History:
East Texas Bass Association was established in 1976. Through the years ETBA has been associated with several prestigious bass fishing organizations, including Honey Hole, B.A.S.S. and currently TBF(#11051)/FLW (The Bass Federation and Fishing League Worldwide).
A few of the club’s recent highlights include:
- 2011 Texas State B.A.S.S. Federation Nation STATE CHAMPIONS on Lake Sam Rayburn
- 2012 Texas State B.A.S.S. Federation Nation, 2nd PLACE TEAM on Lake Amistad
- 2014 Texas State B.A.S.S. Federation Nation, STATE CHAMPIONS on Lake Amistad
- 2015 Texas TBF Top-6 Champions
- 2016 Texas TBF Top-6 Champions
Meetings:
Meetings are normally held the first Tuesday of the month at Papacita’s Mexican restaurant located at 6704 S. Broadway in Tyler, Texas. Meetings start at 7:00pm. All aspects of club business are discussed and voted on. Tournament checks are given to the previous month’s winners and guys are pretty good about sharing how and where they caught fish.
Yearly Points Standings:
(see Rules and Bylaws for details)
Club standings will be determined by a point system based on weight caught. An angler’s best 10 of the 12 tournaments in the calendar year plus meeting points will combine to make up the angler’s total points. Points awarded for club meetings attendance will be added to the points total. 3 points (pounds) will be awarded for each meeting attended during regular scheduled meetings January through November, with a maximum of 24 total meeting points possible. A member can receive an additional 3 points for attending the December meeting and an additional 3 points for volunteering time and working at the Open Tournament or other club sponsored events. Special provisions are allowed for people that work during our meetings and/or live more than 40 miles from our meeting place.
Each year the club’s top anglers, based on points standings, are eligible to advance to the TBF/FLW State Qualifier Tournament. This tournament usually occurs in early April. A total of 12 anglers may qualify to attend this tournament. Half the anglers will be “boaters” with the other half attending as “non-boaters”. At this tournament all anglers compete on an individual basis in either the “boater” or “non-boater” category. The goal of this tournament is to qualify for the State’s 12-man team and advance to the TBF Divisional Championship with further hopes of advancing to the TBF National Championship Tournament and ultimately to the Forrest Wood Cup Championship. Oh, and there is also the additional perk of winning the $100,000 “Living the Dream Package”!
Every spring we also hold our Club Championship Tournament. This event is usually held along with our April Tournament and offers an additional payout to those who qualified from the previous year by participating in at least 6 tournaments.
General
We hold tournaments each month January to December (usually the first or second weekend of the month). Tournaments are an “Individual”, 5-fish event that start at “Safe-light” and last 9 hours. Entry fee is $50 with an optional $5 Big Bass side pot. Members can choose to fish either Saturday or Sunday and twice a year we have Two-day tournaments where you can fish one or both days and we count your highest days weight. The tournament ramp will be decided at the prior months meeting with exception on the (2) two-day tournaments which the board will set those ramp locations at the start of the year to accommodate travel plans.
Membership
You have two membership options when joining ETBA.
PRO-LEVEL – membership will include membership to ETBA, TBF and FLW as well as an FLW magazine subscription. With Pro-Level membership you may fish any TBF/FLW events.CLUB-LEVEL – membership will allow you to fish all ETBA Club events and participate in the additional progressive side pot.
The Membership Fee breakdown is as follows:
- Club Level – $20 per year
- ETBA Dues-$20
- Pro Level – $85 per year
- TBF State Dues-$15
- TBF National Dues, includes Magazine-$50
- ETBA Dues-$20
2024 ETBA Club Officers
To contact our club, email us at [email protected] or contact one of our club officers listed below.
| President | Tyler Smith | 903-258-4146 |
|---|---|---|
| Vice President | Frank Bonilla | 903-714-9086 |
| Secretary | ||
| Treasurer | Daniel Martin | 936-577-0013 |
| Tournament Director | James Parker | 903-373-8329 |
