Bass ‘n Stars of Oakland County started in the early 1980s
with myself joining in 1984. The club was founded by a group of
guys who loved bass fishing and wanted to organize some fun
fishing tournaments. Originally, we started the club with about
15 members. Today the club is 20 members strong. Local
tournaments were the norm in the early days with the exception
of Lake St. Clair. The wide array of lakes in Oakland County
made it easy to put together a schedule with a good mix.
The guys would meet at someone’s house to discuss club
business and up-coming tournaments. Later on, the club had
access to a local archery shop and after it went out of
business, the club went to the Walled Lake Big Boy where we
remain today. Today, the club is a whole new group of guys with
the same thing in common, a love of bass fishing with some
competition added to the mix.
We still fish many of the local Oakland County lakes but we
also have added a more diversified mix of lakes to our
tournaments. The club has fished early spring tournaments in
Ohio and Indiana and we now go out of town twice a year for
tournaments in Northern Michigan. Some of the clubs regular
stops are Burt and Mullet Lakes, the Torch chain of Lakes, Grand
and Long Lakes, the Secord chain of Lakes, Wixom, and Smallwood
lakes.
We still fish Lake St. Clair annually in the spring and
summer as well.
The club has a diverse mix of tournaments depending upon the
set-up by the tournament director. We fish several various
tournament formats including individual, team, one-day, and
two-day tournaments. This year we included our first golden rule
tournament. The club has also participated in community projects
like helping with the casting kids and a sign project with the
DNR to encourage the “catch ’n release” program.
Our president is currently on the Michigan Bass Chapter
Federation Board of Directors and he runs the Michigan B.A.S.S.
State Championship and website for them. Over the past few
seasons, we have managed to acquire several local sponsors to
help support our club during the season.
Every winter we hold an awards banquet where we recognize
everyone for their efforts and participation in the club
tournaments. The banquet is enjoyed by club members as well as
their spouses/significant others where we enjoy a delicious
dinner and great entertainment.
I have seen many changes over the years, guys come and go,
new fishing techniques, bigger and faster boats but the love of
fishing remains the same. Whether we are hanging out at a cabin,
motel parking lot or talking fishing at the boat ramp, we all
share the same common interest — the enjoyment of fishing.
Friendly competition and a love for bass fishing makes for
camaraderie we will enjoy for years to come.
We have really evolved over the years, even going electronic.
Our club launched a very nice website (www.bassnstars.com)
a couple of years ago. The site provides everything about our
club including contact information, tournament schedules and
statistics as well as pictures from all of our tournaments.
Everyone should check us out online.
