SPORTING LIFE: Bass Club about fellowship and fishing

Doug Robertson’s grandfather had a saying that Robertson still quotes, two generations later. It succinctly sums up one of those days on the water when absolutely nothing is biting.

“He’d say, ‘it’s called fishing, not catching,’” said Robertson of his late grandfather, Bruce Pate’s, sage summary.

Robertson not only continues to repeat those words, he is continuing a family tradition. His grandfather was an avid fisherman. His father is an avid fisherman, and, not only is Robertson an avid fisherman but he leads a following of fishermen as president of the Northport Bass Club.

“My whole life, I can’t remember not fishing. My grandfather worked a 3 to 11 shift so that he could fish in the morning,” said Robertson. “I grew up in Ralph on a farm with a lake. I’d fish every day. I’d catch blue gill, catfish, bass.”

Not much has changed for Robertson, except for the location. He doesn’t work the late shift, but he does find his way to the water, several days a week. Lately his favorite fishing hole is near Shelton State’s baseball field. He takes his new puppy with him and fishes from the bank. Bass and bream are the catch he reels in, but he’s not just there for the fish.

“It’s a great way to relax. It’s where I do my thinking. It’s where I pray.”

He joined the Northport Bass Club nine years ago and is in his second as president. According to the club’s website, it was formed in 2005 and was once called the West Alabama Fishing Faction.

Robertson said Bob Findley, who was a professor at the University of Alabama, gets credit for starting the club.

“He wanted to start a club for people who had never fished in a club or in tournaments,” Robertson said. “He wanted a club where everyone would feel welcome.”

The club is all about fishing for the pure joy of fishing and sharing that joy and bond with others. Membership is purposely small. They like to keep it to around 50 members. They hold club tournaments throughout the year. With two anglers per boat, it limits the number of boats on the water to 25 or fewer. In comparison, some tournament will draw 200 or more boats.

Though membership is held low, it’s not exclusive, and that’s what Robertson likes about it. He said members range from teens to the 60s. They encourage kids to get involved. They want kids to enjoy this lifetime sport, just as they have. And when someone applies for membership, he or she can count on a phone call or a meet-and-greet.

“We get so many types of people, and that‘s something that makes it special. But we want to get to know someone a little bit first before we let them join. Fellowship is important to us. We compete and are competitive, but we do it for fun. There are some clubs where everyone is very competitive and they’re fishing to win a lot of money. That’s not how we are. Our payouts are small. We’re fishing because we love to fish and enjoy being around friends.”

The club has been a member of the Alabama Bass Federation Inc. since 2007. That membership allows them to compete in ABF tournaments. They have their own tournament trail and hit spots like Lake Tuscaloosa, Lake Jordan, Bankhead Lake, Lake Mitchell, Demopolis Lake, Warrior Lake, a lake in the Pickensville/Aliceville area, Gainesville Lake and Holt Lake.

“We have a rule that we don’t go more than 90 miles from the Northport boat landing.”

Membership is $80 per year. Members also pay $50 per boat in their club-only tournaments. The payout at each tournament depends on how many boats enter, with prize money typically going to first, second and third place teams and the “Big Fish” winner. The tournaments are year round but because of the intense heat that affects both anglers and fish, they aren’t scheduling events in July and August. At the end of each tournament season, they award an Angler of the Year.

Because fishing is basically an isolation sport, the club has been able to hold tournaments.

“We haven’t had to cancel because of the virus,” Robertson said. “We respect the 6-foot-rule.”

Their next event is scheduled for May 9 at Lock 8 on Warrior Lake. In winter months, because of lighting, they’ll start around 7 a.m. This time of year, they’ll blast off as early as 5:15 a.m.

The club has a website and a Facebook page where members share tips and news. They keep one another aware of conditions on the water, on the roads that lead to the boat ramps, which boat ramps are open, and, naturally, what’s biting.

Robertson is catching bass, using a shaky head worms and dropshot, on Lake Tuscaloosa. Crappie are also biting. Lake Lurleen, he suggests, is ideal for kids because they can walk and fish along the bank using crickets as bait from bream.

“All the fish are biting right now,” he said.

The club lists records on its website. Dickie Lyons and Steve Scruggs caught the heaviest largemouth bass--10 pounds and five ounces--on Warrior Lake, Lock 8, on May 12, 2012. Shane Campbell and Charlie Schaffer hold the largest stringer record at 24 pounds and zero ounces, a catch on Bankhead Lake on June 23, 2018. The record for heaviest spotted bass goes to Randall Pate and Jonathon Church at 6 pounds, zero ounces caught on August 25, 2018 on Holt Lake. The greatest total weight for a single tournament is 174 pounds, 10 ounces, a haul by a total of 18 boards in Pickensville on April 5, 2014. On March 31, 2012, a record 96 fish were weighed from 23 boats.

And then there are the other records, the days Bruce Pate’s slogan fits. At a recent tournament on Lake Jordan, under cold and muddy lake conditions, the most anyone caught was two bass. The worst outings came on Holt Lake with eight boats on September 8, 2007 and on Demopolis Lake with six boats on October 13, 2007. Nary a fish was caught that could be weighed.

But those days don’t discourage the anglers from heading out again.

“We just enjoy nature. It’s you against nature,” Robertson said. “Sometimes the fish win. As my grandfather would say, that’s why is called fishing, not catching.”