Thrills?
Got ’em.
As a fisherman you know the thrill of the hookup, the electricity of the fight, and the satisfaction of boating that lunker. Add to that the adrenaline rush of doing those things against competing fishermen, against the clock, against the weather, with a win and prize money at stake, and you’ll begin to understand why we crave tournament fishing.
Competition?
Got that too.
It’s one thing to be successful on your own nearly every time out, when you can pick the time, lake, and weather conditions that you prefer. But can you perform as well when conditions aren’t ideal, and against some of the area’s top anglers? There’s only one way to find out!
Rewards?
We thought you’d never ask!
As if the previous five benefits above aren’t reward enough, joining Avid can have monetary benefits too. Each year anglers compete for between $3,300 and nearly $5,000 in potential prize money* for tournament wins, lunkers, an annual Big Fish prize, and Angler and Co-Angler of the Year awards. In addition, members are eligible for perks such as entry into a no-cost Mystery Tournament, end-of-year banquet, discounted club branded apparel, AOY trophies, after-event cookouts, and more.
The ideal hybrid?
Think of Avid as the balanced fusion of a friendly local club and a lucrative payout tournament trail. Our tournaments are local and low cost, and therefore require less gas, time, meal expense, and travel than regional trails and national organization events. As exciting and rewarding as those can be, we realize that entry into such events just isn’t for everybody. Monetary and time requirements can be costly—not to mention the multiple levels of dues and membership fees involved.
Impressive payouts and more
Instead of fishing only for points to qualify for a state championship, Avid provides members the opportunity to compete in up to six events per season with annual payouts and award money totaling thousands of dollars. But we also offer the perks and membership benefits of a close-knit club: Cookouts, apparel, awards and trophies, an annual awards banquet, and more.
Informal, friendly, local
At our heart, we’re just a bunch of guys—though gals are welcome too—who love to fish. We don’t get spun up or bogged down by divisive organizational politics since we aren’t affiliated with any parent organizations. We’re comparatively small so every member has a say in every club decision. Based in Taunton, Mass., membership draws mostly from surrounding communities.
We are non-exclusive
Avid members need not only fish with us. We welcome members of other clubs, B.A.S.S. Nation members, MassBass and ABA anglers, and any other bass angler whose competitive juices flow strong. We also encourage Avid members to fish other trails and join other organizations if they so desire.
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Avid was originally founded in 2004 as a part of the Massachusetts B.A.S.S. Nation. We’ve also been affiliated with MassBass and FLW. Over the years several of our anglers have advanced to state, divisional, and national championships.
In 2020 we became an independent, unaffiliated club when a significant portion of membership declined to participate in annual fishoffs, citing the expense and various commitments required. As a result, we focused on ways to offer more benefits and higher payouts for our own tournaments. The decision was made to continue on independent of any parent organization as an alternative club experience for area tournament anglers.
COVID-19 has hampered our expansion, with several cancelled tournaments and meetings during the past two seasons, but 2022 will provide a new opportunity to experience the growth and increased payouts we anticipate.
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We really like to stay local to keep costs low and payouts high so we rarely venture out of state for our events. Here are the Massachusetts lakes we frequent:
• John’s Pond (Mashpee)
• Long Pond (Harwich)
• Long Pond (Freetown/Lakeville)
• Manchaug Pond (Sutton/Douglas)
• Mashpee-Wakeby Pond (Mashpee)
• Lake Nippenicket (Bridgewater)
• Quaboag Pond (East Brookfield)
• Singletary Lake (Milbury/Sutton)
• South Watuppa Pond (Fall River)
• Webster Lake (Webster)
• Wequaquet Lake (Barnstable)
• West Monponsett Pond (Halifax)
This isn’t an exhaustive list. We’ll occasionally visit other bodies of water. It sometimes depends on the size of our membership and the parking accommodations at certain lakes. We’ll also sometimes fish a 2-day out-of-state tournament, depending on membership wishes and subject to club vote, most often on Lake Winnipesaukee or Lake Champlain.
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Where the money comes from
Avid does not operate for profit. Annual member dues fund benefits and club expenses. Dues-paying members aren’t required to fish tournaments. Members who do fish additionally prepay tournament entry fees and annual award pool money. The club hosts an annual fundraising open event on Long Pond in Harwich, the Easter Bunny Open, to further fund club activities.
Memberships
The club offers two types of memberships: Boater and Co-angler. Boaters are members who own and fish out of their own boats at each event. Co-anglers are members who do not own or fish out of their boats, and who are paired up via blind draw with a Boater at each tournament. Boaters who are paired with a Co-angler are exempt from the blind draw for the subsequent tournament unless there aren’t enough boats to accommodate all Co-anglers with the exemption in place.
Events
We hold five one-day tournaments per year that are open to members only. A sixth so-called no-entry (i.e., free) Mystery Event is held at the end of each season in which every member who has paid for all 5 of the season’s regular events is eligible to participate. Depending on membership vote, one of the season’s five regular events may be a 2-day event on a large out-of-state body of water. Each event pays out 3 places, the amount of which is determined by the number of paid memberships for the season. The more members we have, the larger the payout.
Meetings and organization
We meet monthly (excluding November and December) to discuss club ventures, tournaments and results, to plan event dates and select lakes. All members in good standing are encouraged to attend and have equal input into club decisions.
The club operates under a set of bylaws and has as officers a President, Treasurer, Secretary, Tournament Director, and Web/Marketing officer. Each tournament has its own tournament committee. Bylaws are reviewed annually and amended as necessary to reflect changing views of membership, the sport, and state fish and game laws.
Communication
Every effort is made to communicate to every member what’s taking place in the club, both at the membership level and on the water. Between our meeting minutes, website, social media, emails, and word of mouth, members are kept up to date on everything from the latest tournament developments to how their dues are being spent.
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Members must be 18 years of age or older.
To join as a Boater your boat must be at least 15 feet in length, and have a working kill switch and livewell. Because we occasionally fish larger bodies of water where it can get rough, anglers with boats smaller than 18 feet may opt to fish as Co-anglers if their boats can’t safely handle the conditions.
It’s HIGHLY recommended that every Boater carry boat insurance, since you’ll be carrying other people in your boat, and will be manuevering around others in close quarters. It’s required for our Easter Bunny Open and most other trails and opens.
Gear and tackle is entirely your decision and personal preference, though live bait and certain types of lures and lead weights are not allowed. A few staples besides rods and tackle you’ll need for tournament fishing are a tournament weigh bag, high quality rain gear, and a life jacket (PFD).
In order to fish tournaments you will need to be a member in good standing (fully paid dues) and have prepaid entry for all of the season’s five events and award pools.
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Dues
Dues of $125 are collected annually to offset expenses that include meeting hall rental, apparel subsidies, Mystery Tournament payouts, ramp/permit fees, advertising, web hosting, incidental costs, and other operating costs. Dues are not applied to tournament entry or award pools. Dues are not prorated so members joining at any point during the year must pay dues in full. Members who attend at least 8 monthly meetings are eligible for a discount of $25 off the following year’s dues, making them $100.
Entry fees
Entry fees are $50 per tournament for 5 tournaments and must be prepaid prior to the start of the first tournament. Members who join after the start of the season are only required to pay for the year’s remaining events. The total cost for tournament entry is $250.
Bonus pool fees
An additional $5 each is collected for each tournament’s lunker payout and the season-long Big Fish pool, awarded at season’s end to the angler who has caught the biggest fish of the year in a regular season Avid event. Total cost for these fees is $50. Participation in these bonus pools is not optional.
Total cost
The total cost for an angler to fish with Avid for an entire year including dues, entry, and bonus pools is $425, or $400 if they have not missed more than 2 meetings the previous year.
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Air Force Association Hall in Taunton, MA
We meet on the fourth Thursday of each month, except for November and December, at 7:00 pm. Walk-ins are welcome so, if you want to meet us in person or audit a meeting to see what we’re about, please stop by.
Directions:
531 Tremont St., Taunton, MA
Get driving directions from Mapquest
From Mass. points north or west
495S to rt. 140S (for about 5.5 miles)
Right onto Worcester St. (for approx .25 mi.)
Right onto Tremont St. (for approx 1.5 mi.)
AFA Hall is on the right.
From the Cape
495N to rt. 44W (for approx 2.5 mi.)
Right onto rt. 140N (for approx 1.5 mi.)
Left onto Tremont St. (for approx 1.5 mi.)
AFA Hall is on the right.
From RI points south or west
95 to 195E (for approx. 1.5 mi.)
Rt. 44E (for approx. 5.5 mi.)
Left onto rt. 118N (approx. 2 mi.)
Right onto Tremont St. (approx. 2 mi.)
AFA Hall is on the left
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* Prize money is estimated and is based on membership of between 10 and 15 anglers for a full tournament season. Actual figures will vary depending on number of members enrolled. Entry fees and payouts are subject to change.
