Seven years ago, in
1999, Randy Jones started a small johnboat club in North
Carolina called Bass Busters. This would be an electric only
bass club that would not allow any type of gas motor to be used.
Jones felt this would make the playing field more equal to all
members that joined our club.
The club started out with seven teams that have grown to around
30 teams over the years,” Jones said.
“With gas prices hovering around three dollars per gallon
today we are saving a ton of money in our pockets by fishing
with trolling motors only. I do not have a limit on how many
trolling motors each boat can have or how big an electric motor
you run just as long as no gas is required to run it.”
When Jones first started this club most members used 12-foot
johnboats for the first year or so but now many have moved up to
14-foot or better.
“Most people think these small craft can only be used on
small bodies of water but I am here to tell the world we fish
big lakes like Jordan, Harris, Falls, Tillary and the Cape Fear
River. We make some long runs with these small boats pushing the
six- to seven-mile range one way.
“This took some trial
and error to learn the running distances to have enough battery
power to make it back in time for the weigh-in time limit. I
prefer one brand trolling motor over the others when it comes to
the best motor that will handle the torture we put these things
through. I will not use their name because they refuse to
sponsor our club. They do not want to advertise their motors as
being sole propulsion to anyone, as they are not made for this
type of abuse we put them through.
“I can tell you I still have one motor that came on my boat
when I bought it new back in 1997 that has never given me one
problem.”
The Bass Buster Jon Boat Club fishes twice per month for a
total of 20 tournaments per year. This includes two-two-day
classics one being mid-year classic and the other being the
end-of-year classic.
“We have more fun fishing out of these john’s than we ever
had fishing out of the big bass boats. About half our field is
father/son teams or some kind of relatives fishing together. I
cannot think of a better way to enjoy a day on the water then
with a family member being your team partner.” Jones said.
“When I first started this club my son fished with me for the
first four years but since he has moved out of state to a better
job. I miss him not only being home but as my fishing partner
more then he will ever know. My club was built on family members
being the backbone of this organization.
“Bass Busters has become the biggest johnboat tournament
organization in North Carolina or anywhere else as far as I know
of. You can visit our home page at:
www.bassbusters.net for
more information about our club.”
1999, Randy Jones started a small johnboat club in North
Carolina called Bass Busters. This would be an electric only
bass club that would not allow any type of gas motor to be used.
Jones felt this would make the playing field more equal to all
members that joined our club.
and error to learn the running distances to have enough battery
power to make it back in time for the weigh-in time limit. I
prefer one brand trolling motor over the others when it comes to
the best motor that will handle the torture we put these things
through. I will not use their name because they refuse to
sponsor our club. They do not want to advertise their motors as
being sole propulsion to anyone, as they are not made for this
type of abuse we put them through.