In THSBA they cannot be on their phones during the tournament. That's one of the rules that many do not read and pay attention to.

#7 I forgot to say throw a wacky worm, shaky head and c rig and the kids will get bites almost every day

I was basing the snack and phone information from friends that have captained. They all say the phone and Doritos come first….and second…..then fishing.

I can vouch for the constant eating in the boat. It doesn't matter how much food I have in the boat on tournament day, with two high school boys it will all be gone at the end of the day.

I hope you read what has been posted so far.
My thoughts in no particular order.
Rules are a big one - kids as well as captains should know and follow the rules during tournaments and on official practice days.
Ethics are big. There are guys that have become heroes because they have broken a rule (unknowing) and DQ'd themselves. There are guys that have become zeroes because they put winning in front of ethics.
Fun is huge but don't lie to your kids/parents. HS fishing is competitive and there are a lot of kids that take it serious. Your not going to win if you don't put in the work - don't expect steaks if your putting in hotdog effort. Competitive fishing isn't for everyone - and there is no shame in that.
Grout has a good point - it is crowded out there at times. Be patient and don't crowd or cut-off someone.
Don't be the parent that complains about how something is run if your not going to volunteer to help - make that clear at your first meeting. And every meeting after that...... (There is nothing easy about running a program with multiple kids, personalities and beliefs)
Safety can't be stressed enough. Be it on the boat, on the road or weather related.
Understand that there are a ton of guys out there that hate HS fishing and will look for any reason to bash it. Some have valid points, some just don't want you on "their" grass.

I got a suggestion. Don’t know if it would be possible, but why doesn’t the highscbool teams have several smaller tourneys. Like every other Saturday….like real sports. High schools can pick a lake close to them. Host 5 or 6 other high schools for a “home game”. Then the following week they can “visit” someone else’s “home game” lake. They would have a home lake advantage. The other teams would have a few home lake advantages too. This would keep the cluster chaos from happening with a few hundred boats full of kids on a big lake.

Seems odd that it is always a giant endeavor to have a high school event. It should be kept local(ish). Then maybe have the top teams go to a regional. And finally a state tourney.

In THSBA it is kept local by divisions and then they have to qualify to advance to regionals (40 percent). Then those that fish regionals have to qualify to advance to state (30 percent).

Maybe BassChamps and TxTT should follow your model so that they are not putting 200 or more boats on the lake at a time. The last year that I fished BassChamps it was running over 500 to over 600 boats.

Know the rules ( like the guy who was DQed last week for not having a fishing license for the state the tourney was in)
Guys will be on your juice when you roll into that spot, go to the next one and then go back later, but dont let it ruin your day.
Keep a spinning rig with a senko on deck at all times
Have fun, your life is not depend any on the outcome of ANY tourney
Learn to launch a boat quickly and effectively and help anyone struggling at the ramp, always.

...and many other 'Tubers!

I have fished Champs for many years and I have never seen 500-600 boats. What division? I just looked through all their archived results back to 2006 and the biggest number of entries I could find was at Sam Rayburn on January 14, 2017. 397 boats.

When were these 500-600 boat tourneys?

Safety is #1. I wish I could have been more patient instead of running around all day and not catching many. Patience and confidence in where you're at what you like to throw always pays off in the long run.

1. Take care of your captains, especially the ones who aren't captaining for their own kids. Kids should be paying for gas, have their own drinks, ice etc. If it's a volunteer captain parents need to show up on time, be respectful of captains time, pick their kids up promptly etc. Captains aren't baby sitters.

2. You are there to compete, not a day on the lake. If the kids just want to wear a jersey and take a boat ride it's not for them.

3. Captains need to act right on the water.

4. Kids need to put their head down and fish, let the captains deal with each other.

5. Figure out how to launch and park.

6. Kids should be learning about tourny fishing. Know something about the lake, prefish, something. Don't just show up at ramp and expect captain to put them on fish.

👆

Or at least look at the THSBA schedule that is out for over a year and not schedule tournaments right on top of each other on the same lake.

Fished tourneys about 8 years. Lost the drive because it became something that I didn't like to do. Too much drama. Costly when I was younger, but I really like to compete. Attitude and drive is everything. I remember a young man in the Austin TX area that fished out of a john boat in big tournaments with a cooler for a livewell, and a 15hp'ish motor. He always did well on Travis, because he was "Mad at 'em" Bass. And he was a really good fisherman. He had his bait in the water more, because he wasn't running all over the place. You really have to work for tournaments. Pre-fishing two days before is tough to figure out a solid pattern. Three days is what I tend to see the best results of a solid pattern, as long as the weather stays the same. If you have a front come in on the day of the tournament some patterns change drastically.



First> Be safe, and have 100% confidence in your motor for safety. Know when to say, this isn't safe. I have crossed lake Buchanan in 25+ in a 15ft fiberglass boat. All sorts of stuff break crossing a lake trying to make a weigh in.

Pray before every outing. You are blessed if you are fishing.


Tips
1. You don't know what you don't know. Every time you fish with someone new you learn some valuable information.
You are not the best fisherman in your area! You can get whooped by that mindset in a flash.


2. Stay away from dock talk. Do not take anyone's word on a pattern or lure choice until you go out and verify it. Stick to the data you have learned pre-fishing. Don't look at lures on other boats, I know several big boys back in my day that kept decoy baits out on their boat at the start of a tournament. Might sound silly, but it's all a mind game.

3. Stay away from the drama. Repeat, stay away from the drama. Mind your manners, follow the rules, and be open to the people you come across. Help anyone that is in trouble (most importantly) step in and stop any BS when you hear it.

4. If pre-fishing 3 days before a tourney is all you have, go hookless or try not to land any fish. Bites are fish. If you get three bites in an area it's a solid spot.

5. Relax and get sleep, if your tired your not going to fish your normal way.

6. A good Partner is the key to success. If you don't have to think about what you want to say, you have a good Partner. Be yourself, and don't be afraid to say "I'm not feeling this". If your fun fishing your fishing, if your trying too hard your going to suck... They should know what your thinking, and you should be able to do the same thing. If you have any personal problem with someone your fishing with you better talk to them, be honest and respect their response. Best friends I have in my life are my fishing buddies. You are know by the company you keep, if your fishing with a troublemaker your a troublemaker in the eyes of others. So in this situation you need to be straight up, and tell your partner to cut the "$hit" and let's have some fun.

7. Best way I have found to split expenses. Both parties put 100$ in a bag, and everything comes out of the bag. (Minus lures and tackle). All gas, boat ramp fees, and the such comes from the bag. Split whatever is left. I'll get the gas next time doesn't cut it. Split it 50-50 for two fisherman. Or something similar if your using someone else's boat. Having a boat is a big expense.

Really cool thing happened this year in my neck of the woods. Man who takes two HS fisherman to lakes was gifted a new Lowrance hds12 and live setup by one of his anglers parents because he had done so much for their son. That is good people, and refreshing to see.



I competed against the best shooters in the world for years. One became a good friend. I asked him what worked for him.

He said either "I know I'm going to win before I start", or I know I'm going to struggle before I start." The key is the average. So one competition is just part of the whole year. If you don't do your homework and prep your hurting yourself. I would say 90% of every lake is dead water, it's knowing where the 10% good water is. Might be more like 5q to be honest.

That's my .02


Forgot one item. There is no front and back of the boat. If your captain makes you fish off the back of the boat. That's horse $hit.