For Parents
A longtime coach, boat captain, and bass angler helping young anglers learn the sport the right way.
Our approach
Palmetto Bass Academy is built on coaching, trust, safety, and development. A guide helps you catch fish for a day. Palmetto Bass Academy teaches your angler how to understand fishing for life.
As a youth bass fishing coach serving Lake Wylie and York County, my focus is student angler development through structured beginner bass fishing lessons—not shortcuts or hype. Parents deserve a clear, professional process and honest communication before their child ever steps on the boat.
Personal background
I’m Brian Taylor, a father of three boys—ages 12, 16, and 18. Coaching and helping young people grow through sports has been a major part of my life for a long time, and that same mindset carries over to how I work with student anglers on the water.
I believe fishing should build confidence, decision-making, patience, preparation, and independence. Those are the same qualities I look for in any sport, and they are the foundation of how Palmetto Bass Academy is structured.
Coaching experience
I have spent many years coaching student-athletes, including formal coaching roles in the Clover School District and Lake Wylie High School community. That includes roughly 20 years of wrestling coaching in Clover, SC, and current roles as an assistant varsity and head JV wrestling coach and assistant Cross Country coach for Lake Wylie High School.
Along the way, our programs have earned multiple middle school conference championships and state championships at the middle and high school levels. I do not share that to impress anyone—I share it because coaching is how I think: preparation, discipline, accountability, confidence, and steady development over time.
On the water
I also spent six years as a youth tournament boat captain for my son, working with student anglers as they prepared, competed, and learned on the water. That experience taught me what it feels like to be the parent in the boat—and what young anglers actually need to improve.
Palmetto Bass Academy is not about catching fish for your angler. It is about teaching them how to read conditions, choose setups, make better decisions, and build confidence they can use every time they fish. That is the difference between a guide trip and academy coaching.
For Parents
For many families, the biggest barrier to bass fishing is not interest — it is access.
Before spending thousands on a boat, electronics, rods, tackle, or tournament travel, a parent can invest in a coaching session to see if the angler is serious and help them start correctly.
Palmetto Bass Academy gives families a practical way to start.
Instead of buying the boat first and hoping your student figures it out, your child gets on the water with instruction, safety supervision, gear guidance, lake strategy, and real coaching from day one.
Purchase price, insurance, fuel, maintenance, storage, registration, safety gear, electronics, tackle, and the learning curve.
Still need boat access, practice time, gear, transportation, lake knowledge, and someone who understands tournament fishing.
On-the-water coaching, boat access, instruction, gear guidance, safety supervision, lake strategy, and decision-making help.
For many families, coaching is the bridge between interest and ownership. Your child gets real time on the water without requiring your family to buy the boat first.
What to expect
Every session is designed to be structured, age-appropriate, and honest about what coaching can—and cannot—promise.
After the session
PBA does not end when the boat comes off the water. Every session follows a simple coaching rhythm so your angler—and you—know what was taught and what comes next.
After each session, parents receive a recap of what we worked on, what improved, what conditions taught us, what setups made sense, and what to practice next.
Context on experience, goals, and what you want to focus on before we launch.
Plan the day, align on safety, and connect the session to the F.I.S.H. framework.
Structured reps, real-time adjustments, and decision prompts during your Academy session.
Clear takeaways, patterns to remember, and what to practice next time.
Parents stay in the loop with practical notes you can support at home.
Later
As the Academy grows, additional programs will create more ways for anglers to learn, practice, and stay connected.
Coming as the Academy grows.
These programs are not open for booking yet. Current options are Intro, Development, and Tournament Prep sessions on the Sessions page.
Photos
A look at coaching on the water, the boat setup students use, and the sports background that shapes how Palmetto Bass Academy works with young anglers.
If you are considering a session for your angler, I’m happy to talk through their experience level, goals, and which session is the best fit.