

Nick,  I thought you gave up the paper route.  Ruined too many early morning fishing trips.

HAHAHA

Rich

Thats right Russ some of us want to open up a paper club.

I heard the club was thinking about putting a state team together, is this true? Is the club thinking about becoming a federated club?
Any thoughts?
RB