Going Pro or BUST
Some Things Anglers Should Know Before Going Pro…Is It Worth It?
By Neal Robinson
Have you ever thought about taking your skills to the next level? Many anglers have pondered the idea and just know that they can make it happen. There are few diamonds in the rough that can actually compete at that level, but those who have the skills and talents to compete at the next level need to understand that they cannot just jump in on any of the Pro Tours, there are steps in between in order to just qualify for a Pro Tour, which are a feat within itself to accomplish.
There are qualifications…
For instance, in order for one to qualify for the B.A.S.S. Pro Tour they would need to qualify; meaning that an angler would have to fish the Open Tours and fish well enough to be considered. Not that the Open Tours do not have Pro’s, but the Pro Tour names are not quantified like Van Dam, Yelas, Brauer, etc. And believe it or not, those Pro’s also fish the Opens, giving them another opportunity to qualify for the Bassmaster Classic. But anglers need to understand they must first get past the “Wanna Be Pro’s” like themselves, who have been fishing the Opens for years and still haven’t made it. Then they can consider fishing against the “Bigger Name” Pro Anglers. Some Pro’s strictly fish Open Tournaments and never fish the Pro Tour, even when they qualify to fish the Tour. Angler’s fishing in the Federation cannot break into the Pro Tour, but can qualify a slot in the Classic after some rigorous efforts to win. But that Angler would have to be a standout, not only within the Club, but the Region and the State, then the angler would have to compete with the largest organized fishing organization loaded with talent across the Nation; not just 175 other anglers. Also, only the Top 100 on the Tour can return to the tour. The Top 15 among the other Opens will also qualify for the other remaining slots on the Tour. This is no different than the Wal-Mart FLW Tour; anglers just can’t walk in from the ground up, they must qualify to be one of the elite in the Everstart Series and/or be accepted after going through several stages. Sure there are ways to get into the FLW Tour, but that wouldn’t be smart without first learning the ropes.
Start Small…
Anglers should take small steps into advancing into a Professional career. The meaning of small steps would be, look for other Tournament Trails that get recognition on a National level. There are organizations out there that are just as competitive as the Pro Tours, but their names are not in neon lights; that doesn’t mean they are not good. The Federation and the BFL’s are great places to begin, but they are not the only National affiliations out there. You have the Pro-Am’s, American Bass Angler’s Association (ABA), Angler’s Choice, Fisher’s of Men and the list goes on. These are all well-known circuits that are just as competitive.
Local Competition …
In reality, fishing the small Local Club or even Open Tournaments can be more competitive than some of the Tour Tournaments. Not that the fishing experience is better, but the local knowledge of the lakes structure and cover, knowledge of the lures and presentations and the knowledge of the competitors is a major benefactor to the local anglers. Within the local community of anglers, there will be a select few that are the “Cream of the Crop,” who will consistently place well in tournaments and win. Anyone can fish, but can they consistently put together a pattern that puts them in the Top 5 or 10 percent of tournament places? Can they honestly say that they are part of the elite, the “Cream of the Crop” within their local fishing community? If an angler can honestly believe that and say that with confidence, then more than likely they are the ones to look up to. Sure, anglers are in competition with the fish, but you have some anglers that can read fish. They understand the nature of the fish, the season, the migration patterns, the current weather conditions, etc. Those anglers can take their knowledge of the lake, added together with the past, current and throughout the day weather conditions and put a plan together right there at the ramp before launch and become successful. Now, you are not only in competition with the fish, you are in competition with the field of anglers that can dissect the current surroundings and conditions on a whim, creating a successful plan and a positive outcome at the end of the day. In any local fishing community, those anglers know who they have to beat because of the vast knowledge they carry. These anglers can also take that same knowledge and successfully transfer that onto an unfamiliar lake. If given the same Top 5% of the local anglers on their home lakes and put them in competition with the Pro’s, it would be best to put your money on the local angler. Not that the Pro’s won’t be able to compete, but because of their lack of knowledge of the water being fished. That is why competition within your community can be more fierce and competitive than those at the next level; because anglers are competing against other anglers that have a vast knowledge of the lake, making the level of competition stiffer.
Nothing is taken away from the Pro’s perspective of what they can do on lakes that aren’t fished consistently by them. The Pro’s have the ability to look at a map, eliminate waters, scrutinize the lake and put together a game plan with the conditions being faced. Also, they fish against other anglers that may consider a particular body of water their home lake, making their outcome of winning or placing in the money even less. Another ability that the Pro’s have is that they have been there and done that, especially the old Veterans. Great Pro’s have money and they utilize that money to their advantage. Whether that is to pay Guides for trips and information, paying or using other anglers to fish for them and relay the information back so that they can rest up or satisfy sponsor obligations, flying in planes to get a bird’s eye view of the lake, etc. The thing is, Pro’s who have the money, take advantage wherever and whenever they can. When all is said and done, if an angler cannot compete within their own small local community or region and know that they won’t be getting much help because they are not well known or don’t have enough money to hire and pay for information, it would be best that they not take it to the next level.
The Horror’s Not Shown On TV…
As Anglers, we love to see the Pro’s on TV and see how easy it is for them to win. That is because it’s on TV. Within our own small community, we don’t see the disasters that take place. That isn’t what the Tour level or the levels just below them are trying to promote.
With 365 days in a year, a Tour Pro can spend at a minimum 250 days on the road, leaving them with 165 days to spend with their personal life. Those 165 days aren’t spent in a row of 165 consecutive days, they are scattered about throughout the year. Even those days spent at home are spent evaluating their previous tournaments, upcoming tournaments and events, contacting current sponsor’s and pursuing new one’s as well, up keeping their boat and motors, the house up keep and the list goes on. We as anglers know how tough it is at home with just a day-to-day job and having to just keep up on the house, vehicles, boats, etc. It’s not that easy.
Things not shown…
One of the ugliest numbers that the average angler doesn’t see is the Divorce rate; somewhere in the ball park of 65%, if not higher. What isn’t shown many times are the families. Sure, on TV anglers see Jay Yelas, Kevin Van Dam and a few other Pro Angler families out in the audience, but look at who we are talking about? We are talking about the elite, million dollar anglers. Money makes the family life easier, whether they are on the road with you or at home, it’s all about the money that an angler can bring home to support their families.
Family Support…
Families play 2, and sometimes 3, major roles to a Pro Angler. First, the family is the angler’s number one supporter. If an angler doesn’t have the support of the family, it will destroy the family or shorten the anglers Pro Tour career. Second, they become a home base for those angler’s and the family can take care of personal matters while they are away on Tour. And third, would be those families that understand that this is a way of life for them and they make every effort to help manage the angler. The family becomes part of the business by freeing up the time needed for an angler to allow him to fish tournaments, practice or experimenting with new products, satisfy sponsors by attending shows and seminars, and most of all rest. If the family can become part of the business particularly the management end, it would relieve that angler of so much stress on the business side and allow him the time to focus on fishing. Also, when it’s time for the angler to come home, it allows him to spend more time with the family and not working the business. Family members can assist with knowing where to spend the money, locating new sponsor’s, satisfying current sponsor’s, scheduling, receiving and sending products, networking with other anglers and more; all the things to keep the Angler updated on current issues on the industry; basically, the family becomes the Angler Management team. If an angler can get the support of the family, while on the road, it makes it that much easier. The FAMILY is the biggest obstacle that an angler must face. Without the family or a good management team supporting that angler, that angler will misplace his focus and his chances of success are depleted.
If an angler doesn’t have a family, everything is on the angler; the fishing and the business side. But the angler doesn’t have the stress of having to support the family.
Road Time…
If the angler is single and doesn’t mind being on the road, living out of a suitcase, going from hotel to motel or sleeping in a truck, then it isn’t too bad for them. But no one likes to live that way, that isn’t the featured life people want. Again, on TV anglers don’t see the sacrifices these Pro’s make because they can’t afford hotels or motels. Some anglers will room together to lower the cost, but what about those practice days when they aren’t hooked up with a fellow angler? Who likes the idea of living out of a suitcase 250 days out of the year? Who really gets enough rest sleeping in a truck; even if it does have a make shift bed? Is that even healthy? Anyone whose taken a good long nap or slept under these conditions know that they don’t get as much rest as they would have liked and they don’t wake up as refreshed. Getting on the road constantly with little rest or being exhausted from either fishing or running to and from seminars; and more than likely pulling a boat, that can’t be safe. When a person is that tired, they become delusional and they are unsafe on the road. What about food? Who really likes those small cans of Bennie Wennie’s, sardine and crackers, sandwiches all the time? When anglers are on the water, they are the best thing in the world, but that gets old quick. What about when anglers are in the hotel, there usually aren’t any accommodations for anglers to cook anything, except for a microwave. Some bring small grills along and cook burgers or eat fast food on the way. But when do they get a nice home cooked meal? They may get a cooked meal when they are near a fellow angler’s home or something, but that isn’t going to happen most of the time. For the most part, anglers are basically roughing it.
If the angler has a family that he must support, he better be winning tournaments or have same darn good sponsor’s that kick out some mighty checks. But money isn’t the only factor when it comes to the family; it’s time spent away. If we listen to the Pro’s carefully, they try to support their families by expressing how important they are to them and their business. But if it’s one thing that they can all agree on it would be the times that they have missed watching their children grow up. Basically, the family grows without the Pro Angler, except on a few occasional days. The spouse is home continually wondering why they are doing this; not only are the anglers stressed and exhausted, but the spouses at home working and raising children are just as, if not more, exhausted. They assume that the angler is out there having fun, enjoying what they do, while they are at home raising children alone and taking care of business the way a family should be. It’s almost like being separated, but it’s not legal and the angler comes home occasionally to visit. If an angler has children, can they truly say that they were a large part of their children’s lives? How many birthdays will be missed; X-mas, Thanksgivings, school plays, school sports, skinned knees/elbows, first words/steps or when they go to the hospital and need the support of that person? The children know you, but they really don’t know you because of the time spent away. Sure, there are exceptions, but that’s the problem, there are exceptions. There shouldn’t be exceptions when it comes to the family life. Too many times I have listened and heard the stories that anglers wished that they could have spent more time with their families; especially their children. But the sport kept them away. This isn’t just targeted towards anglers, but professional athletes across the board. Professionals do it for the Glory of winning, the competition or world dominance in their profession. But they tend to leave the family out of the light because the industry doesn’t profile the family, it profiles the individual. And when the family is gone, the angler begins regretting not spending the time with them and neglecting them; whether that is directly or indirectly. When children are involved, the playing field becomes different. So one of the other major factors a Pro Angler must face is the time spent on the road away from the family.
Money…
There isn’t enough money paid out in tournaments for anglers to enjoy leaving a good paying job. The US National Household Income as of 2001 equated to $58,208. Doesn’t sound too bad, but that is the HOUSEHOLD income; which isn’t great, just good. Leaving a sure income to something that isn’t known or set can, not only be scary, but also a threat to the family. Not just facing a possible separation/divorce from their spouse, but facing bankruptcy as well. Not many stories are told about how many anglers go for it all and find out that they were unable to finance their careers and had to file bankruptcy, losing everything; the family, home, job, friends and their dignity.
Let’s take for example a family that makes the National Income average at $58,000 a year (this figure would be smaller if narrowed down by anglers only). To make it fair, we won’t say that the Male figure is the dominating household income, so let’s split it in half, $29,000. If an angler removes himself from a sure income to the unknown, it leaves the working spouse to take the remaining $29,000 to budget for the household. This doesn’t include taxes (lets just say 7% across the board and this is way off on the low end here, but let’s look at it) which will knock that down to $26,970. Also not calculated in would be rent; low balled at $700 ($26,270) and a vehicle payment more than likely (not including 2nd vehicle and boat for angler) again, low balled at $270 leaving only $26,000. Well, medical and dental expenses haven’t been taken out, nor insurances and we haven’t even talked about paying utilities and other minor bills. Let’s just say now that that income is fortunate to be $24,000 to spend on the family when all is paid. That averages out to about $2,000 per month ($67 per day) for that family. That just isn’t enough to support the family and we haven’t even gotten to the expenses of the angler being on the road. The angler has to eat; he has to put gas in the vehicle and the boat, entry fees, hotel/motel and vehicle/boat maintenance just to name a few. But the angler cannot afford to suck up anything from the household income, but it will happen and as it is happening it not only puts a financial strain on the family, but strain as a hole on the family. It’s tough enough to juggle the family budget, but now to support the angler with the household money shouldn’t be part of the bargain.
For instance, if an angler is fishing the 6 FLW Tour events, the year’s entry fees would be $14,600. This cannot come from the household income stated above or the family couldn’t survive. And in order to get a check, they would have to place in the Top 75 and that won’t give them their money back in entry fees, much less expenses. Sure, placing in the Top 75 of an elite crowd of 200 Pro- and another 200 Co-Anglers, but if the payout isn’t covering money spent, the angler is going backwards. When an angler goes all out, the family, as well as the angler, is gambling on instant success.
Let’s use Curt Lytle’s numbers for this past 2003 year as an example, who actually didn’t have a bad year. Curt fished both the FLW (164th) and B.A.S.S. (33rd) Tours, which is tough in anyone’s book to do. Curt only fished 4 events on the FLW Tour collecting only 1 check at $3,500. On the B.A.S.S. side of the house he fished 10 Tour, 1 Open and the Classic, where he scored 8 checks totaling nearly $52,000. He fished 4 FLW events (about $1,800 per event) costing $7,200 and for the 10 B.A.S.S. Tour events (guessing $1,200 per event) and $800 for the Open he paid $12,800. Assuming that the Classic entry is free, unsure, that means he put back about $20,000 just to fish in the events, leaving him with $32,000 in winnings. Had it not been for the decent wins within B.A.S.S., he would have been in trouble. Actually, had he not made the Classic and placed 5th (earning a $25,000 check) he would be in trouble. Of course, sponsor money hasn’t been calculated in either, but not included either are the expenses incurred during the year. This was actually a good year for Curt, but imagine had he not made the cut in the Classic, or placed 5th to collect that big check. That $32,000 is now $7,000; actually because of being in the Classic, he probably would have gotten some money within the 61 angler field. Even the 25th place angler received $7,000.
Usually, there are only about 25 to 30 anglers on the Tour that either break even or better. Most good Tour Pro’s can get their sponsor’s to pay for some of their entry fees, but I will get into Sponsors later on.
In order to take a step up in competition, an angler has to have some serious financial backing. Whether that be from an angler that is financially well off, owning their own personal business, another household income from a spouse or some serious sponsor backing.
Sponsors…
If an Angler doesn’t have at least 2 or 3 major Sponsor’s backing them, they will be in a world of hurt, unless they can financially fish on their own. In the beginning, angler’s are not familiar with how to retrieve good sponsor’s and usually end up with what is called a, “Product Sponsor,” but that is not what a Pro Tour is looking for. What that means is that an angler may have a sponsor with a Product that they can utilize, but they will only provide that angler with Products, not money. In return, the sponsor will want the angler to not only fish their products, but to field test their new products and attend seminars and shows at little to no money. Most of the time, anglers are smart enough to convince the sponsor to pay for their expenses during seminars and shows, but usually its minimum wage, they pay for hotel expenses, gas, mileage and per diem. So in reality, the angler isn’t getting much out of it. Some product sponsors aren’t that bad, but those would be the type of sponsors that have a huge line of products that cover multiple areas of the fishing industry.
Now anglers are thinking out of the box and finding ways to benefit from non-fishing companies. This allows the angler to be more versatile in his approach to sponsorship. It also forces the angler to target a money sponsor and reaping the benefits of not being limited to a particular sponsor’s product line. Most of the Pro’s targeting the fishing industry type sponsors not only look to get money from their sponsor’s, but free access to their product line as well. An angler doesn’t necessarily have to be a good angler to be a money and product sponsor. If they have good people skills, good speaking and public skills, enthusiasm, selling skills, mannerism, knowledge of the products, the ability to relate and understand a diverse audience that appear at shows and seminars, well groomed and dressed, etc. these folks can also get paid well because they provide their sponsors with a talent that doesn’t have to be taught.
In order to make into the big time, an angler must have multiple sponsors, but not too many that they cannot control their sponsors and satisfy their needs. If a contract is breached by the angler, their sponsors will not only drop them, but will look to be compensated in money. Also, if potential sponsors call your previous sponsors, how you depart with a sponsor can wreak havoc upon you. It’s no different than a White/Blue collar company wanting to know previous employers and point of contacts with them.
Sponsors are an angler’s best friend out there and anglers cannot afford to lose them or play unethical games with them. That could mean having too many sponsors on board because that can be in direct conflict with the competition of another sponsor that the angler may have. Anglers need to ensure that they are not putting their sponsor’s up against their competitors; else that sponsor may drop the angler. On the other hand, if an angler doesn’t have enough sponsors, it can work against them because Sponsor’s are a key to being able to be successful in this business. Without Sponsor’s on the Pro level, this sport couldn’t happen. That’s almost like telling NASCAR that they cannot utilize sponsors anymore; it ain’t going to happen. Sponsors are what make the business go forward and are the industries biggest asset.
Am I really that Good? Am I willing to sacrifice it all?
Too many anglers say, “I know that I am good and I know that I can compete at the next level,” well that may be true, but what anglers need to realize is that there are a lot of, not good, but great anglers out there. But when an angler is faced against the best in the business and they compete against those that sacrifice everything, they are competing against a monster and the odds are against them. We are all good in our own way in our community, but before taking it to the next level you need to honestly ask yourself, “Am I really that good?” And if you can honestly say, “Yes,” then try taking a small step up and see how the competition is there first. When and if an angler feels that he is good enough then, well he can step it up a notch more. But SAYING you are good is a lot different than KNOWING you are good.
Yet and still, even after KNOWING that you are good, the ultimate questions is, “Are you willing to sacrifice it all?” Think about the job and the money that will be sacrificed; the family that will be left behind with minimal financing and missing the head of the household; sacrificing leaving the children; lower living standards because the lack of money; dignity in knowing that you are not as good as you though in comparison to the Pro’s because you didn’t sacrifice enough and the list goes on. And for what, a little satisfaction of GLORY? Is it truly worth it?
Anglers don’t have to be on the Tour to be a Pro. Some Pro’s shouldn’t be called a Pro, but they are because they made the sacrifices and they pay to be in that status. Personally, we all know folks who we think can make it to the next level or the Tour level, but we don’t have to make the sacrifice, they do. And if those anglers are smart, they will weigh there options before attempting to do so.
Not Busting Any Dreams…
It sounds like this is about busting up a dream opportunity, but that is not what it’s about. It’s about exposing SOME things that the Pro’s go through that many anglers don’t know about.
In reality, anglers can win more and kick out less money in their own local community tournaments. Sure it takes a while to get any kick backs, but they are surrounded by friends, they are not too far from home, they are with their families, they have a steady income and they can get all the GLORY needed from their fellow anglers.
We all would love to see those in our own fishing community to take it up to the next level, but not if it takes away from their families. If an angler THINKS they have the ability to go Pro, don’t go for BUST. Take your time, it will always be there. Personally, I have thought about it over and over again, but I cannot make that sacrifice. I have taken it up and fished National Circuits and done well and felt that I had the ability to take it up one more level, but never have because of the sacrifices that I would have to embark. I was not willing to sacrifice my income from my family so they can lower their standards for my satisfaction of pursuing a dream that was more than likely going to fail. But how do we know, unless we try? We don’t. That is a chance that has to be taken, but there will be sacrifices and broken dreams; there always is.
The next Kevin Van Dam or Jay Yelas may be setting in our own fishing community, but it won’t be me; not yet. Right now, I can be proud of those anglers within my fishing community and in knowing that if the Pro’s came into town to fish our lakes, that I can hand select a group of anglers and know that WE could beat the hell out of them.
These are just some of the things to think about before making a decision.
Neal Robinson
