Gas, oil, insurance, repairs, tires, iphone.

Great idea. BUT that is not how the HS fishing works. Dad must have a boat. My buddies son was in this situation this last year. Only kids with a boat (livewells) could fish.

I wish it was a team boat they could pass around....not sure who pays insurance, wear n tear, ect. Since it's not a sanctioned UIL sport and all. Sounds like a great pipe dream for the High School to own the boat, like they own the football fields, band instruments, ect. BUT I don't think our sport is there yet.....and will it get there....who knows?

What are your experiences and what have you heard? I would be curious to know if other teams are doing.

The TEAM I know didn't even have an adult as a president/coach. Hallsville, Tx.

Someone on here had posted a link to a high school page with contacts. Awhile back ago.

I know I always wanted the big two sanctioning bodies to uncork the horsepower rule and let folks run a larger motor back when there was 150 hp rule. Sometimes I look back at that and wonder if they stayed with that would cheaper 18 foot rigs still be ruling the roost........

Heck, I nominate all ya'll to start a "Go Fund Me" deal for the HS teams and post it on here.

If it was 5 years ago, I'd start it. I had more time then.

New baby at home and too much work, I don't have enough time to stop and let alone take on something like this. Like I said, I don't even get to fish anymore.

BUT these kids are the future of the sport and tournament entries in the next 5-10 years....they will be out of school and HUNGRY for competition.

It's an expensive sport obsession.

I think most of us have worked our tails off to get what we have got. The boat I first started club fishing in had 60 hp motor and I made the top six a few times with the oldest and ugliest boat in the club.

I wonder how folks caught fish in the 60's and 70's without a 50k dollar 20ft ranger with a 250hp motor?

Sarcasm aside, KVD or most of the FLW/Bass guys could whip me in a 14ft jon boat while I'm riding around in a 50k boat with 1k rod/reel combos. Go fish, have fun.......

This is one thing I have been planning on for a while and that is to start a bass fishing team here Cooper High School. We may not have but one team but at least we'd have one. I figured I'd get with the ag teacher and he'd know which guys are likely candidates......The main thing I'd want is not so much guys that are good but guys that want to learn..........

This thread has taken a turn.... I was going to paste some stuff but there's just too much "poor me " to do that.
WHO says that a high school kid has to have a boat to fish? Or, that they have to fish tourneys to foster a love of fishing? That's a load of [censored]. Those are wants, not have to haves.
I grew up poor,, really poor. No dad, no grandfather, no uncles to take me under their wing. My mom fostered my love of fishing and I started with a cane pole. Big present when I was 9 was a rod and reel.(still have it) I loved to fish, still do.
A boat was out of the question when I was young. Got married, worked my butt off and bought my first boat. Then my second and then another. "Want to " goes a long way.
Problem is, as was pointed out earlier, is that today's kids want NOW with no wait.

And to say that the guys on TFF don't help is also a load of it. I've been a captain for a hs team and saw a lot of guys from this forum at the tourney.

I guess I will retype my statement again. HS teams must have a boat for every 2 team members.(kind of like having your own golf clubs to be on the golf team) No one is having a piti party....just stating facts I ran across with peeps I know. Sorry you got all fired up cause you walked to school in the snow.

These are the kids who will be entering the tournament scene in 5-10 years. They are the ones that will buy the boats, tackle, entry fees ect. Get them pumped now, so they will continue to fish and keep the numbers up.

Kids are the future. Us middle age farts in 5-10 years will be happy to get out of bed. LOL! People need to look at getting these kids involved. Tournaments need to embrace this. KYKX does a good job with Big Bass Bonanza. Kids will request to fish it instead of getting a birthday present. (overheard a kid talking). They create a Junior Division where you win Chic Fil A for life. Kids get fired up about that tournament every year. Us adults.....most of us stay away from it. See my point!? Kids eat it up, us old timers are skeered (or realize our odds).

You fire up a young kid, he will most likely look for the best degree to get, highest paying job, and create a focus and discipline to make it happen. We need more kids like that!

It depends on who you ask.

It depends on where you are in the pecking order.

The playing field is not level.

Today, in order to have a chance of being competitive, and for the competition not to look down their nose at your equipment, one needs to spend about $65,000 on equipment. Then, after you compete in a few tournaments, you find out that in addition to having competitive equipment you gotta spend 30 years competing in tournaments (and upgrading your equipment every couple of years).

The bottome line is that it's not how much it costs to win, but rather how much it costs to LOSE! Think about it. There's only one winner.

Hobby fishing starts looking better and better.

I agree. But if tourney fishing goes away does that mean people won't fish anymore? We're a small part of the sport fishing world. (Before I get slammed, I know the advancements and money made due to tourney fishing) I'm all about getting kids into the outdoors, have run or been involved in outdoor youth programs for the last 20+ years. This HS format is great but it's just one small part of getting them involved in the outdoors.

I'm sure glad I don't get my outlook and perspective from this board Lol. The tournament scene in Texas is crowded but that's because it's alive and well. We are in a strong economy, certainly better than say 2008-2010. Bass fishing is big business and so is tournament angling. A billion dollar a year business and Texas is one of the biggest playgrounds year in and year out.

There will always be a range of demographics from the guy with the $60k truck and $60k boat to the cat on the bank. Neither is better than than the other. To each his own. But to paint the picture that times are tough simply isn't true. Our scene is overcrowded but it's overcrowded for a reason. That reason is, there's a lot of bass anglers.

You need to check out how many students a HS tournament draws. In our region is about 80 teams. East TX I have heard is about 150 teams. That is a lot of youngsters, boys and girls. At our school we may have more kids wanting to fish then boat captains. We have already about 25 students fishing but with all the trails and other activities for adults it's hard to keep all the kids fishing for every tournament. Most kids will have one or two rods at best and maybe a little tackle that has been handed down to them. Instead of buying a boat for a school why not help a lot of schools out and get these kids something to fish with. When there done for the year the kids coming in the next year will have something to fish with. Getting them ready to fish other tournaments and what is expected out of a non-boater, how to fish as a non-boater. I have no kids of my own fishing but just volunteer and I love being a captain and will continue to. The captains are doing about all we can to get the next generation into fishing.

The kids will use the captains equipment and tackle but it hurts when they throw a $6 crankbait into the rocks, fishing line, oil etc., etc. There are a lot of sponcers that give high schoold discounts on tackle, Santone Jigs is one of them. It would be nice if more would help out. Maybe have a list somewhere on the "Fishing Forum" just for the sponcers of high school fishing willing to help out with school tackle, i.e wieghts, fishing line, tackle, etc. etc.

Very interesting remarks all around. I know we fish more for the experience of competing against our friends because one isn't going to make a living fishing couples' tournaments! We enjoy being on the water together and competing against each other. I believe that we catch fewer fish these days because the fish are getting pounded year around. As far as tournaments go, sponsors, no doubt, are weary of getting requests for products from every Joe Blow tournament trail and seeing little return or even a Thank You coming back to them. I would like to see a club where a team CANNOT go to the Championship unless the team fishes all the events for the season in a particular region - however many that may be. Actually, I would like a club where at the first tournament of the season each team pays their membership and at least two tournament entries and a team cannot join after the first tournament without paying for at least two entries. At least this might be a discouragement to jack potters. A person needs to know what we are getting when joining a trail -- because the trail generally isn't going to make a change because someone is unhappy.