Bass Fishing Forum - Westernbass.com

I bought my first bass boat in 1987 it was a Bayliner Fish and Ski don't laugh it did the job! I started out fishing the Hook Line & Sinker tournaments, my team partner Ron Mann and I won the first Hook TOC in 1989 with 7 fish for 12.78 lbs.
A friend of my introduced me to a west coast bass professional Jerry Tilton. I wanted to continue my dream of fishing and the next step was learning from the Pro's, you can only learn so much from fishing with the same partner.
At that time there was 2 major pro circuits, West Coast Bass and WON both of these circuits had Pro Am events and team circuits. At that time you had to qualify as a Pro which ment you had to show sportsmenship, courtesy, and the ability to operate a boat safely.
The knowledge Jerry gave me and the knowledge the other Pros such as Wayne Brazill (sorry Wayne I could never spell your last name) John Bedwell, Gary O, Pat Donahoe, Gary Dobin's, Kent Brown and so many more I can't name them all was an education in itself.
The one thing all of the anglers that fished on the Pro side then had was respect for each other and sportsmanship!

I could go on and on it was some of the best times I ever had in my life I turned Pro in 1994 and never forgot what I
was taught (forgot a lot how to catch fish, old age).

WWBT and CCT are trying to bring those tournaments back to the West Coast with a similar format and the integrity it was back then but with better paybacks, more honesty and better opportunities.

I'm not fishing much anymore but I am here to support Bill and Bret at CCT and Gary and his partners at WWBT!
Co Anglers if you want to expand your knowledge and become a better angler support these two organizations and don't be afraid to report the boater if you were not treated with respect and good sportsmanship

I am not a good writer and leave a lot of things out so if I offended anybody that is not why I posted this I posted it in complete support of WWBT and CCT.

When you run across an old timer stop and ask him or her about the old times.
I first met Gary Dobin's at Clear Lake at a 2 for 1 draw the first pro event i fished he drew my team partner Ron Mann I caught big fish that weekend a 10.25lb I was HOOKED, Gary came up to me and congradulated me.

Thanks Gene. Those were good old days. We fished wherever they sent us and had a ton of fun doing it. We always two or sometimes 3 strong circuits in Norcal. Now we have two. WWBT is new and we're doing well. CTT with Bill and Brett are doing well also and have a TON of experience. We have some differences with entry fee's and shared vs individual format. Between these two circuits there should be something for anyone wanting to fish. And, then we have FLW at a higher entry fee level and National based. This is the best anglers have had it in a long time. Come out and support these circuits, expand your knowledge and have a fun time doing it!!!! THX!!