FORGET YOUR traditional school sport. Bass fishing has become one of the largest growing sports in schools across the country. Growing locally, is the Tullahoma Youth BASS Club (TYBC). The TYBC is affiliated with the High School BASS Nation and governed by a board of directors, like other clubs. According to the current club president Michael Wilson, local youth are taking to the water and enjoying the fun and benefits that fishing offers. The club is open to youth in grades 2-12.
We are one of the teams in the Central Tennessee Region of BASS Nation. This division includes Bedford, Cannon, Coffee, Franklin, Grundy, Lincoln, Moore, Rutherford, and other local area schools. There are two divisions, junior and high school. Junior division is defined as grades 2-8. The divisions compete against each other in the tournaments. Captain Jake Davis from Winchester is the organizer of the Central Tennessee Region. He organizes and conducts the fishing tournaments. Students compete in a number of tournaments that typically take place on Saturdays at area lakes such as Tims Ford, Woods Reservoir, Normandy, and more.
“Our club is smaller than other area [fishing] clubs due to it being relatively new, being in exis- tence since 2018. But we are seeing growth with students taking interest in fishing, and our goal is to continue to grow the club to give kids an opportu- nity to participate in fishing,” explained Wilson.
While competing is fun, Wilson said there is more to fishing than just winning a tournament.
“It’s a great opportunity for them to get outdoors. They learn how to tie knots, fish [with] different lures, operate the boat, catch fish, and build relation- ships with each other,” he said.
“We’re trying to grow the club,” Wilson said. “It’s challenging because you need someone who has a boat, or access to one, in order to take the kids fishing. A lot of times we have kids who want to fish [but] don’t have boats, and we try to pair them with someone who has a boat and is able to take them. It’s an all-day commitment on the day of tournaments for the boat captains, because they aren’t allowed to fish in the tournaments, but can “coach” the anglers and are required to drive the boat. If someone has a boat and is willing to be a boat captain and take a couple of kids fishing, they are always welcome to join us.”
A local family lent a helping hand to the club through a recent donation.
“We collect sponsorships. That helps to pay tournament entry fees, jer- seys and hotel costs,” explained Wilson. “We were made aware of a family that wanted to give back to the community. Mike Young had passed away, and he wanted his boat to go to a youth fish- ing club. Through relationships, [we] made the connection with Michelle Young (widow of Mike) to receive the boat and fishing tackle donation. It’s hard for a small club to pay for the maintenance and upkeep of a boat so we sold the boat to a club member at fair market value, and the funds went back into the club.” -GN
