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​Meetings and Leadership:

• Meetings are student-led and Advisor supervised. During the season we meet typically once a month.

• Annual elections are held for positions of President, Vice-President, Secretary and Media/Communications Chair.

 

Tournament Trails:

There are 2 youth tournament trails which provide the nearest opportunities for our club to compete: Faith Angler Network (FAN) and Texas High School Bass Association (THSBA). There are other tournament trails that individual teams may choose to also participate in under the Guardians Bass Club charter, but at their discretion.

 

Our club primarily competes in the FAN Series. This tournament trail has two divisions: FAN Central and FAN South. The only difference is that the FAN South lakes will generally be closer to the SA/NB area. All FAN tournaments are held on Saturdays and there are 3 qualifying tournaments in each division throughout the school year.

 

• FAN

  • Open to anglers who are in 6th – 12th grade

  • Can compete under GBC regardless of which school district, school, or even homeschooled

  • Annual membership $30 (paid directly to FAN).

  • Tournament fees $20 per angler

  • 6 qualifying tournaments + Championship Tournament

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• THSBA

  • Open to anglers who are in high school only (9th – 12th grade)

  • If your high school has a fishing club, you must compete in that club. If your school does not have a club you can compete under GBC

  • Annual membership $60 (paid directly to THSBA).

  • Tournament fees $35 per angler

  • 5 qualifying tournaments + Regional + Championship Tournament

 

• In each trail, anglers earn points towards Angler of the Year (AOY) as well as earn prizes and scholarship money.

• Tournaments typically start at safe light and weigh-ins are usually around 2:00 PM

 

General Info:

 

• Club Dues: GBC annual club dues are $110 and include a tournament jersey, neck buff, baseball cap and car decal. They do not include FAN or THSBA membership or tournament fees. Those are payable directly to the tournament trail.

• Insurance: Each angler and captain have a $1M per occurrence in third party General Liability coverage, which is included in their membership fees. These policies cover any member angler and their boat captain while competing in any FAN or THSBA tournament

• Boat: A motorized boat is required to fish in all tournaments and anglers are designated as “boaters” or “non-boaters”.

  • Boaters - anglers who have a dedicated captain and boat (usually a family member or friend who owns a boat and who commits to supporting that angler in all tournaments).

  • Non-boaters - anglers who do not have a dedicated captain or boat. Non-boaters are responsible for securing their own volunteer captains for every tournament they want to participate in. We understand that many students who want to fish do not have access to a boat and this will always be our biggest challenge. Anglers are highly encouraged to reach out to family/friends and find themselves a dedicated captain for the season. Because of our size, GBC is unable to commit to matching up anglers and volunteer captains.

• Boat requirements: must be a motorized boat (does not have to be a bass boat) that is at least 16’ long and has an aerated live well. More specific details can be found in the respective tournament trails rules.

 

Commitment:

There are no minimum time or tournament commitments required. However, if an angler wants to work towards qualifying for the championship, it is recommended that they fish in as many tournaments as possible to give them the best shot at qualifying. It is also OK if an angler simply wants to compete in individual tournaments whenever he/she is available.

 

• Team Meetings

  • Educational opportunities

  • Guest speakers

  • Team building

• Practice

  • Most practice will be done independently, although we may have some organized scrimmages to help with team building, education and learning our local waters. Generally speaking, anglers need to fish as soon and as often as possible to gain confidence and skills they can put to use in tournaments.

 

Additional Tournament Opportunities:

• Central Texas High School Tournament Trail – tournaments are held on Sundays and are usually held on lakes north of Austin (Waco, Stillhouse, etc.)

• “Open” Tournaments - These are events organized by various fishing clubs across the state. These are also optional and do not count for AOY points (they are not qualifiers).

• TBF and B.A.S.S. Tournaments – These are national organizations that host youth tournaments. They require a separate membership fees and tournaments are held across the country

 

Additional Considerations:

• Equipment

  • Anglers are encouraged to have their own rods/reels, as personal preference plays a heavy role.

  • Bait – No live bait is allowed and only artificial lures are permitted. It is up to the angler to decide which type/color they want to use based on the conditions. Boat captains are there to operate the boat, not necessarily advise or mentor the angler on lure selection. As the student angler gains experience and knowledge, he/she will likely have their favorites that they bring along to each tournament.

  • All anglers are required to provide their own life jackets.  Life jackets must be of the vest type, NOT the inflatable tube-style, and must fit properly. Life jackets are required to be worn whenever the big motor is being used on the boat (not when trolling/anchored).

• Other Expenses

  • Boat Captains – we recommend that anglers offer compensation to their volunteer boat captains for their time, gas, boat fuel and incidentals. This pertains mostly to those anglers who have a captain who they are not related to. $20 per angler is a customary amount per in-town tournaments.  Out of town tournaments may require additional consideration such as additional gas/fuel costs, hotel and meals.

  • Most tournament entry fees are $20-$30 per angler.

  • For out of town tournaments, expect expenses for hotel, food and gas.

  • GBC Merchandise is available to purchase but not mandatory (hoodies, parent shirts, hats, etc)

 

• Regarding Team Jerseys

  • Each year we have parents and captains asking if they can purchase a tournament jersey. We reserve our tournament jerseys exclusively for our student anglers. There are a few reasons for this. First, we believe that the privilege of wearing the GBC jersey is something special and acknowledges the commitment and dedication of a student angler. It is not something that anyone can just purchase. Second, and most importantly, it also distinguishes a student angler from a captain when on tournament waters. This helps eliminate any questions or accusations regarding exactly who is catching fish during a tournament and protects the integrity and reputation of the anglers. GBC provides all Captains with a Captain's Shirt and parents are able to purchase GBC branded merchandise throughout the year.

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Steps To Join:

1. Click the button below to be directed to our online registration form.

2. Once you've completed the online process, you must download, sign and return the Liability Waiver and the GBC Code of Conduct Acknowledgement forms. They can be found under the "Resources" tab.