I am going to give you a little information, My name is Darren and i am 18. I am wanting to finish High School with good grades but i am also wanting to fish a couple of the local trails on the co angler side. What is everyones opinion on this? I also wanted to say thanks to Russ and his sidekick for putting this site together. If you are my age or know of anyone with a Facebook, I am thinking about calling this the Facebook of Fishing. Also if you are going to the Bass Pro Shops Spring Fishing Classic on the first weekend I will be working for Berkley. You can find me and talk to me. That is what i am there for. It is my first show so i will be a little bit nervous. I also wanted to know if anyone had anyways of knowing how to get over this nervousness? I will be in a Berkley shirt and the Last name on the back will be Evans. I would love if some of you guys would come and talk to me. I will make time to talk to anyone that i can. Hope i get some replies on this Discussion with some of my questions answered.

                               Thanks all,   
                                                           Darren Evans

Darren, There is nothing to worry about. Nervousness is just for the first few minutes. Once you are there and people walk by, some may talk some may not. The day will go by rather quickly. Thanks for the compliments on the site. As for finding the right tournaments to fish, start with a buddy tournament like USA Bassin. Its a team trail and not that expensive. They have four divisions in Missouri. You can also fish the USA Bassin Next Generation Tournament traIL as well. Check out the information on our home page.

Getting over the nervousness. Know your product inside and out, and believe in it.

Russ is right about nervousness lasting only a little while. You will have fun. I worked at Cabelas a couple weeks ago and everyone working there was very nice and made things really fun. I'm sure that the people at Bass Pro will be the same way. You will be amazed how fast the day goes by when you are talking fishing.

hey darren i would try the team touraments first , then after a while i would move up . anglers in action is a very good series to start with ,good people and thier payouts are real good also. good luck in what ever series you decide on

Hey Darren, I've found if you stick to what you know about when public speaking you won't have any problems. Good luck with your endeavours. I'm sure I'll see you around. Your Dad's fishin bud Mike.

Hey Darren, I've been in your shoes! At your age and starting to get more competive the best advise I can give you is stay focused. A mental positive attitude will be your number one key to sucess. Find what you have confendience in a believe in it. Good Luck and I may see you on the water. Jay Beffa

Hey Darren great that your showing a great deal of intrest at an early age come and fish ABA Amercian Bass Anglers we have a great bunch of fisherman that are more than happy to help you get over any nerves keep up your school work and just be you self when talking to people good luck keep fishing

Darren, All of the above comments are good advice. You'll find that a little nervousness can be a good thing, it forces you to focus on what your doing. Knowing about your product/s, their applications, riggings, and designs will make people interested in what your saying or demonstrating. Be aware that there are some out there that know it all, so be polite and talk to those that want to know.
I put on fishing seminars for Bass Tubs of Oklahoma, store openings for Dick's Sporting Goods, events for RecycledFish, and market fishing products around the counrty and guess what; I get nervous right up until I start talking. Relax and have fun speaking, demonstrating, and teaching those that are interested. You'll be fine. The same thing holds true when fishing tournament. You can fish tournaments for years, on different levels, and still be nervous. This is normal. Keep focused, be aware of what's going on around, and fish your strenghts, this will overshadow the nervousness on the trail. I Agree, Anglers in Action, American Bass Anglers, Fishers of Men, and bass clubs are all good outfits to gain experience.
Tight Lines Young Fella

Darren, if i was you i wouldnt go for the co angler side yet. Depending on how much your looking to spend, you can learn alot from co angling but try some amature tournaments first til you get use to competitive fishing thats what im doin.