The Birmingham Bass Club (BBC) was founded in 1992, so its members could fish in BASS Federation tournaments. It spawned from another local club not interested in participating in federation events. Sixteen years later, our club is still a member of the Alabama BASS Federation Nation, with about one-third of our membership fishing its tournaments. We have produced one State Champion, and several members have qualified for the State Team throughout the years.
Club membership has fluctuated through the years but has leveled off at around 35-40 members since we launched our new and improved website (birminghambassclub.net) in 2003. Our website serves many purposes but has been worth its weight in gold for new member recruitment. In addition, it provides our membership director with many new member leads annually, allowing us to keep membership at current levels.
We still have two or three founding members and a strong core group that has been with the club since the "early" years. This group has been the club's backbone, serving as officers and providing leadership for those who have followed them. We have always considered ourselves a "teaching" club with anglers ranging from highly skilled to members that are new to the sport and eager to learn.
The BBC is a draw club allowing members to fish as either a boater or non-boater in each event. Each member can fish their "half-day" in front of the boat. We generally fish eight points tournaments annually, including a spring two-day event and our fall two-day Classic. Members are allowed to drop their two lowest-point events each year. This allows members to miss a couple of tournaments and still compete for Angler of the Year.
Most of our tournaments are held on the Coosa River chain of Lakes located through Central Alabama. Most of these lakes are easily accessible from the Birmingham area, with the farthest one being less than a two-hour drive for most members. These lakes provide our members with excellent largemouth bass fishing, and the opportunity to catch those famous Coosa River spotted bass. We also get in a tournament now and then on the Tallapoosa, Tennessee, and Warrior river lakes. The BBC is truly blessed to be located in the Bass Fishing Capital of the World!
The BBC has always been interested in promoting the youth movement in bass fishing. We have always conducted at least one Casting Kids event each year. We have stepped this up the last couple of years since long-time member Bobby McDonald is now the Alabama Bass Federation Nation Youth Director. We also recently established our own Junior Club. We have one tournament each year for our youth to practice for the Alabama State Youth Championship. We plan to expand our youth events in the years to come.
The BBC holds monthly meetings to conduct club business on the fourth Thursday of every month. One of the duties of our vice president is to conduct a "program" for the membership that usually includes a guest speaker to share information about bass fishing or the bass fishing industry. In addition, our members often serve as guest speakers sharing valuable information with other members.
Reprinted with permission from
