This southeastern Pennsylvania club was originally chartered in the 1970s by a group of fishermen who became acquainted while fishing local tournaments and wanted a club of their own. Named for the geographic area surrounding Norristown where the club first met, our membership area now extends northwest from there to the Oley Valley. We presently hold our regular club meetings (the first Monday of each month February through November) just east of Pottstown.

As of this writing we have 14 active members (eight boat owners and six non-owners) and three inactive members (two owners and one non-owner) on our club roster. Our ages, work experiences, and interests reflect a cross-section of what one would expect to find in the general adult male population. The ties that bind us as a group, though, are our common interests in bass fishing and the enjoyment we gain from interacting during our various club activities.

The primary ambition of our club is to provide a competitive, amicable and comprehensive tournament experience where participants of all ages are able to learn and improve in the sport of bass fishing. By conducting our tournaments on three types of fisheries—tidal waters, lakes or rivers—and in varying conditions, we offer wide-ranging challenges that require varied techniques to be successful at our sport. And for each venue we have at least some members adept at fishing it, thus providing the resources for others of us to improve in areas where we are less proficient. Some of our members have been with the club for more than 20 years and can be especially valuable in helping anglers who are more recent to the sport. We expect, nonetheless, that each member of our club will sometimes be the teacher and sometimes be the student, since all of us work to improve our skills at catching bass.

Conversations among club members aren’t limited only to the best techniques and locations for catching bass. Topics might at any time just as easily center on boat improvements or maintenance, new tackle and where to get it at the best price, rod/reel/line rigging and adjustment techniques, etc. We might even hear someone offering to demonstrate how to remove an embedded hook from their hand! There’s no lack of sharing of information that some club member trusts to be true and thinks might be of help to others. Intermingle some friendly and amusing harassment by certain club members at times and our experiences together are both instructive and great fun!

In 2010 our club changed our affiliations to the Pennsylvania Bass Federation and its partner TBF and FLW organizations. This new relationship provides our club and individual members with previously unavailable advantages including the chance to qualify for local, state and national tournaments where club members can experience competition beyond what any local club is able to provide. We expect participation and advancement in these events to yield benefits not only for our individual members but also for our club as a whole.

To learn more about us, visit our website at http://www.freedomvalleybassmasters.com.