Better go take that boaters ed course if you want to fish any BASS events in 2025.

Boater safety courses now required for BASS events

If you are born after Sept 1993 you have to take it in Texas to operate any vessel over 15 horse power.

This ought to be super popular with the guys who have been operating boats and fishing tournaments for years. I would suspect that B.A.S.S. insurance carrier is responsible for this.

More communistic BS. It all started back with the mandatory seat belt which started in NY in 1984.

Seat belts are more akin to a kill switch. But I agree this is dumb- you cannot teach common sense and I suspect they would have zero correlation between these classes and safer outcomes.

90% of Bass Nation is over 50. Doubt they get a lot of them to take a class.

Yep. All my kids have had to take it. I suppose if you have never been on a boat in your life it is probably a helpful thing. Assuming you actually pay attention to the online course which 99.9% of people don't. Here's how the kids take it. They look up the readily available answers online, play on their phone while the video plays, then take the quiz.

TXBazzn is 100% correct. Most of the older guys just won't fish BASS stuff. Most don't anyways.

It's not gonna change anything. Most of these guys have been driving boats for years. If you drive like an idiot it's because you are an idiot and nothing is gonna fix that.


**** maybe a 2 year suspension from a trail that is honored by the other trails would but that won't happen.

How may people do we think actually read and learn the rules?

A lot- but thst doesn’t mean you will follow them. After all “I’m in a tournament”…😆

Truth.

Im thinking a lot read them, once or maybe twice, but most dont really learn them. Yes, boaters safety or rules wont stop guys that decide to run no-wake zones while sitting in a lock. Eventually the organizations will have to make an example or two out of some people for the intentional violation of rules and safety

With a 250 hp motor what could go wrong

I’d much rather it be a requirement for every boater on the lake to take the course regardless of age than a professional requirement….a boat driving license if you will. Not because I’m a communist, because 2-3 days a week I’m on the lake and witness bass boats that don’t know which side to pass on, how to properly overtake, or who the give way vessel is. All I see are a bunch of overly aggressive people that think there are no laws of the waterways. Funny thing is, it’s usually older guys, the younger kids had to take the class and atleast have a clue. I took it when I bought my first boat, wasn’t required but seemed like the right thing to do. Also gave me a nice discount on my boat insurance.

Hey!!! I’m only 45! 😏