The fundamentals key to finding and catching bass cover a broad base of knowledge. Everything from biology to boating safety comes into play. Left to their own devices, youngsters might spend 20 years gathering facts that will all be theirs for the listening from July 12-15 at the third-annual Pickwick Bass Camp.
The teaching and networking event will be held at the J.P. Coleman State Park Inn. The fee for the gathering is $150 and is all inclusive, covering meals, lodging and instruction. Campers are to arrive after noon on July 12 and depart at noon on July 15.
Tony Browning, of Ingomar, is the camp’s founder and organizer. He says the array of knowledge and experience, combined with the opportunity to make personal connections with so many peers, establishes the camp as a great opportunity for advancement for anglers in elementary and junior high school.
“We could take them out and catch bass but, if they don’t learn how to find them on their own, they couldn’t return to do it for themselves later,” he said. “This camp teaches them what they need to know to be able to find bass and determine what they’ll hit. It also teaches them how to go about it the right way alongside and among other anglers.
“They’ll be meeting 60 or 70 other anglers their own age with the same interests, giving them connections that will help them all the rest of their lives. These are the people they’ll work with in all aspects of life, and it’s a great start and advantage.”
This year’s lineup of speakers includes five professional anglers who compete in the Major League Fishing circuit: Mark Rose, Timmy Horton, Jesse Wiggins, Andrew Nordbye and Jimmy Washam. It also includes TikTok sensation Jake Bagwell, plus the Blue Mountain Christian University Fishing team and more. All sessions are open to the public, and anyone interested is invited to attend, either for a session or for a full day.
The camp is a jump start for anyone interested in bass fishing either just as a tradition and an experience, or as a career as well.
“I had never heard of anything like this being available around here, which is part of why I started it,” Browning said. “We’ll be teaching them a lot about fishing that took us years and years to learn. Beyond basic instruction in finding and catching bass, there’ll be insight to pursuing work in the industry.”
Whether they would want to chase the spotlight in tournament settings, work somewhere within the industry, start their own company and brand or a combination of all three, Pickwick Bass Camp is a great place to begin. Campers stay in the hotel’s rooms and attend lectures and demonstrations in the facility’s convention area. Many of the professionals and collegiate tournament anglers who will be speaking currently enjoy livelihoods based on doing it well, correctly, consistently and, most importantly, the right way. All are highly successful competitive anglers and each has a strong presence online, particularly through YouTube but in other channels as well. They are all volunteering their time for the good of bass fishing’s future, as is everyone involved.
Planned classes include finding and fishing structure, fishing crank baits, choosing the right rods, reels and line, how to approach fishing a new lake and how, on the water and at the landing, to approach fellow anglers.
There will be instruction on tackling the mental gymnastics of decision making during a tournament. There will also be overviews of the broad selection of career paths accessible through bass fishing’s open door.
The camp is open to both boys and girls, and a number of girls have signed up and will attend. Abundant chaperones will be on hand to help make sure all runs smoothly.
A number of sponsors have stepped forward to help make sure food for the camp is both good and plenty. The list includes:
Bro. Jeff Taylor and friends, McDonald’s of Savannah, Towboat US of Pickwick, Lil’ Smokies of Iuka, Jack’s of Iuka, This and That Catering, Pickwick Pizza Company, Piggly Wiggly of Iuka and Corinth Coca-Cola.
Organizing and operating this camp is a labor of love for Browning, and it’s drawn a tremendous positive response from the community and from all the invited speakers.
“I have been fishing forever and it’s been good to me,” Browning said. “The instructors will go into deep detail about how to find fish and how to go about catching them once you do.
“They will also describe the opportunities for making bass fishing a profession or a strong sideline. If you want to pursue a career in fishing, these guys are going to talk about how to approach sponsors and how to manage the business side of things. If you just want to be a better bass angler, this event is just right for you as well.”
On-the-water etiquette is a hot topic of late, and a number of speakers will address that as part of their presentations.
“I hear lots of complaints about high school angling and how they behave, and I think a lot of it simply comes from them not having been taught any better,” Browning said. “Many of us were raised on the water and taught to understand what not to do and how to conduct ourselves around other fishermen, but plenty of people didn’t have that advantage. We take for granted knowing certain things to do or not do because we learned by watching our adult mentors in those very situations.
“I think it’s wonderful for kids to find bass fishing on YouTube, take it up and begin learning how to do it, but they’re out there then without the situational instruction guys like me picked up just by being there when the adults we were with encountered and handled them. They don’t have that experience, and that lack of knowledge can lead to tense situations that need not have ever gotten close to happening. It’s up to us as mentors now to figure out what these girls and boys need to know and make a point of showing it to them.
“They can and do learn a ton of situational, specific, fish-catching knowledge through videos they watch on their phones, but the etiquette points are knowledge they don’t know that they don’t know. That’s where we come in. They may be fully versed on whether to throw a worm or a lizard in a given situation, but they might have no idea what to do or say when they pull up next to each other, wanting to fish the same bit of structure they each found individually and now have come back to. In situations where the rules don’t specifically say, they have to make their own decisions and talk to each other, and that’s not necessarily something they much want to do. Knowing who has priority and how they want to fish it is situational. We will help them think about how to think about it, and give them our advice on what to do when it comes up.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 40 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
