Bass Class

High school angler CJ Lockamy took 3rd place competing against local pro’s in a recent Southern Bassmasters club tournament on the Apalchicola River.
High school angler CJ Lockamy took 3rd place competing against local pro’s in a recent Southern Bassmasters club tournament on the Apalchicola River.

Today, high school kids all across the country are getting involved in bass tournaments more than ever. Across the country participation increases exponentially every year and the competition gets tighter every day. These kids are good!

With competition at an all new high in this league, any kid trying to be competitive had better bring their “A” game! For a young angler looking to hone their bass fishing skills, nothing can beat time on the water and coaching from a seasoned tournament angler.

Jackson Parker learning worming techniques
Jackson Parker learning worming techniques.

Hiring a guide to take you and your family fishing is a great way to spend quality time on the water and even learn many fishing secrets if you pay attention. A guide cannot get through a day on the water without teaching someone something. This is perhaps one of the things I enjoy most about the profession. The typical guided trip however, is not focused on learning, but rather catching…as it should be. We started Bass Class to turn a day on the water into a day of learning valuable skills that will greatly improve your ability to find and catch more and bigger bass.

Two years ago, our son CJ started fishing competitively in the Florida Bass Nation High School Tournament series. He was doing very well, but just as with high school academics or any other sport venture we wanted him to learn on a deeper level and perfect his skills. This is when we found Bass Class with Capt. Randy Cnota. This has been the best investment we’ve ever made! Just like you’d hire a pitching coach or a math tutor, we hired Randy. He has taught CJ about patterns, techniques, proper rigging, electronics, sportsmanship and so much more. CJ has excelled in all areas of his fishing skills thanks to Bass Class, and we’re confident he has what it takes to take his competition to the next level.
— JJ Lockamy

Tutors help kids improve in academics, golf instructors help them improve their golf game, sport training camps hone their baseball, tennis and other skills. If your kid competes in tournament bass fishing, why wouldn’t you seek the same level of formal training to improve?

We start with a simple survey to gauge the student’s bass fishing aptitude and experience. This helps us determine how to best tailor each on-the-water class. We customize every session to fit the angler’s needs precisely. This eliminates unneeded areas of instruction and focuses on what will best improve each student’s skills. We track and monitor all areas that need improvement, concentrate on those areas and we gauge success.

The number of topics we cover are far too many to list, but here’s a few:

  • Casting, Pitching & Flipping
  • Seasonal Patterns & Fish Behavior
  • Effective Use of Electronics
  • Effective Time Management of a Tournament Day
  • The Mechanics/Science of Knot Tying & Rigging
  • Decision Making Skills

Each training event is followed by a training review where every topic worked on that day is discussed and annotated to ensure students have a solid understanding of lessons learned and a record of those lessons that they can refer to later. Students can go back to these documents, review the notes and comments and recall that day on the water to keep those lessons fresh in their minds.

While Bass Class is geared primarily for young competitive bass anglers, it can serve the young at heart just as well. Any adult that has struggled with poor results or is a beginner to bass fishing can benefit tremendously from our classes.

Remember…It’s not hooky if you’re in Bass Class!

Call Capt. Randy “C-note” Cnota at (229) 834-7880 for more information.