Those interested in starting an electric bass club, The ebc philosophy that ebcdave and I started with and base the circuit on is .....low cost recreation.....We make it so all an individual has to do is pick up a used jon boat, trolling motor, rig up a live-well and you are set to fish one of our tourneys. Another aspect is low cost.... our tourneys are $30 ($5 optional big bass pot), so two fishing buddies splitting the cost is only $17.50 each for a days worth of competitive bass fishing.
Our payouts at the end of the day are 100%, you can't beat that! We keep the pay-outs small so that we can spread the money around farther! At our tourneys we pay out the top 25% or more of the field. NO ONE IS GETTING A BIG CHUNK OF THE MONEY!!!!!! more anglers are happy and few are envious if any. This also deters those anglers looking for a big pay-day. We truely do not want anglers fishing our circuit for the money....the pay-out just make it a little more fun. There is always applause at the end for those who do well.

I like it!

Are there any other "bragging" rights? A trophy/plaque?

Do you guys have an informal lunch(BBQ and beverages) after the Tournaments?

Low cost is the way to go nowadays. Things are getting tight with money for everybody and I know of several fishermen who had to quit becaue of job losses .

All our clubs have at least a $40 entry fee, two have $45 with the extra $5 going to big fish. All but 1 have 100% payback. One club keeps $5 per boat for the end of the year prizes.
All the clubs have a membership fee. It ranges from $20 on up to $100 a boat. That is used for trophies and cash payouts for the end of the year winners. The $100 member fee clubs pay out $1,000 to the yearly winners and then divide the rest between 2nd to 5th and big fish.

Some of our clubs limit their members to 15 boats in order to fish smaller lakes and others are open to as many that shows. Our boats tend to be on the 14'-16'+ range. I dont know of any smaller than 14' because we have so few jon boat lakes and we have to fish lakes like Jordan and Kerr. We had one tournament that got so rough we sunk 8 14' jon boats the same day. Every once in a while we have to come to the aid of a swamped jon boat due to rough water or stupid boat drivers. If you see a woman driving a huge waker maker boat with one of those 15' super tubes full of yunguns, you better strap your stuff down and hang on!!!!

The bigger boats are a little slower but it sure helps being a little safer

I like that philosophy! I think the more people that can get into the sport of competative (even if on a small scale) bass fishing, the better off we are as a whole. The more there are, the bigger voice we will have.

The only rule as I have seen that makes me scratch my head is the 14' boat length limit. I mean, I see the reasoning, but I feel it leaves alot of guys out who's boats are no different other than a foot or so longer and, I personally own a 14' V-John.

Jim, one year an angler donated plaques and trophies, it was nice. but with low cost and 100% pay-out not much there for addition awards. We do make up really nice , framed certificates for the points champions (along with a small cash prize). From the testimony of those who have received them , it seems to be appreciated very much, and they are hanging on the walls. Another nice inexpensive award that seems to be a big hit is the "Eagle Claw Big Bass gold plated hat hook" (Proundly worn all year long) for those who catch a big bass of the tourney. One year Rat-L-Trap gave us a bunch of traps so we created the Rattled Angler Award for those who got skunked and they were put into a drawing for a free trap of choice at each tourney (if someone blanked). We've got something in the works for a paid for banquet at the end of the year if all goes well.

Why 14' boats? The ebc's concept is two-fold......electric only and "small boat". When we started, Dave fished out of an 11' crawdad and I fished out of a green plastic 12' boat (fondly called the "Pickel") that I hauled in the back of my truck. We thought 14' and under fit the definition of small boat and we were confident that would exclude all manufactured bass boats. Boats 14' and under provides a unique, level playing field for all. No one feels intimidated or that they can't compete. Plus, finding a 14' or smaller boat is really easy and cheap, which goes along with our low cost philosophy. Having had a big bass boat and fishing the bigger circuits and opens, fishing the EBC is refreshing and a whole lot of fun.
Last, maybe it's the toolmaker mind set , Dave and I have.....14' boats seem to be the optimum size for 8 hour electric only tournamemts.

I like it and I will probbably restructure my club if i ever get it started. Nice job. We have a lot of 500 acre and smaller lakes around that dont get much pressure and would be good for this.

we've had a number of guys with big bass boats, go out and buy a new or used 14 footer and fix it up (not one word of complaint or grumbling about the smaller boat) and dedicate the season to the EBC. We've have dads buy boats, fix them up with their sons , and fish together. Lot's of fun. The last tournament of the season last year was won by a father/son team, some really nice quality time there. The way our circuit is set up (just show up, pay entry fee, fish) It makes it nice for fathers who have other obligations....fish when you can!

Im stationed in NC, but am from cincinnati. how do i get involved in something like this. i just bought a 14 foot jon so this sounds great for me

That's some good "grass-roots" fishin'. Any Southern Ontario dates on the tour?

It's a blast, fun and friendly. Were southwest ohio, and central oh. at Hoover Res. If you get back home, check us out. http://www.electric-bass.org . We've been running 33, 20+ and 31 boats. Dave was supposed to post some pics, but we've been so busy, running the tourneys, taking pics has slip by the wayside. Maybe at Hoover this Sun. we'll get some pics. and post them. You can go to the web-site and see some pics and results of the tourneys. Click on the Navigation Menu and check it out.

It's hard to get the gang to drive 80 miles to Hoover Res. near Columbus where the winning wieght for five bass was 19# 7oz. They would shout words at me if I asked them to cross the boarder. I here that there is a good bay off Lake Erie in southern Ontario. Maybe someday we could have an international tourny there. Keep'er Wet, Dave

Gunner, I would do a Google search for jon boat bass tournaments in your area. All clubs don't have a Web site so word-of-mouth is their main form of recruiting new members. Hang in there, I'm sure you will find a jon boat club within your preferred driving distance.

If you're not a lifer, after you ETS, we would be proud to have you as a member of Electric Bass Circuit. We fish Acton Lake which isn't too far from Cincinnati. We did fish Stonelick Lake, Stonelick is close to Cincinnati. We will most likely add Stonelick to our future schedules.

If you go on leave, and go home to Cincy, check our schedule before you go on leave. Maybe you can tow your boat home and join us for a tournament. We would love to have you fish with us, even if it's just for one tournament. I'm have a feeling Dave would waiver your membership fee.

Tight lines,
Tom Patrick

As a former "lifer", I always preferred the term "career designated", lol.

WW
USN (Ret) 1992

lol, all do respect, lets call a spade a spade. but anyways, i'm on leave now, didnt bring the boat but i get out in less than 3 months anyways. i might get medheld or medsepped but either way i cant stay in. so ill be home soon