New opportunities for young anglers

While I consider myself fortunate to have been involved in tournament fishing at a young age, opportunities for today’s teens are far better and growing every day.

There weren’t as many places for anglers to compete when I was that age. I joined a bass club at age 16 and most of the club members were much older. Even so, I learned a lot from them in meetings and club events.

But throughout my early career, I had to compete against older and more experienced anglers and would have loved the chance to fish with and against guys my own age.

Since those days, there have been a lot of initiatives started to get younger people into our sport. There are casting kid programs and a lot of manufacturers have developed programs to draw inner city kids into fishing.

But we’ve seen the most significant growth in recent years thanks to the popularity of collegiate and high school programs. It’s the most significant improvement I’ve seen in my career and it’s growing fast.

The Carhartt Bassmaster Collegiate Series that provides a path for a collegian to the Bassmaster Classic is just one example.

Similar programs are being developed at the grassroots level, such as the Michigan Collegiate Bass Circuit (MCBC) which gives college kids an additional chance to compete and develop skills on the state level.

While the university teams can still compete in national events like the Carhartt series, the MCBC also is open to collegiate anglers who haven’t formed national teams. Their tournaments welcome any full-time college graduate or undergrad student enrolled at an accredited university and are open to students from schools outside of Michigan as well.

MCBC anglers compete for individual or team prizes while representing their colleges. Entry fees are $50 per boat and pay back is 100 percent of entry fees. They have sponsors who contributed $700 worth of product at each of the four tournaments and a championship, all held on Michigan waters last year.

The circuit drew 60 anglers from 11 colleges in its inaugural season last year, and two friends of our family, McLane May and Cam Neely of Michigan State, won anglers of year!

MCBC not only has its own website, but the group videotaped each tournament with GoPro cameras and produced a show for each tournament on its web channel, www.mcbctv.com.

The anglers fish from whatever type of craft they have or can borrow, ranging from full-size bass boats to aluminum rigs. There are no boat restrictions other than the general safety rules.

You can get more specifics about the group by visiting the aforementioned websites or emailing co-founder Ross Parsons, a Michigan State student.

If we’re going to grow our sport and increase opportunities, we need this influx of young anglers. The MCBC has put together a great program and has done it with class; I only wish there had been something like this when I was their age!

Remember, it’s all about the attitude!

Kevin VanDam’s column appears weekly on Bassmaster.com. You can also find him on Facebook and Twitter.