05-24 REELLIFE print SINGLE digital - Flipbook - Page 23
fishing
Tournament bass fishing can be an intimidating experience, but it can also be a whole
lot of fun and if you want to dip your toes into the world of competitive fishing, a Big
Bass tournament is a terrific way to start!
THE STANDARD
TOURNAMENT FORMAT
For decades, the standard
tournament format involves
either an individual angler
or a two-person team on
board a bass boat fishing
for anywhere from one to
three days. The goal is to
catch five big bass, put
them into your livewell, and
at the end of the day bring
them to the dock where a
weigh-in takes place. The
team with the heaviest bag
wins. After the weigh-in,
the bass are released into
the lake. If anglers submit
a dead bass to be weighed
in it is subject to a penalty
with a certain amount
of the weight being
subtracted. In some cases,
dead bass are not allowed
to be weighed in at all.
There is usually an 8020 rule when it comes to
these bass tournaments,
especially the opens where
anyone can fish the event.
The top twenty percent of
anglers tend to end up at
the top of the leaderboard
while the other 80 percent
of the anglers essentially
donate their entry fees to
the winners.
