Fishing Club

[blackmax135]

I wanna start a club for all the local fisherman in my community.  A lot of people including me don't wanna go through this huge thing like legal stuff and insurance.  They just want to pay dues have get togethers, meeting, put on events, and club tournaments.  Only one person wants to get involved with bass or flw.  We wanna get together as fisherman and have fun and maybe have a little competition.  Is there anything wrong with this and would we still have to get insurance and register legaly. Our goal is to get to know other avid anglers, teach, learn, and give the knowledge people need to know to keep our waters healthy.  Anyone have advice for that

[starcraft1]

Be careful about how you go about it. I did the exact thing here in our town and we decided to make it bigger than the org. 10 anglers we started with. The big problem was (and still is) people. I ended up leaving because of the people that joined after the org. 10. In fact of the org. 10 not one is still part of it. I hope yours does better than the monster we built. Bar-b-q's and outings were not on our minds when we started it, but now?

GOOD LUCK!

[Sam]

A loose group of guys fishing private tournaments should not pose a problem other than the payoffs if they are consider gambling in your jurisdiction.

 

You have to have tournament rules, a weigh-in scale and tub, minimum watercraft insurance requirements ($1,000,000 is best) and a tournament schedule.

 

Without any South Carolina incorporation or LLC; not filing with the IRS for a 501c3: and with no by-laws or constitution you can be considered a group of guys who enjoy fishing their private tournaments.

 

To be safe you may want to ask the Gamecocks' law school for their input at no cost. Law students may be able to help you avoid any unforeseen pitfalls. 

 

Choose your members carefully. As you can read in the above post sometimes things don't go as planned.

[Lund Explorer]

Friends are friends, and you aren't going to have any problems whatsoever.  Until the first accident happens.

 

If you read the thread about the two guys who got run over and died in California, apply that scenario to your little group.  If the two that died were part of your group, expect at least one spouse or family to have their lawyer investigate the financial wellbeing of the other members.  If the gentleman that ran over the two victims was part of your club, expect the exact same thing.

 

There is a reason that lawyers exist in this world.  The minimal cost of having one on your side before anything hits the fan outweighs the cost of having to hire one afterwards.

 

Sad, but true!

[WIGuide]

I don't know about your local laws, but for us we can hold tournaments in WI without getting any sort of permit as long as it's under 20 boats. You might want to look into local regulations. 

[FrankW]

"They just want to pay dues have get togethers, meeting, put on events, and club tournaments."

This is quite a bit of activity and is what a club does. If you hold meetings, pay dues and put on events you are a club and could be liable for any accidents that might happen. If there is a death then for sure you are in trouble with out insurance. If you don't incorporate or form an LLC then the members can be accountable. Don't do this unless you talk to a lawyer.

I would never participate in what you have in mind.

Frank

[blackmax135]

Yall gave me exactly what i needed. Great advice!!! thanks.  Im still young and never been involved in any type of club or group so i know nothing.  I just never thouhgt it would be so much complication in haveing a little fun and competition. 

[jhoffman]

You wanna have a little fun, get 5-10 guys to show up, everyone throw down $10, fish for one big fish each and weigh it on a handheld everyone agrees on. Pay out the top 3 100% and call it a day

[blackmax135]

Well that sounds like a good idea.  I want a real club though but not a big time thing.  I don't know how to really explain

[Strothman]

The club I'm a part of is a very tight knit group. There are advantages and disadvantages of our club, but we have 5 fish limit Bump-and-Dump tourneys. But that takes great trust of your anglers, and means your co-anglers can't be afraid to remind their partner for the day that the fish need to be accurately measured (and the anglers). We are a small town group of around 30 guys, with an average 10 boat turnout. It takes lots of trust, but our club has done it for 35 years, with only two incidents, and they resulted in a forfeit of year end points. Like I said, it might not work for everybody, but out local club has gave myself, a few big money BFL contenders, and other area big dogs their start. Good Luck!

[Strothman]

Also, in response to the unorganized tourneys. Here in Iowa, our rule is under six boats and you're okay. We have our Tuesday night tourneys that are usually around six. If it is over that, we break up into our "major" and "minor" anglers, and have two separate tourneys. Moneys are held by two separate hands. We're all prety easy going, so it's not about the money, but this way, younger anglers like myself get a shot at some gas money!

[Basseditor]

I've been in clubs for decades in various states. The names and faces change—the internal politics don't. (Partially joking.)

Affiliating with B.A.S.S or FLW can give you a good foundation: written rules, charter paperwork, insurance, etc. It's less expensive than starting from scratch.

[blackmax135]

Do i need to talk to DNR about laws on haveing tournaments with a small group of guys? Sounds like an excellent club.  Does your club have to sign any law agreements or have insurance anything of that nature?

 

Also, in response to the unorganized tourneys. Here in Iowa, our rule is under six boats and you're okay. We have our Tuesday night tourneys that are usually around six. If it is over that, we break up into our "major" and "minor" anglers, and have two separate tourneys. Moneys are held by two separate hands. We're all prety easy going, so it's not about the money, but this way, younger anglers like myself get a shot at some gas money!

[Strothman]

Do i need to talk to DNR about laws on haveing tournaments with a small group of guys? Sounds like an excellent club.  Does your club have to sign any law agreements or have insurance anything of that nature?

our club has insurance and the whole nine yards. Our TNT (Tuesday night tourneys) is just a couple guys pitchin in $10 like jhoffman said, and under 6 boats or less is just a gentlemens agreement, the dnr cannot take that away, but with over 6 boats, it is considered a tournament here I'm iowa. Check your local laws 1st and see how many boats is considered a tournament in your state

[bassmaster790]

Any one have a club in Columbus ohio

[Delaware Valley Tackle]

Have you ever gone on a group vacation? It's next to impossible to get 3-4 "friends" to agree on where to eat not to mention how to split up a pool of cash. You have money changing hands in the form of dues, and then the liability others have warned about. Then, to top it all off, there is the division of labor. In any club I've ever been associated with a small handful of members do all the heavy lifting while the rest just show up and enjoy the activities. I don't think half-measures will do anything for you. As Mr Myagi would say "Bass Club do, yes..... Bass Club do, no...... you Bass Club do, guess so" Either go all in and do it "right" or keep it real loose and casual.