Mid December is when we start to see “the year in review” announcements. The announcements can be about individuals like Time magazine’s “person of the year” or the Sports Illustrated “athlete of the year”. Many are written in print or shown on TV to review the biggest news stories of the year or list the famous people who died during the year. Having seen some of these reviews lately, I decided to give a picture of the world of American competitive fishing 2022. We all probably have favorite events or tournaments that we follow, but here is an overview of all the 35,000 fishing event opportunities listed on AmericanFishingContests.com for 2022.
It’s not possible to give a recap of every one of the 35,000 listings by noting each event name and organization, which lakes they were held on, and who the winners were. What will prove helpful is to define the over 2,800 different organizations that offered 2022 competitive fishing opportunities in America. A picture of competitive fishing in America in 2022 begins to take shape by categorizing how many events these organizations held throughout the year and by identifying who some of the organizations are.
We’ll start with organizations that held fewer than 10 events in 2022. There were 1,220 different organizations that held only one event and 1,120 organizations held 2 to 10 events throughout the year. Events held only once a year include the Mother’s Day Dolphin Tournament held in Marathon, FL and the MT Governors Walleye Tournament. Organizations holding 2-10 events a year may be sponsored by a business, a small fishing club or a city, lake, regional or state entity like the Boston Bass Anglers, the Wappapello Bass Circuit, Up North Bass and the West TN Crappie Trail. These 2,340 organizations held over 7,100 fishing opportunities in 2022.
Next are organizations that held 11 to 100 events in 2022. 390 organizations held 11-50 events and 36 organizations held 51 to 100 events. Combined these organizations held over 8,600 competitive fishing opportunities in 2022. Larger lake, state and regional organizations like the Cape Coral Bass Club, the Carolina Anglers Team Trail, the Central Ohio Kayak Fishing League and Team Bass Xtreme are all good examples.
The last category are the 25 organizations that offered over 100 competitive fishing opportunities in 2022. These organizations offered over 13,000 competitive fishing opportunities in America for 2022. Some nationally known organizations are U.S.A. Bassin, American Bass Anglers, and Major League Fishing. Media Bass, Xtreme Bass Series and West Michigan Bass are some state and regional circuits that held a large number of events. The Fisherman Dream Boat Challenge, the MONGO Offshore Challenge, the CAG Fall Big 4 and Kayakpalooza are examples of other traditional and online events that are offered in multiple states and last for several months which create hundreds of competitive fishing opportunities.
No one event or organization really stands out in this “year in review” of American competitive fishing. What is striking to me is the sheer number of organizations and events that were available in 2022. From annual one time only events, to large structured fishing trails, to long running and online events, there are thousands of opportunities to experience competitive fishing in America.
Review AmericanFishingContests.com and find one to attend.
